Digital Innovation Fund for the Arts launched in Wales

Eight arts projects will be selected to receive £5,000 and business support from the Digital Innovation Fund for the Arts, being launched by the Arts Council of Wales and Nesta to help organisations experiment with digital technologies. A number of these will then receive up to £75,000 and additional business and research support to deliver their plans over nine months. The new scheme builds on the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Wales, which funded seven projects between 2013 and 2015 to work on digital technology collaborations, and a similar Nesta-led initiative now coming to an end in England.

Lisa Matthews, Portfolio Manager for the Digital Innovation Fund for the Arts, praised the bravery of many Welsh arts organisations in embracing digital technology, highlighting the role that the Fund could play in overcoming knowledge, confidence and resource barriers: “By working closely with arts organisations from project conception, right through to scaling great ideas, we hope we can uncover the potential for digital technology to transform their work and help foster a culture of innovation in Wales.”

Organisations intending to apply are invited to work with technology partners to find new solutions to challenges, and to attend open workshops to shape their ideas.