BEYOND 2024
NOVEMBER 25-27
MEDIACITY, SALFORD
City Stories. Influential Leaders. Bold Strategies. Game Plans. Creative Policies.
BEYOND 2024 comes from MediaCity, Salford, where the last decade has seen a transformation of Greater Manchester's creative economy, now a key part of the north-west’s identity.
This year, we explore the innovative potential of Creative Cities, using MediaCity’s story as a launch pad amidst a new era in UK government.
What makes a world-leading creative city? With compelling stories from the UK and around the world, we’ll explore the building blocks and game plans that have brought creative cities to life.
We'll hear how innovation can flourish, and how technology will shape future city regions.
We'll delve into the roles of creative networks, hubs, cultural and research institutions, talent pipelines, networks, policy and culture.
We'll learn about bold strategies placing creativity at the heart of urban growth, the rise of new creative cities, and how they navigate the challenges of change.
EARLY BIRD TICKETS
AVAILABLE NOW!
We are excited to announce Early Bird tickets for BEYOND 2024 are now on sale.
Secure your BEYOND 2024 Early Bird tickets at the 2023 price of just £399+VAT - saving you more than £100 compared to our next ticket release. Plus, we’ll cover the booking fee!
Tickets include access to the full conference, partner events, exhibitions and social activities.
Concessionary rates are also available. See the ticket page for details.
2024 Programme
BEYOND 2023
Dates Announced
BEYOND goes Global – 21-22nd November 2023
This year BEYOND shines a spotlight on the huge role UK creatives are playing in international teams building some extraordinary ground-breaking projects and how this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of building new global partnerships for the creative industries.
The conference includes an engaging, two-day programme of talks, workshops, innovation showcases and UK research talent, taking place at London’s Royal Institution, as well as being available to watch live and on demand.
Tickets will be on sale very soon. Subscribe to the BEYOND newsletter or follow us on socials: Twitter, Linkedin or Facebook.
Intro
Intro
Intro
Intro
BEYOND is a unique, annual gathering of current and future innovators focused on Research and Development across the Creative Industries, bringing together world-leading researchers, makers, investors, business leaders, and thinkers.
In its fifth year, BEYOND 2022 headed to Cardiff. This year’s conference took place right in the heart of the Welsh capital, for delegates to enjoy a range of additional spaces for showcasing, dinners and networking at the iconic Cardiff City Hall and National Museum Cardiff. The conference offers a global audience access to a schedule of expert speakers, keynotes, panel discussions, think pieces and provocations, as well as Q&As and networking opportunities.
A showcase of industry leading projects and a poster exhibition also offered attendees access to cutting-edge work and researchers – before, during and after the conference.
Speakers
Speakers
BEYOND 2022 featured a unique and inspirational line up of expert speakers from across the creative industries, from renowned and established veterans to rising talent. It was a pleasure to welcome BAFTA nominated Jason Mohammad as this year’s conference MC. He was joined by a legendary line up featuring Sophie Howe (Future Generations Commissioner for Wales), actor Michael Sheen, futurist world-builder Alex McDowell, Claire Doherty (GALWAD) and Shirish Kulkarni (Journalist and researcher). See all confirmed BEYOND 2022 speakers.
SOPHIE HOWE, FUTURE GENERATIONS COMMISSIONER FOR WALES
MICHAEL SHEEN, ACTOR AND TV PRODUCER
Michael Sheen is an actor, producer and campaigner for social change. He has starred in three films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award: The Queen, directed by Stephen Frears, Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard, and Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen. His many award-winning stage performances include Caligula and Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Theatre, and Hamlet at the Young Vic. He created, co-directed, and performed in the groundbreaking three-day live event The Passion in Port Talbot for National Theatre Wales.
JASON MOHAMMAD, TV AND RADIO PRESENTER
Cardiff-born BBC TV and radio presenter Jason has fronted major TV events including the Olympics, FA Cup and World Cup finals, and the Six Nations but finds time for own show on BBC Radio Wales, co-owns a TV production company and has recently created his own media academy.
SHIRISH KULKARNI, NEWS STORYTELLING RESEARCHER, CLWSTWR
Shirish is an award-winning investigative journalist, researcher and community organiser. His work includes a wide range of journalism innovation and inclusion projects and the People’s Newsroom Initiative at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
CLAIRE DOHERTY, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, GALWAD / COLLECTIVE CYMRU
Claire Doherty MBE is an award-winning creative director and writer with an international reputation for ground-breaking place-based arts producing and artistic direction. Over the past two decades, she has produced film, art, TV and performance projects that challenge the ways in which we tell stories of the places we move through and inhabit.
ALEX MCDOWELL, DIRECTOR, WORLD BUILDING INSTITUTE AND THE WORLD BUILDING MEDIA LAB
Alex McDowell RDI is a narrative designer and creative director working in multi-platform experiential media. Throughout his 30-year career of production design, McDowell collaborated with directors including Steven Spielberg (Minority Report, The Terminal), Tim Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and David Fincher (Fight Club), among many others.
What’s On
What’s On
BEYOND 2022 offered a hybrid programme of in-person, live and catch-up sessions, showcase, demos and an early-career researcher poster exhibition, plus social and networking activities in Cardiff.
Conference Programme
Building on the success of the previous four BEYOND’s, the 5th annual conference offered a hybrid experience from Cardiff. A three day conference (18 – 20 Oct) featured expert speakers, keynotes, panel discussions, think pieces and provocations, Q&As and plenty more. Plus exhibitions showcasing UK excellence in research-driven creative innovation.
Poster Exhibition
Doctoral Candidates and Early Career Researchers were invited to submit abstracts to feature their work in the Poster Exhibition at BEYOND. Submissions focused on the main conference themes. If you are interested in applying to exhibit at BEYOND 2023, subscribe for updates and when submissions open.
Immersive Futures Lab
Every year, BEYOND features the Immersive Futures Lab, a showcase of innovation that 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, Spatial Audio and more.
Special Events
A variety of additional activities including social and networking events took place at the conference, together with local events in Cardiff.
Get Involved
BEYOND 2022 offered a range of opportunities for individuals and organisations to showcase their projects and research, host discussions and workshops, as well as meet new partners, funders and collaborators.
➤ Subscribe to the newsletter for news on how to participate in BEYOND 2023
Attend
Attend
Attend
Attend
ON-DEMAND
ON-DEMAND
Catch up on the sessions from BEYOND 2022 in Cardiff and Online in the On Demand section of the website with many inspirational, renowned and expert speakers from across the Creative Industries in the UK and beyond. A full playlist of sessions is also available.
2020
2019
Themes
Themes
The BEYOND 2022 conference will address questions crucial to our future creative industries, focused on understanding what part the creative industries should play in designing a zero-carbon future?
ZERO-CARBON FUTURE
Alongside operating more sustainably themselves, what role do the creative industries have in designing solutions? Can they imagine a future we want to live in and tell the stories of how we get there? How do young voices influence what happens next in a meaningful way?
BEYOND will convene Creative Industry leaders, researchers, policy makers, creators and artists to explore, aim to solve and understand:
- How do we find new ways to think about designing a zero-carbon future in an uncertain world?
- What is the role of the creative industries R&D in imagining and building the world for future generations?
- How can designing for the future be ambitious but realistic; adventurous but practical, optimistic but not naive?
- How do young voices get heard and their priorities meaningfully built into what happens next?
- What next for our research questions and agendas for action?
BLOG
BLOG
Christopher Smith on the AHRC’s Partnership with BEYOND 2024
BEYOND Conference is pleased to announce its renewed partnership with UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds internationally outstanding, independent researchers across...
What makes a MediaCity?
As BEYOND heads to MediaCity in Greater Manchester, Professor Andy Miah asks what made a ‘media city’ such a compelling idea. The concept of the “Media City” has enjoyed a varied history, born out of a set of specialised intellectual discourses that are found across a...
Why you shouldn’t let running a business get in the way of creativity
Guest post by Becki Cohen, Programme Manager - Digital Creative and Tech Sector, GM Business Growth Hub. “Creativity is essentially a lonely art. An even lonelier struggle. To some a blessing, to others a curse”, or so American graphic designer Lou Dorsfman...
BEYOND 2021
BEYOND 2021
Belfast, October 2021
BEYOND 2021 took the theme of place to look at how the Creative Industries are forming the heart of new vibrant cultural and creative economies. The 4th conference explored 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. BEYOND 2021 was a hybrid conference in partnership with Future Screens NI and supported by Belfast City Coucil and Matrix NI, offering live and catch-up sessions online or in person. Delegates and speakers in Belfast enjoyed a bespoke programme of activities, with location-based immersive experiences, networking, receptions and more, plus of course lots of fine Northern Irish hospitality.
