Building Bridges Through Creative Technology: A BEYOND Journey by Marc Boothe
As the Brixton-based Founder and Creative Director of B3 Media, a creative arts network, I established back in 2000, I’ve had the opportunity to witness countless ‘aha’ moments. These moments fuel my passion for championing diverse and underrepresented talent across film, visual arts, and creative technology.
Our work contributes to the ongoing efforts to address the persistent lack of diversity in the UK’s creative industries, where recent research from the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre’s (Creative PEC) report “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Audiences and Workforce”, published in 2023, shows that 90% of the arts, culture, and heritage workforce is white, compared to 85% of the general workforce. We support emerging talent not only locally but also nationally and through international collaborations.
Today, with Arts Council England’s support, TalentLab XR is one of our initiatives designed to nurture creative talent, our flagship artist development programme, and our microstudio. At B3 Media, we recognise the systemic challenges that underrepresented creators face in accessing funding and development pathways in the creative technology sector. Our programmes are designed to bridge these gaps, providing not just skills and resources, but also crucial networking opportunities and exposure to cutting-edge developments in the field.
Tell us about your experience with the BEYOND conference
My journey with BEYOND began in Wales 2022, leading me to return for London 2023. What continues to draw me back is the conference’s ability to spark meaningful connections between creative practice, technology, and cultural innovation. Over these two days, you might find yourself discussing AI ethics with an academic, exploring possibilities with a funder or potential collaborator, or sharing insights with an artist pushing boundaries in immersive storytelling.
How has attending BEYOND benefited you and your organisation?
BEYOND keeps us connected to vital industry developments. BEYOND has consistently spotted what’s next for the sector – from CoSTAR’s tech infrastructure programme to UWE’s Immersive Arts programme. These early insights help us guide our artists towards emerging opportunities.
For instance, our TalentLab XR development lab was created in response to the growing importance of immersive storytelling. We’ve seen remarkable progress in our artists’ journeys, from initial concept development to securing significant opportunities on international platforms. Animator Comfort Arthur secured Arts Council England’s DYCP award to expand into AR and game design, musician Marcus Joseph’s “Jazz Maze VR” was selected for WOMEX 24, and 3D artist Lara Kobeissi’s “Nazar VR” will be showcased at the Contemporary Arts Festival in Cairo in November. Through the Future Art and Culture Connect programme, led by British Underground, these and other B3 associate artists have also gained invaluable exposure to cutting-edge immersive projects, built international networks, and further developed their creative concepts at SXSW 2024.
This short trailer offers a glimpse of the work emerging from our programmes:
What are you most looking forward to at this year’s BEYOND conference?
This year marks a new phase in our relationship with BEYOND. Thanks to support from the BEYOND Conference team and Arts Council England, we’re bringing a group of makers from our Immersive Lab programme to experience the conference first-hand. I can’t wait to see their eyes light up as they discover new possibilities and make connections that could shape their creative futures.
For many diverse and underrepresented talents, access to events of this calibre often remains out of reach due to cost barriers. I’m particularly looking forward to deeper conversations about diversity within the creative technology sector. As organisations working in talent development, we need to address both the opportunities and systemic challenges that impact underrepresented creators’ access to funding and development pathways. The participating artists will bring fresh perspectives to these important dialogues, potentially helping to inform how the sector can build more inclusive pathways into creative technology.
With the full programme for BEYOND 2024 announced this week, I’m interested in sessions that focus on the intersection of emerging technologies and diverse storytelling. Networking opportunities with potential collaborators and funders are always useful.
I hope this year’s event will help us forge new partnerships and uncover innovative ways to support our artists in navigating the rapidly evolving creative tech landscape.
What are you working on now?
Next month, we’re launching our Immersive Lab digital residency programme, which will support up to 20 artists over the next 6 months as they explore early-stage immersive projects. This builds naturally on what we’ve learned through our TalentLab XR programme. I’m excited to join conversations at BEYOND in November – these gatherings remind us how much we learn from each other in this space. Each year brings new possibilities for collaboration and innovation, and that’s what makes these connections so valuable.
Marc Boothe is Founder & Creative Director of B3 Media. For more information about B3 Media and our programmes, contact:
[email protected]
www.b3media.net