Artists working with creative technology face a challenging landscape. Rising costs, shrinking budgets, and risk-averse funding models make it harder than ever to develop bold new work—especially when that work relies on research and experimentation.
In response, in 2024–25 we redesigned our R&D and mentoring scheme to create something different: an experimental long-form residency programme supporting three artists or companies with £10,000 each to develop a new project. Our aim was to give them the time, space, and backing needed to take ambitious ideas into the production stage.
We invited artists we’d previously worked with to apply, receiving a large number of promising proposals. From these, three projects were selected:
- All the Beautiful Things by theatremaker Liv Ello: a one-person stage show exploring toxic masculinity, using experimental projection.
- Queer Visions of the Future by aerial artist Zaki Musa: a theatre show combining aerial acrobatics with live stable diffusion processes, looking at queerness and AI.
- The Roar by children’s theatre company Anatomical (directed by Anna Williams and Tom Roden): an interactive video installation celebrating girls’ football and the shared experience of watching live sport.
The residencies launched with a two-day kickoff lab at Norwich Theatre’s Stage Two in July 2024, where artists presented their ideas and experimented with technology. From September to December, each project had a programme of in-person R&D, supported by Collusion and hosted at two of our partner venues: Cambridge Junction (for Liv and Zaki) and DanceEast (for Anatomical).
The artists worked alongside fantastic collaborators: lighting designer Lily Woodford and dramaturge Frankie Thompson (for Liv); dancer Rhys Dennis, tech artist Karen Eng, and stable diffusion specialist Marlon Barrios Solano (for Zaki); and sound designer Gareth Williams and VJ Jim Horsfield (for Anatomical).
We also supported each artist as they sought further funding to take their projects into full production. While there were some setbacks, the artists have continued to move forward. Liv is now receiving production support from XOLabs and space in kind from Cambridge Junction; Anatomical are running co-creation workshops with the Battery of Ideas; and Zaki has secured a two-week residency and £2,000 bursary through The Place’s Choreodrome programme.
Collusion will keep supporting these projects as they take their next steps. We’re proud to have helped create the conditions for new, ambitious work with creative technology to grow—even in challenging times.
Artists
Residency artists
Collaborators
Marlon Barrios Solano
Rhys Dennis
Karen Eng
Jim Horsfield
Frankie Thompson
Gareth Williams
Lily Woodford