Expand

Do you have an immersive arts project in development?

Apply for £50,000 plus tailored mentoring and expert support to expand your work and present it to an audience.

Ideal for...

The Expand strand of funding aims to:

  • provide support to significantly progress existing projects or prototypes
  • bring well-developed concepts to fruition with comprehensive support
  • enhance audience engagement and reach
  • consider access, diversity and inclusion relevant to the project.

Focus

Successful applicants will be supported for up to 12 months (ie for the duration of their projects) with:

  • bespoke mentoring from Crossover Labs, the Immersive Arts partnership and network
  • support to develop and implement their project
  • opportunities to enhance and scale the impact of their work

Timelines

  • 29 Sep 2025 Application deadline
  • Jan 2026 Applicants notified
  • Feb 2026 - Jan 2027 Expand Projects carried out

Why apply for Expand?

You could use the funding for:

  • planning, researching and developing, or delivering, an immersive arts project
  • attending residencies, relevant events and workshops
  • accessing training and other forms of support
  • buying materials, software licences and other technical tools
  • paying artists, technologists and other collaborators
  • hiring studio, rehearsal, exhibition or event spaces
  • researching and integrating accessibility options for audiences’ access needs
  • making events or exhibitions more accessible, diverse and inclusive (by, for eg, paying for BSL interpreters, accessible formats, captioning, etc).
  • marketing your project and developing your audience 

See our funding guidelines below for a full breakdown of eligibility costs.

Alongside the funding we offer bespoke training and support:

  • Bespoke mentoring designed by Crossover Labs 
  • 3 x meetings with an Immersive Arts Producer
  • Facilitated peer-to-peer network
  • Nation-specific events and opportunities

Expand Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for Expand funding if:

  • you are an individual artist, creative practitioner or creative technologist
    (or)
  • you are applying on behalf of an arts-based organisation, small group or collective (10 people or fewer)
  • are based in the UK
  • are aged 18 or over
  • you have a UK bank account in your own name
  • your application is artist-led and/ or arts-focussed and uses technology to actively involve the audience (our definition of immersive art)
  • you have a project in development/ prototype/ proof-of-concept that has already been tested (including informally) with audiences / users 
  • you are applying for the full amount
  • your budget includes payment for your time and others involved in the project and does not include any ineligible costs. Read our guidelines for more details.


Eligible artists can submit one application in this round of funding, to either Explore, Experiment or Expand. You can apply for this round of funding regardless of whether you applied in a previous round.

How to apply

You can apply by audio, video or text, and in English, Welsh, or British Sign Language using our application portal.

Our funding guidelines are available to download below in English, Welsh, large print, Easy Read, British Sign Language and audio.

When to apply

The deadline for applications is Monday 29 September 2025 at 14:00.

Access support for your application

In some cases, we can help you with your application by supporting access costs, like support workers or interpreters.

The deadline to request access support is Monday 1 September 2025 at 17:00.

You can find more information about access support and how to contact us on our access support page.

Have any questions?

Other strands

There are three different strands of funding;

  • Explore (£5,000)
  • Experiment (£20,000)
  • Expand (£50,000)

You can find out more on our Funding page.

Unsure which funding strand to apply for?

Helpful resources

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