In partnership with MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub (MITIH), as part of the Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator programme, and University of Salford, FutureEverything has been commissioned to curate and produce an exciting new creative engagement programme and series of digital arts commissions for Salford and Greater Manchester.

Designed to cultivate, rejuvenate and level-up the innovation ecosystem that suffered during the pandemic, the Cultural Accelerator programme will explore the ways that creative innovation can be used to identify areas for business growth, using artistic commissions as a tool to help companies explore new territories.

Cultural Accelerator takes place within the heart of MediaCity from June to November 2024, including a consultation process to engage Greater Manchester private sector digital organisations, and an artist residency format with creatives working within the context of digital arts practice to explore emerging technologies within creative industries such as games technology, virtual production and AI.

Artists from diverse disciplines—including theatre, music, sound art, game design, visual art, and sculpture—will collaborate with private sector organisations to expand their skills, develop new creative vocabularies, and take bold artistic risks. The first Cultural Accelerator artists program will delve into imaginative concepts like the landscape of our dreams, a string quartet, digital interpretations of music of the deep sea, and Thai mythology.

As part of the Cultural Accelerator programme, three artists will be commissioned to premier three new major artworks in MediaCity this coming November. Alongside those commissions, eight artists from a range of backgrounds will also be awarded R&D funding to develop skills and ideas that will later be shared at a public forum.