Future Screens NI & Arts Council of Northern Ireland publish artists & arts organisation survey of pandemic impact.

Future Screens NI and funding partner Arts Council of Northern Ireland have published findings of surveys with artists and arts organisation who received Emergency Funding support during the pandemic. The survey suggests the often devastating impact of the pandemic on Northern Ireland’s creative sector pointing to public funding as a lifeline to the sector. Between April 2020 and February 2021, the Arts Council co-designed and administered eight emergency programmes, with funding from the Department of Communities, to stabilise the sector, protect jobs and skills, and increase opportunities for people to access the arts during lockdown. £11.3 million was distributed through 2,869 grants to creative practitioners and £14.7 million through 501 grants to arts organisations. 

For more information on the survey visit here. 

Catalyst’s science, technology and engineering entrepreneurship programme is now open!

Northern Ireland technology networking hub and frequent Future Screens NI funded project collaborators Catalyst have opened the Co-Founders programme to ambitious and talented individuals or established teams interested in developing new product/service innovation focused on science, technology and engineering. The programme has attracted diverse participants such as: software engineers, data scientists, sales and marketing experts, medical professionals, mechanical engineers, researchers, undergraduates and PhDs – as well as professionals with many years of experience. Co-Founders is a unique entrepreneurship programme that helps you form a team with like-minded individuals, build creative confidence and develop a product that customers really want. It comprises two areas of focus: how to be a Co-Founder and how to develop a product and growth mindset.

For more information and to apply follow the link here.

Deepa Mann-Kler, CEO Neon chairs XR panel at BFI London Film Festival 12th Oct. 2pm.

Future Screens NI funding recipient, artist, Chief Executive at Immersive Technology company Neon and Visiting Professor in Immersive Futures at Ulster University, Deepa Mann-Kler will be moderating the panel discussion focusing on Extended Reality (XR) for the British Film Institute London Film Festival (LFF). The Escapism vs Confrontation: A Journey into Reality Through XR panel discussion will be held on 12th October at 2pm. The discussion will feature: Joel Kachi Benson, documentary filmmaker and Creative Director of virtual reality film studios VR360 Stories in Lagos, Nigeria, writer-director Natalia Almada, who won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary for her film Users which also screens at LFF2021 with Joel Kachi Benson & Natalia Almada discussing their work with XR technology.

For more information on this and other LFF events visit: 

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/industry-programme-65th-bfi-london-film-festival

Creative & Cultural Skills and ACNI offer Cultural Sector Employers free training for Fair Access.

Future Screen NI’s funding partner Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) have collaborated with Creative & Cultural Skills, the UK-wide agency working to support a skilled, accessible and fair cultural sector, to help strengthen the workforce and open up access to jobs, through a programme of free training. Cultural sector employers in Northern Ireland can now access the series of training sessions and 1:1 support free of charge, thanks to funding from the ACNI’s National Lottery fund. The training has been tailored specifically for Northern Ireland’s cultural sector and is designed to empower employers to adopt inclusive and lawful recruitment practices to support sector growth and develop a more diverse range of talent.

Sessions will take place online between September 2021 – March 2022 and will be led by Sarah Jones, Creative & Cultural Skills’ Head of Partnerships in Northern Ireland, alongside its UK-wide team.

For more information follow the link here.

Animator Corrina Askin completes R&D of animation shorts to support mental health awareness and wellbeing.

Future Screen NI’s Narrative Futures recipient Corrina Askin has completed the Research and Development project “Wilbur Story Moments” exploring the potential of reactive animated shorts to support positive responses in viewers. Working with the award-winning Visual Effects and Animation studio EnterYes, Corrina drew on her skills honed at the MA Animation, The Royal College of Art, London to create a series of animation ‘story moments’ to counter negative visceral or emotional reactions in viewers whilst supporting positive responses with an aim towards future interactive viewer engagement through voice and/or facial recognition technology.

This project was funded through the Future Screens NI Narrative Futures award.