Tuesday 17th March
2:00pm to 5:00pm
Palm Door on Sixth, 508 E 6th St
Join us for an exciting and informative afternoon at the annual UK XR Takeover. Sessions will ask: who gets to build immersive worlds; whose stories are embedded within them, and how can international cultural infrastructure support an equitable global XR landscape? Future Art and Culture is produced by British Underground and Arts Council England with partnership support from the British Council.
2:00pm - 2:30pm
UK XR Takeover: Accessing XR
This session explores which forms of access are most valuable, where barriers persist, and changing innovation spaces: reframing access not as a one-off opportunity, but as an ongoing, structural process that actively shapes creative innovation.
Marc Boothe / Host (Director, B3 Media)Beining (Rosie) Chen (XR Artist & Creative Technologist)
Sally Currie (Drake Music)
Liza Bec (Paraorchestra)
2:30pm - 3:00pm
UK XR Takeover: Distributing XR
Why does immersive work struggle to reach audiences, and what might change that? Hosted by SXSW 2025 Audience Award Winner Anne Rupert (Blast Theory), this informal conversation digs into the hidden barriers of UK distribution, novel ways of getting work out into the world, and how funding can support distribution particularly for emerging artists.
Anne Rupert / Host (Business Director, Blast Theory, SXSW 2025 XR Experience Special Jury Award)Beining (Rosie) Chen (XR Artist & Creative Technologist)
Niki Harman (Director, Lost Love Hotline XR Exhibition)
Michelle Dickson (Director, Strategy, Arts Council England)
3:00pm - 3:30pm
UK XR Takeover: Globalizing XR
Hosted by the British Council, this session explores how international cultural policy — is actively shaping the global future of collaboration within immersive arts. Drawing on programmes and partnerships across a broad range of countries, this panel examines how public funding can move beyond short-term showcasing towards long-term cultural ecosystem building. This panel positions cross-cultural work, not just as support for individual mobility, but as a long-term investment in global immersive cultural ecosystems.
Joel Mills / Host (Director Music British Council)Anne Rupert (Business Director, Blast Theory, SXSW 2025 XR Experience Special Jury Award)
Ricardo Bonfim (Product Developer, Salve Games, Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Karen Palmer (Director, Ascended Intelligence XR Exhibitor)
3:30pm - 5:00pm
UK XR Takeover Party
(featuring live performances by SXSW Official Showcasing artists Amy Gadiaga and Karma Sheen)