Reflections on Arts & Tech during COVID-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 was making its way to Europe from East Asia around the same time I was celebrating my first year as Director of Arts Technology and Innovation at Arts Council England. In fact, I was supposed to be speaking at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on my anniversary date - but that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Then SXSW was cancelled. And now I've been in lockdown for about 3 weeks.

Just like everyone else, the weeks since lockdown have been consumed with trying to come to terms with the new normal. For me, the focus has been on trying to understand how culture is produced and consumed in a digital only world. However, on this Easter weekend, I have the opportunity to reflect on the past year's learning about art and technology and start to piece together the short and long term impacts of COVID-19.

Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality. At this time last year, I wrote in an article in Arts Professional that the market for AR/VR headsets had fallen well below industry estimates and part of the reason was that there was insufficient content to drive consumer purchases. It is clear that headset makers are well aware of this problem and its been great to see them support artists and creative producers. For example, Magic Leap partnered with Royal Shakespeare Company to offer a fellowship for emerging creatives to experiment with making new types of augmented reality content. While an increasing number of creatives from theatre, dance, museums, music and film are making truly innovative new works for VR and AR, these experiences are, for the most part, not meant for the home. They are designed as location-based experiences meant to be enjoyed as part of festival or in a specific public venue. For example, Marshmallow Laser Feast's We Live in an Ocean of Air, which premiered at the Saatchi Gallery in London in XXXXXX last year, relied on multiple people interacting within a virtual and physical space. However, will fears about the transmission of COVID-19 or potential emergence of other similar viruses shift demand back to the purchase of personal headsets for home-based experiences? Maybe, maybe not. However, venues providing located-based AR/VR experiences will need to up their game in terms of providing the public with assurances around the cleanliness of AR/VR headsets.

• Location-based AR/VR
• Digital infrastructure
• Business models
• Digitals skills and capacity
• AI & 5G shaping tech
• Diversity (the big new issues and the old ones)