20 - 21 OCTOBER 2021
BEYOND - where creativity meets R&D
A conference from 20 - 21 October 2021, where thinkers, makers, investors and researchers across the creative industries come together to explore the relationship between creative research and business innovation. Join us in Belfast and online for the 4th annual BEYOND.
BEYOND 2021
BEYOND 2021
Belfast, 20 – 21 October 2021
BEYOND 2021 will take the theme of place to look at how the Creative Industries are forming the heart of new vibrant cultural and creative economies.
This year’s conference will explore the role of creativity and creative tech in forming and navigating new places. There is a big space opening for the Creative Industries to lead the way with mission driven research and innovation to reimagine, reinvent and reinvigorate place.
Planned as a hybrid conference, BEYOND 2021 offers live and catch-up sessions online or in person, as delegates and speakers are welcome in Belfast to experience a bespoke programme of activities, with location-based immersive experiences, networking, receptions and more, plus of course lots of fine Northern Irish hospitality.
Titanic Belfast, BEYOND venue for 2021
Don’t miss a lively two day programme of 50+ expert speakers, with keynotes, panel discussions, think pieces and provocations, Q&As and a showcase of leading projects and research.
Stay tuned to the BEYOND newsletter for updates on this years hybrid conference and keep your eyes peeled on @BeyondCnf for all the latest.
Themes
Themes
The BEYOND 2021 programme will explore questions and ideas around the theme of Creative Places.
Old certainties are breaking down. In places where we used to make things, we must now make decisions. Political centres are paying attention to those on the margins and a place-based agenda is taking hold to drive economic development.
CREATIVE PLACES
There is a big space opening for the Creative Industries to lead the way with mission driven research and innovation to reimagine, reinvent and reinvigorate place.
BEYOND 2021 will take the theme of place to look at how the Creative Industries are forming the heart of new vibrant cultural and creative economies.
BEYOND will convene Creative Industry leaders, researchers, policy makers, creators and artists to understand:
》How place influences the shape these economies take
》How the success of creative places can be locked in for the long haul
》How we build talent pipelines to meet the ambitions
》The role of imagination, risk-taking and research
》How creative technologies augment and connect places both real and virtual
》The roles of identity and diversity in places and spaces
》How these place-based creative economies link to each other and the wider world
BEYOND IN BELFAST
BEYOND 2021 comes from Belfast, Northern Ireland, a region that knows just how intricate the ties between place, identity and power can be. It is also where exciting experiments and ideas are playing out with the expansion of the screen industries right at the heart of a plan for economic renewal. It is a uniquely useful location to be thinking about the place-based missions for the Creative Industries.
What’s On
What’s On
BEYOND 2021 offers a hybrid programme of in-person, live and catch-up sessions, showcase and an early-career researcher poster exhibition, plus a programme of location-based immersive experiences and activities for those in Belfast.
Conference Programme
Building on the success of the previous three annual BEYOND’s, the 4th conference in October 2021 will offer a hybrid experience from Belfast, with two days featuring expert speakers, including keynotes, panel discussions, think pieces and provocations, Q&As and plenty more. It also includes two exhibitions showcasing UK excellence in research-driven creative innovation with a showcase and poster exhibition of innovative projects and research.
Poster Exhibition
Doctoral Candidates and Early Career Researchers are invited to submit abstracts to feature their work in this years’s Poster Exhibition at BEYOND. In line with the main focus of the conference, submissions are to be centred on the concept of place as a central theme, reflecting on the role and influence of the Creative Industries over the formation of creative and cultural economies in a place. Full application details are available here. Submissions due by Mon 23 August.
Immersive Futures Lab
The Immersive Futures Lab at BEYOND 2021 offers delegates the chance to experience cutting-edge creative projects demonstrating innovative ideas, new types of content and novel uses of technologies – to include early-stage prototypes utilising technologies including Virtual Reality, Haptics, Spacial Audio and more. See full details here and apply by Monday 23 August.
Partner Events programme
BEYOND 2021 will also include a programme of partner events, including workshops, short talks and masterclasses to help facilitate and encourage knowledge-sharing, collaboration and new partnerships, as well as to showcase research and innovation from across the Creative Industries.
ON-DEMAND
ON-DEMAND
2020
2019
BLOG
BLOG
Welcome to Belfast
BEYOND is delighted to announce Belfast as our home for the 2021 event and to share Professor Paul Moore, Director, Future Screens Northern Ireland, reflections on this year’s conference theme and why Belfast is the perfect location to explore how imagined spaces as...
Shows From the Small Screen: Latest Research Considers ‘Audiences at a Time of Pandemic’
This year our smartphones, computers and TV screens became our default windows to the world - for news, entertainment and human connection. As gigs, theatres and the majority of cultural experiences disappeared from physical view, we saw a whole of host of unique...
Day Two @ BEYOND 2020: Convergence – exploring new types of experiences
Day two at BEYOND took the theme of Convergence to look at the disruption that is already happening in the Creative Industries, the genres and disciplines converging to produce new types of experiences and the opportunities they present for...
TICKETS
TICKETS
About
About
About
About
BEYOND is a unique, annual gathering of current and future innovators focused on Research and Development across the Creative Industries.
In its fourth year, BEYOND 2021 (20 – 21 October) is a hybrid conference offering our global community the chance to join us online for live and catch-up sessions, as well as welcoming delegates and speakers to Belfast, Northern Ireland in person from 19 October.
Due to the pandemic, BEYOND 2020 became a virtual conference, offering its global community a flexible programme of live and catch-up sessions. The main stage offered provocations and insights from over 175 expert speakers from the worlds of theatre, music, gaming, TV and film, and visitor attractions. A showcase of industry leading projects and a poster exhibition offered atttendees access to cutting-edge work and researchers – before, during and after the conference.
Attend
Attend
Attend
Attend
Through a period of absolute disruption, BEYOND 2020 considered what we learnt about the adoption of new and emerging technologies and audiences across the creative industries, and how it’s influencing future developments around the globe.
For 2021, BEYOND focuses on Creative Places as a hybrid conference, offering an international community the opportunity to join online, as well as welcoming delegates and speakers to Belfast in person for a programme including location-based immersive experiences, access to view the new Screen and Media Innovation Lab facilities, networking and VIP receptions, and lots of fine Northern Irish hospitality and very possibly swords and dragons…
WHERE CREATIVITY MEETS R&D
CONNECT with future collaborators, researchers and funders
EXPLORE pioneering R&D projects across the UK’s Creative Industries
ENGAGE with the global conversation on innovation, creativity and opportunity
For Business
- Connect with creative innovators, thinkers, experts and researchers
- Discover the latest innovations and creative technologies shaking up and redefining our sector
- Case studies from groundbreaking projects
- Experience first-hand demos from pioneering projects
- Find collaborators, researchers and funders to build your organisation’s capabilities
- Explore international inward UK investment opportunities
For Researchers
- Discover recent developments in the creative arts
- Connect with creative industry pioneers
- Experience and engage with practice-led research projects
- Connect and collaborate with leading creative tech businesses and industry stakeholders
- Indulge in a core programme of thought-provoking panel debates and roundtables
- Interact with local and international tech enthusiasts and experts
In Partnership with
