About Beyond
About Beyond
BEYOND is an annual conference for thinkers, makers, investors and researchers across the creative industries, exploring the relationship between creative research and business innovation.
A unique gathering of current and future innovators focused on Research and Development across the Creative Industries, the conference brings together business leaders, creatives, researchers, policy makers, journalists and funders, providing an opportunity for delegates to CONNECT with future collaborators, EXPLORE pioneering R&D projects and ENGAGE with the global conversation on innovation, creativity & opportunity.
For its 5th year, BEYOND will take place in-person in Cardiff and online, with another carefully curated programme of R&D creative innovation, expert speakers, ground-breaking projects and lots more, including soon-to-be-announced programming from BEYOND partners.
This year’s conference theme will address questions crucial to our future creative industries, asking what part should the creative industries play in designing a zero-carbon future? Tickets are available here.
Last year’s conference was hosted in Belfast, and in 2020 went fully virtual due to the pandemic. Before that, delegates visited Edinburgh in 2019 and London in 2018 for the inaugural BEYOND conference.
Each year, BEYOND is attended by organisations from across the creative industries (gaming, film & tv, music, fashion, theatre, visual arts & more), including AARDMAN, ASOS, BBC, SONY PUNCHDRUNK, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY & many more pioneering names.
Attendees can expect lively Q&As and discussions across breakout sessions, workshops, seminars, special events, networking, showcases, demos and more.
BEYOND 2022 is supported by its Founding Partner UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council, together with Programme Partners UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK and Immerse UK with Event Partners Clwstwr, Invest In Cardiff, Creative Wales and Cardiff Capital Region.
For a flavour of what’s to come, check out last year’s conference highlights below:
The Audience
The Audience
WHERE CREATIVITY MEETS R&D
- CONNECT with future collaborators, researchers and funders
- EXPLORE pioneering R&D projects across the UK’s Creative Industries
- ENGAGE with the global conversation on innovation, creativity and opportunity
Academia & Business
BEYOND 2019 provided a chance for academics, businesses and organisations working in the creative industries to explore the future of the sector. This included companies and research organisations supported by over £110m of UK government funding as part of the Industrial Strategy including the Creative Clusters, Audience of the Future and Immersive Experiences programmes.
Why Attend?
Discover the benefits of attending a Beyond Conference and why you should bring your colleagues from creative industry academics, researchers through to creative industry businesses and sector organisations.
Government & Stakeholders
Every year, BEYOND attracts central and local government stakeholders including the DCMS, BEIS, Treasury, DIT, LEPs and Cabinet Office, along with creative industry research councils including Arts Council England and British Council.
International
In addition to a strong UK attendance, Beyond also showcases UK research and development expertise to overseas delegates, representing significant investment opportunities.
Media & More
National and trade media journalists, as well as students, startups and freelancers working within the sector also find the event valuable for the learning and networking opportunities.
Beyond 2021
Beyond 2021
BEYOND 2021 was held in the vibrant city of Belfast at Titanic Belfast from 19 – 22 October 2021. The conference took the theme of place to look at how the Creative Industries are forming the heart of new vibrant cultural and creative economies, exploring the role of creativity and creative tech in forming and navigating new places.
As Professor Paul Moore, Director, Future Screens Northern Ireland, reflected, Belfast in Northern Ireland was the perfect location to explore how imagined spaces as much as real ones shape our place in the world.
Programme
The 4th BEYOND conference offered a lively two day programme with 60+ expert speakers, keynotes, panel discussions, think pieces and provocations, Q&As and a showcase of leading projects and research.
Live & On Demand
Delegates accessed live and catch-up sessions online and in-person (see BEYOND 2021 On Demand), with those in Belfast enjoying a bespoke programme of activities, including location-based immersive experiences, networking, receptions and more.
Showcase & Demos
The Immersive Futures Lab gave delegates the chance to experience cutting-edge creative projects, together with a Poster Exhibition unveiling cutting-edge research from Doctoral Candidates and Early Career Researchers.
BEYOND Fringe
A variety of exclusive activities included two tours showcasing HBO’s incredible Game of Thrones! Plus a number of events for delegates to familiarise themselves in Belfast and learn about the city’s rich history, including the ‘Hidden Heritage of James Connolly’ tour, a guided tour of Belfast’s street art and preview of the world premiere of Department Story by Big Telly Theatre Company.
Supporters
BEYOND 2021 was a hybrid conference delivered in partnership with UK Research & Innovation and Future Screens Northern Ireland, and supported by Belfast City Council and Matrix NI.
Beyond 2020
Beyond 2020
The all virtual BEYOND 2020 conference took place on 30 November to 3 December 2020. In a year of absolute disruption due to the pandemic, BEYOND considered the adoption of new and emerging technologies, the impact on audiences and the creative industries, to focus on Embracing Change – what can we learn from the chaos and, New Opportunities – how do we build back better, but different.
Programme
Spanning four days, the programme featured over 80 sessions including keynotes, roundtables, showcases, demos & more, with 175 speakers, attracting delegates from over 20 countries.
Showcase & Demos
The conference also featured the Immersive Futures Lounge and Poster Exhibition, for delegates to experience industry-leading projects and research. Plus sessions in which attendees could ‘meet the makers’.
Creative China
A Creative China track within the conference featured UK-China creative projects, insights and opportunities in China. It also included a showcase of the work being led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, to support the research-industry partnerships between the UK and China.
BEYOND 2020 On Demand
All the sessions from BEYOND 2020 including Creative China can be viewed on-demand.
Supporters
BEYOND 2020 was supported by UK Research & Innovation and White Light SmartStage Studio.
Beyond 2019
Beyond 2019
The 2019 conference was held at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh – 20-21 November 2019 – funded by UK Research and Innovation as part of the UK government’s Industrial Strategy.
This interdisciplinary R&D conference brought together researchers from the creative industries and showcased developments in the creative arts and industries. Attendees discovered groundbreaking ideas, experienced pioneering work and gained valuable insights on the impact of the latest technology innovations on the future creative industries.
Programme
Building on the success of the first year, BEYOND 2019 spanned two days to feature a single-track conference with keynote sessions, short-talks and panel discussions, expert speakers and an innovation showcase and an early career researchers poster exhibition.
Themes
BEYOND 2019 explored the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and creativity. Featuring insights from the cutting-edge of creative research and industrial application, conference contributors examined the realms of Informatics, to explore the current and future impact of machine learning, AI and data on the creative industries.
Showcase & Demos
Delegates also tried and tested the latest innovations from across the creative industries first hand, with demos of new technology experiences using immersive experience, virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and more in the Innovation Showcase and Poster Exhibition.
Networking
Plenty of chances to network gave delegates the opportunity to make lots of great connections, including a BEYOND AI Primer event (pub quiz style) to kick things off and test everyone’s AI knowledge the night before day one.
BEYOND 2019 On Demand
All the sessions from BEYOND 2019 are available to watch on demand.
Beyond 2018
Beyond 2018
The inaugural BEYOND Conference, developed by the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s Creative Economy Programme and was held at London’s Barbican on the 19 November 2018.
For it’s first year, the conference brought together business leaders, creatives, researchers, policy makers, journalists, funders and anyone with an interest in the future creative industries. It showcased the Creative Industries Clusters Programme and the National Centre for Immersive Storytelling, launched in 2018 as part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.
The one day event was attended by over 300 delegates, including a broad mix of creative industry academia, organisations and businesses including ASOS, BBC, British Fashion Council, British Film Institute, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sony Interactive Entertainment and many leading universities. Plus key government stakeholders and many of the UK’s most innovative creative content producers.
An inspirational line up of leading thinkers and practitioners featured Professor Alex McDowell, Design Futurist at the World Building Institute (USC School of Cinematic Arts) and many other renowned speakers from across the creative industries.
BEYOND 2018 sessions are all available to watch on demand.
