Creativity + Technology + Culture + For Everyone
Taking the energy of BEYOND Conference off the stage and into the room, each event is immersive, social and FREE — expect live performances, hands-on workshops and conversations you won’t find anywhere else. Festival is the chance for everyone to be part of the conversation. It recognises the success and value of previous Fringe events and brings them into the heart of the programme – events like last year’s Creative Mixer at Hot House in Salford — a sell-out night of live performance, spatial audio, digital art and creative tech.

Produced in partnership with Salford City Council, MediaCity, University of Salford and GM Business Growth Hub.

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What does the experience economy look like in 2026, and where is it going next? Professor Andy Miah sets the agenda for the day by examining forces redefining how experiences are created and valued. From audience behaviours and AI-driven discovery to participatory culture and the convergence of physical and digital space, he reveals a sector in transition. Drawing on events, festivals, sport and place-based innovation, this session identifies the shifts that policymakers, researchers and producers need to understand and act on now.

Andy Miah, Chair of Science Communication & Future Media, University of Salford, Manchester

As audiences seek more immersive and participatory encounters, familiar stories, characters and fantasy worlds are moving beyond the screen and into physical places. A new generation of interactive technologies can make those places responsive; recognising visitors, remembering their choices and adapting to their actions. This session explores how recognisable IP can become a place audiences actively shape, creating encounters that feel personal while preserving the shared experience. How can audiences shape a familiar story without losing what makes it distinctive? Can an experience feel personal and still be shared? And what creative possibilities emerge when that world plays back?

Kate O’Connor, Executive Chair, Animation UK

Kim-Leigh Pontin, Interactive Experience Creative Lead, Merlin Entertainments

From emotionally responsive robots to mechanical performers taking the stage, Creative Robotics is opening new possibilities for storytelling, performance and entertainment. Dr Hooman Samani’s work brings together social robotics, human-robot relationships and artistic practice, treating robots not simply as tools but as expressive agents and creative collaborators. Grounded in research spanning robotic theatre, cultural robotics and embodied interaction, this visual and impactful talk explores what robotic performance means for the experience economy: how audiences engage, feel and remember.

Hooman Samani, Creative Robotics Reader, University of the Arts London

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in collaboration with UKRI India, the India-UK Research into Creative Industries and Cultural Heritage programme explores how arts and humanities research can strengthen connections between people, communities and organisations across the UK and India. From supporting film festivals to uncovering the stories of post offices, this interactive panel will discuss how research can engage communities and create meaningful cultural impact. Join the panel as they explore how the cultural and creative industries contribute to thriving communities and shared prosperity. 

Video games sit at the vanguard of the experience economy, but their value reaches far beyond entertainment. GAMEHEARTS explores how games connect people to culture, communities and one another and what happens when the games sector collaborates with sport, heritage and live performance. Drawing on research with Ubisoft, City Football Group, Imperial War Museums and the London Symphony Orchestra, this lightning talk reveals how gaming can create new experiences, broaden access and help cultural organisations meaningfully engage younger, more diverse audiences.

Garry Crawford, Professor of Cultural Sociology, The University of Salford

Southbank Centre’s new Creative Intelligence festival turns the Centre into a public testing ground for the relationship between art, technology and human agency. It invites audiences to encounter digital innovation and AI through demos, installations, performance, debate and hands-on experimentation. Two months later, co-curators Keri Elmsly and Mark Ball will share what they learned from this live public prototype: how people engaged, where barriers remained and how cultural institutions can make technological innovation open, participatory and genuinely public.

Keri Elmsly, Founder and Chief Curator, PACT

What happens when you bring AI-powered characters into immersive physical experiences?
Meaning Machine has extensive experience creating AI-powered characters and immersive, location-based games. This session explores what happens when those two strands come together in CultureQuest: character-led quests designed for museums. Building on learnings from projects including LANDER 23, created with Punchdrunk, the talk will explore how CultureQuest brings AI characters to life within museum spaces, sending visitors on interactive quests that encourage discovery and build deeper connections with collections.
Joined by Dr Richard Cole from the University of Bristol, the team will share research and design learnings from their initial implementation at Bristol Museums, and how these are shaping the next stage of the project: a pilot with the Science Museum Group at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.

Richard Cole, Senior Lecturer in Digital Futures, University of Bristol

Four talks open the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Experience Day programme, delivered on behalf of UKRI. Each offers a case study in access-led R&D: a rhythm game built from beats created with migrant communities; an exhibition curated with and for blind and visually impaired people; an immersive theatre piece exploring menopause and bodily autonomy; and haptic technology that turns live music audiences into active participants. Different artforms, one golden thread: UKRI-supported research putting underrepresented groups; voices and experiences at the centre of the work.

Aaron McPeake, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of the Arts London

Deepa Mann-Kler, CEO, Neon

Myra Appannah, CO-DIRECTOR / ARTIST, BRiGHTBLACK

Pod Bluman, Project Director, Bluman Associates Ltd

Where does the audience really sit in the development of creative and cultural work: an afterthought, or part of how it’s made? This panel brings together researchers working across audience research, inclusive design and immersive technology to discuss access, representation and what the evidence says about participation, and how technology can be used to amplify underrepresented voices.

Angela Chan, Professor of Creative Industries, CoSTAR National Lab

Ken Wilder, Professor of Aesthetics, University of the Arts London

Sarah Atkinson, Professor of Screen Media / Director ADAPT-AI, King’s College London

How can we experience a place before it exists? David Edge, Experiential Environments Practice Leader at Arup, reveals how technologies developed through film, gaming and immersive environments are changing the design of buildings and infrastructure. Through Arup’s Experience Labs and high-fidelity digital simulations, designers, communities and decision-makers can inhabit proposals together, testing not only how places look, but how they will feel, function and be experienced.

David Edge, Associate Director, Arup

Join fellow delegates to celebrate creativity, collaboration and innovation. Explore new projects shaping the future of immersive storytelling and creative R&D — and connect with the people making it happen.

BEYOND’s Growth day explores how we fund and scale creative innovation sustainably, bringing together investors, founders, policymakers and cluster leads working to unlock the creative industries as one of the most dynamic investment frontiers of our time.

This breakfast opens that conversation. Join us to explore good, sustainable growth in practice, from grants and seed investment through to venture capital, debt and accelerator support, including
GM Business Growth Hub’s Creative Industries Accelerator, with funders and founders working across CreaTech and IP-driven growth offering a practical guide to the investment landscape
shaping Greater Manchester’s creative economy.

Co-hosted with GM Business Growth Hub. Part of BEYOND’s Growth day (Build, Fund & Scale), Wed
8-9.30am open to Conference and Festival ticket holders.

How do we understand and measure growth in the creative industries? Join Giorgio Fazio (Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre) and Iain Bennett (The Fifth Sector) for a high-level scene setter exploring the drivers of economic growth. Balancing national evidence with local and regional perspectives, this fireside chat will examine critical trends – from the influence of AI and the freelance workforce to the impact of devolution. Together, they will bridge the gap between data and policy, setting the stage for the day’s discussions on funding, innovation, and the future of the sector.

Iain Bennett, Creative Alchemist, The Fifth Sector

For fifty years, Aardman has created characters and stories loved around the world. Emma Hardie, Aardman’s Executive Commercial and Brand Director, shares how craft, character and emotional connection become lasting commercial value. From creating Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, to expanding into new platforms, immersive experiences and creative partnerships, discover how Aardman takes its unmistakable worlds into new places with purpose: choosing opportunities that bring audiences closer, open new possibilities for growth and protect the creative integrity of its intellectual property. A story of imagination, stewardship and fifty years of knowing what audiences love.

Caroline Meaby, Head of Programmes and Engagement, OKRE (Opening Knowledge across Research and Entertainment)

Emma Hardie, Executive Commercial and Brand Director, Aardman

Join Innovate UK Business Connect for a fast-paced, facilitated networking session designed specifically for creative innovators, founders, and industry partners.
This interactive session will help participants build valuable new connections, exchange ideas, discover collaboration opportunities and expand their networks across the creative industries ecosystem.
Through a series of structured conversations, attendees will meet potential collaborators and explore innovation challenges and opportunities.
 Whether you are seeking partners for future R&D projects, exploring routes to funding, or looking to connect with others working at the intersection of creativity and technology, this session provides an opportunity to make meaningful connections in a short space of time.
 In addition participants will meet the Team and learn more about the Next Wave programme of support for high growth potential creative innovators available from Innovate UK.
 Participants will leave with new contacts, fresh insights and a stronger understanding of the innovation, growth and funding opportunities available to creative businesses and entrepreneurs.

This panel will explore new perspectives on sustainability in the cultural and creative industries, highlighting the role of craft and design in supporting economic growth. Drawing on projects funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s India-UK programme, panellists will reflect on progress to date and discuss how international collaborations can deliver lasting impact while maintaining a sustainable approach to growth. They will also consider the future direction of this work and its implications for the wider cultural and creative industries sector. 

A look at the partnership behind Universal United Kingdom Resort, one of the largest ever investments in the UK tourism sector and a destination set to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
 
This conversation will look at the planned theme park and resort and also consider the investment in transport, infrastructure and skills needed to realise a project of this scale. How can it create new opportunities for performers, designers, technicians and creatives, build a new talent pipeline, and stimulate sustainable growth across the region? Join senior representatives from Universal and DCMS to learn more.

Gidon Freeman, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Universal Destinations and Experiences

Wake The Tiger transformed the storytelling ambition of Boomtown Festival into Bristol’s permanent, artist-led Amazement Park. Now the team is taking its original concept to London. Chief Commercial Officer Lucy Jarjoura joins Creative UK’s Hannah Long to share the realities of building a category-defying business without a blueprint. Together, they examine the choices, pressures and partnerships behind its growth, from protecting creative integrity to securing investment and expanding at speed. The conversation considers what productive relationships between founders, leadership teams and funders look like, and what it takes to grow an ambitious creative business without losing its distinct identity.

Hannah Long, Portfolio Manager, Creative UK

Lucy Jarjoura, Chief Marketing Officer, Wake The Tiger

The Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Growth Day programme opens with its biggest announcement of the year: a DCMS minister reveals the new wave of AHRC Creative Industries Clusters, framed by Cathy Kerfoot’s IS8 context-setting. Followed by Richard Cox’s introduction to AHRC’s first Commercialisation Strategy, and CoSTAR previews live funding opportunities landing this autumn. Four moments, one message: public and place based investment in creative R&D is entering a new, more joined-up phase.

Audra Gill, Head of Creative Industries, Arts and Humanities Research Council

How do we redesign funding so marginalised creators can access it, and unlock new kinds of innovation in the process?

Join Ida XR Studio and XR Stories as they convene representatives from UK research institutions responsible for distributing R&D funding and creative practitioners to ask what a genuinely inclusive funding ecosystem looks like, and how the creative technology sector can build one. The session will unpack the barriers to applying for funding, share research findings, and discuss community-designed recommendations for developing more open innovation practices.

Part panel, part open exchange – join the session to help shape what comes next. Presented by XR Stories and IDA XR Studio

Join XR Stories to explore new research on the range of virtual production infrastructure at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Discover the capabilities and applications that are driving CreaTech research and innovation, and hear about the challenges facing people working at the facilities.

With much of this infrastructure enabled by significant institutional and public investment, the panel will reflect on the challenges of moving from initial capital investment to long-term sustainability, and the priorities shaping the future of CreaTech R&D infrastructure in the context of new UKRI investment in a second Creative Industries Clusters Programme and new CoSTAR Labs.

Presented by XR Stories

Design is everywhere. From film and fashion to digital, gaming, architecture and advertising, design is the golden thread that connects industries and turns ideas into experiences, products, services and businesses that people can use, love and trust. New evidence from the Design Council shows that design generates £136.7bn of UK GVA, with two-thirds of that value created by designers working beyond traditional design industries. Discover how design, across the Creative Industries and beyond, is driving innovation, commercialisation, productivity and good growth in every part of the UK.

Presented by the Design Council

What does a genuinely joined-up approach across UKRI look like for the creative industries? Building on the Creative PEC’s landscape overview earlier in the day, this closing panel brings together UKRI research councils to map the pipelines forming between AHRC’s infrastructure and talent investment and Innovate UK’s route to scale. The conversation asks what coordination between these bodies actually unlocks in practice — and what it means for creative businesses trying to grow.

Cathy Kerfoot, Creative Industries Programme Director, UKRI

Joanna Choukeir, Deputy Director Creative Industries, Innovate UK, UKRI

Following the highlights stage announcement, this session gives the new Creative Industries Clusters an opportunity to introduce themselves in more depth. It will feature short films from each cluster, followed by a conversation between the current cohort, MusicFutures and CreaTech Frontiers, and the incoming clusters about the lessons learned so far. Open to the wider audience for anyone who wants to know more about the newly announced clusters and future opportunities.

Audra Gill, Head of Creative Industries, Arts and Humanities Research Council

Lamberto Coccioli, Director, CreaTech Frontiers