Creative Media, funding opportunities and digital futures

Jon Pratty/Arts Council England

Creative Media Policy - basics

In Achieving great art for everyone we talk of ‘the dizzying potential of digital technology in transforming the way we make, distribute, receive and exchange art.’

We want to unlock this largely untapped potential to create, share and link artistic and cultural works in ways made uniquely possible through digital media.

The public should be able to access publicly funded culture through digital media technologies, complementing and enhancing the live, place-based experiences that continue to form the backbone of the arts.

Creative Media Policy – three key areas

• ‘Born digital’ work native to and created for the digital space

• Mediation of existing art and cultural works

 • Arts and cultural reflection – supporting learning

and critical context

Creative Media policy - Key headings

• Skills and training• Talent development• Media production• Digital exhibition and distribution• Archives and collections• Data and metadata• Rights and intellectual property• Audience engagement and learning• Business models and organisational development

Direct funding opportunities for Creative Media

Digital Innovation Strategic Funding:

The Space (current pilot) (11/12) £3.5 million (already allocated)

The Space (set aside for future phase) (12-15) £8 million

Digital R&D Fund for the Arts (12-15) £6 million

 

Total Investment 2012-15 £17.5 million

Digital Research and Development Fund

Partnership between ACE, AHRC and NESTA

Supports collaboration between organisations with art projects, tech providers and researchers

Enhancing audience reach and developing new business models

Fund open until December 2013 for expressions of interest, then full applications after that.

Accessibility is particularly highlighted

Digital R & D fund- what kind of projects?

UGC and Social media

Distribution and exhibition

Mobile, location and games

Data and archives

Resources

Education and learning projects

Other relevant funding streams

• Grants for the Arts

• Strategic Touring Fund

• Creative People and Places

• Capital Funding

• Renaissance

What are we funding?

• Streaming Out – three networking seminars about new kinds of real-time digital culture

• Ideas Camps – Blast Theory leading three in-depth idea generation and mentoring groups across SE area

• Culture Kent Pathfinder project – a Culture/Tourism open data multi-platform project

• Digital Accessibility Culture Hack – all about bringing together deaf and disabled artists and technical facilitators to generate supremely accessible digital culture

Ambition? Raising the bar

• Achieving great art and culture for everyone• Digital - situating publicly-funded culture in society• Reaching people already ahead of us as digital

consumers and audiences• Looking inwards within culture spaces• Is our first outreach audience ourselves?

Participatory culture – a new challenge

• Understanding chances to make new connections • Not negative or regressive in terms of skills or authority• A further step on from traditional art & curatorial values• Establishing trust, scholarship and educational values• Broad connections making new meanings from familiar

objects and ideas

Skills for the future

• Not developing, coding, understanding digital systems or having your teeth pulled out

• Culture, learning and relationships are key • Our world is becoming a giant database• Everything is connected• Understanding the new connections is key• But it’s not about technology

That’s all

Jon Pratty

Relationship Manager, Digital and Creative Economy

Arts Council England

jon.pratty@artscouncil.org.uk