Explore

What would you do with £5,000 to explore immersive arts?

If you have a creative practice but little or no experience of immersive arts/ technologies, you could get funding, support and advice to be curious and spark some new thinking.

Ideal for...

The Explore strand of funding aims to support artists with:

  • early stage exploration of immersive technologies
  • developing basic immersive arts skills and knowledge
  • experiencing immersive artworks
  • meeting potential collaborators
  • expanding their networks.

Focus

Successful applicants will be supported for up to six months (i.e. for the duration of their projects) by the Immersive Arts producers and wider network.

Timelines

  • February 2025 Awarded artists announced
  • March - August 2024 Projects carried out

Applications for Round 1 of funding are now closed. Round 2 of Immersive Arts funding will open in Spring 2025.

Sign up to our newsletter to find out more.

Visit our Youtube account  to watch our Funding Webinar and Inspiration Day.

 

Why Apply?

Are you an artist with a curious mind who’d like to push the limits of your practice? We hope that’s why you’re reading this, and why you will apply.

You could use the funding for:

  • planning, researching and developing, 
or delivering, a new 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 audience testing 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 (Expand and Experiment only)

See the Funding Guidelines
for a full breakdown of eligible costs.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for an Immersive Arts grant if you:

  • are an individual artist, creative 
practitioner or creative technologist
  • are an arts-based organisation, small group 
or collective (10 people or fewer for Experiment 
and Explore, up to 50 people for Expand)
  • are based in the UK
  • are aged 18 or over
  • have a UK bank account in your own name.

See the Funding Guidelines for more information.

How to apply

To apply for a grant, you’ll need to create an account 
in our application portal. We recommend reading this step-by-step guide before you start your application.

Please apply for the full amount stated for each strand.

When to apply

Explore and Experiment applicants will be notified in February 2025.

Anyone applying to Expand will be contacted in January 2025, when shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview.

Rounds two and three will open in Spring 2025 and 2026.

Apply now to Explore, Experiment or Expand.

Access support

You can apply by audio, video or text, and 
in English or Welsh, or British Sign Language. If you need to apply in a different format or require additional support (like sign language interpreters), then please just let us know. We may be able to provide financial assistance.

Requesting
access support
for applications

If you need this information in any other format, access support to apply, or have any other access questions, 
send us an email or call or text on 07123 456 789.

Note our phone is only staffed during daytime working hours – if you call outside those hours just leave a message and someone will get back to you.

The deadline for access support is 4 November 2024, four weeks before the application deadline, which gives us a bit 
of time to ensure you get the support you need.

Access support
for funded projects

We can provide additional funding to successful applicants to support a range of access requirements (eg, paying a support worker, scribe or sign language interpreter).

Mentoring and training support offered along with the funding can be adapted for those with access requirements and/ or caring roles.

For example the Development Labs run by Crossover 
Labs as part of the Experiment awards will have three alternative, flexible options:

  • Residential – one week (five days).
  • Online – five days spread over five weeks.
  • Relaxed track – ten half days over a longer 
duration in response to each cohort, with 
online and in person options.

Get in touch to find out more.

Have any questions?
Visit our FAQs page here

Submission Checklist

  • Watched our Inspiration Day Session or our Funding Webinar on YouTube?
  • Downloaded the Funding Guidelines & read the FAQs?
  • Downloaded the Application Form to work out your answers offline?
  • Used the Schedule & Budget templates to help you map out your ideas?
  • Checked the Guidance on fair pay on page 18-19 of the Funding Guidelines?