Immersive Arts phase two: invite only — UKRI grant opportunity

Immersive Arts phase two: invite only — UKRI grant opportunity

This entry is a historical reference for the second phase of the Immersive Arts programme. The official UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Finder page is marked Closed. It records a funding opportunity administered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) on behalf of AHRC and the four UK national arts development bodies: Arts Council England, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland.

The page is not a live route into a new application. The official source says that applications had to be received by 11 June 2026 at 4:00pm UK time and that applications could not be made after that point. It does not announce a later deadline, a replacement window or a third phase. The date retained in the front matter is therefore the real closing date for the completed cycle, and historicalReference = true identifies this page as an archive entry rather than an expired live listing.

At a glance

The programme was a commission to lead the second phase of Immersive Arts, rather than a general-purpose award for an individual artist or a small project. The selected consortium was expected to operate a national programme supporting creative practice, skills, collaboration, research and the development of immersive work. The scope covered arts, culture and creative sectors across the United Kingdom.

What the programme was intended to support

UKRI describes Phase two as a three-year creative research and development innovation programme. It builds on the first three-year phase, originally known as XRtists, and focuses on the adoption and application of creative immersive technologies. The official description also allows for other new technologies where appropriate. The intended results combine creative and economic aims: stronger practice, better skills and knowledge, wider innovation capacity, and growth in the UK’s creative immersive industries.

The official objectives are broader than commissioning a collection of finished artworks. The consortium was expected to support skills and knowledge in immersive content and experience development, production and distribution. It was also expected to refine the existing pipeline of Immersive Arts funding strands so that organisations and individuals at different scales and levels of readiness could receive suitable support. That pipeline design was a programme responsibility for the lead consortium, not a promise that this page remains open for artists to submit individual proposals.

The programme also sought collaboration and ecology building across all UK regions. The source asks the consortium to strengthen the reach and innovation growth of the UK’s creative immersive industries, continue collaboration with cultural, commercial and research partners, and assess the need for additional partners. It includes a requirement to build on Phase one events by providing opportunities to celebrate, showcase and distribute projects arising from the Immersive Arts programme.

Other stated objectives were knowledge exchange and mentoring between academic, creative-industry, arts and cultural sectors; research and mapping to support long-term sector growth; continued development of the Immersive Arts brand; inclusive and accessible opportunities for people of all backgrounds; and support for mature, high-potential projects from Phase one that could move towards commercialisation of creative research, innovation and creative assets.

Expected delivery model

The successful consortium was expected to deliver four primary strands of activity across the UK:

1. Run devolved funding programmes. The source specifies that at least 55% of the total budget for devolved awards had to be used for this purpose.
2. Provide training and skills development for individuals and cultural or creative organisations.
3. Undertake research.
4. Organise an annual industry showcase.

The official page also describes a staged devolved-funding model. The consortium had to explain how awards would be distributed between three levels of readiness and across at least two rounds of funding, using a design that reflected sector needs and maximised the likelihood of positive outcomes. The source gives indicative levels: Explore awards of approximately £6,000 for early ideas, Experiment awards of approximately £24,000 for prototyping, and Expand awards of approximately £60,000 for a small number of successful prototypes moving towards market readiness and longer-term sustainability.

Those indicative award levels belonged to the programme that the commissioned consortium would run. They were not a separate open application opportunity on this page. The consortium also had to design a fair and transparent review and assessment process for devolved funding within UKRI’s assessment and decision-making principles. A reader using this archive should not treat the historical programme model as evidence that a new artist-facing round is currently accepting applications.

Eligibility and consortium structure

The invitation condition was decisive. The official page states that an organisation could apply only if UKRI had invited it to do so. The invitation applied to the consortium-lead opportunity; it did not turn the page into an open call for any organisation that met the other criteria. No invitation or new submission link should be inferred from the fact that the page remains accessible online.

The opportunity was open to organisations with standard eligibility. The lead research organisation was responsible for completing the application, and only that lead research organisation could submit an application to UKRI. The consortium could include partners from creative industry, cultural, commercial and research sectors. Partners contributing to delivery could receive funds from the lead hub organisation to cover their involvement as collaborating organisations.

At minimum, the consortium had to include five partners from across the UK: one hub and at least four regionally dispersed partners. The required geographic pattern was two partners based in England, with at least one outside London, plus one partner in Northern Ireland, one in Scotland and one in Wales. The source says that a larger consortium and the precise combination of partners were possible where they supported the objectives and activities of Immersive Arts.

The page contains a specific rule for specialists. An individual bringing specialist skills and intellectual input, such as an industry expert or producer, was to be listed as a specialist on the core team. That person had to be employed by the lead organisation or one of the collaborating organisations, unless they were a public contributor. This is relevant to reconstructing the completed application model, but it is not an invitation to assemble a new team for a currently open round.

The official page also sets out equality, diversity and inclusion commitments. It encourages applications from a diverse range of researchers and recognises career breaks, caring responsibilities, flexible working and alternative working patterns. UKRI states that disability and accessibility support was available during the application and assessment process. These commitments were part of the funding route’s operating context, alongside the consortium and invitation requirements.

Funding and project timing

The funding partners allocated £8.35 million at full economic cost for the opportunity, with a total fund of £8.8 million shown in the page summary. The source cautions that it could not express the maximum as one fixed full-project-cost figure because the proposal could contain costs funded at 100% or 80% of full economic cost. It also states that the maximum amount provided by AHRC and the UK arts council co-funders was £8.35 million.

The award duration was three years. Projects had to start by 1 February 2027. These details describe the commissioned Phase two programme and remain useful when comparing the scale, governance and partnership requirements of future immersive-arts funding. They do not create a new deadline after the closed application window.

How applications were submitted

The completed cycle used the new UKRI Funding Service, not the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The start-application link was provided by email to invited applicants. The project lead was responsible for completing the application, while UKRI expected team members and project partners to contribute. Only the lead research organisation could send the final application to UKRI.

The official application sequence was:

1. Confirm that the invited organisation was the project lead.
2. Sign in to, or create, a UKRI Funding Service account, selecting the organisation, verifying the email address and setting a password.
3. Answer the application questions in the Funding Service text boxes, saving work or preparing responses offline for later transfer. Upload any documents requested by the service.
4. Review the application in read-only view before sending it to the research office.
5. Send the completed application to the research office for checking and make any required edits.
6. Have the research office submit the checked application to UKRI.

The page warns that research-office and finance teams check hosting arrangements and financial eligibility, and that responsibility for meeting the opportunity’s requirements remained with the applicant. It also gives application guidance for images: captions or legends had to appear immediately below images, images had to be inserted on new lines, and files had to be under 5MB in an accepted format. Applications were expected to be self-contained; hyperlinks were for direct references rather than material assessors would need to open to understand the proposal.

The application questions covered the proposed vision, approach, team capability, ethics and responsible research and innovation, resources and cost justification, and project partners. The approach response had to address the devolved-funding model and include EDI, sustainability, skills and talent, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and governance. The assessment process consisted of panel review followed by interview, with interviews expected on 14 July 2026. AHRC was to make the final funding decision and provide feedback with the outcome.

What to do with this archive entry

Do not use this page as a current submission route. The UKRI source says the opportunity is closed, the final deadline has passed, and applications could not be made after the closing time. There is no confirmed next-cycle date in the official opportunity information reviewed for this update. Organisations interested in a future Immersive Arts commission should monitor UKRI, AHRC and the co-funders for a new announcement rather than reusing the closed-cycle date as if it were live.

This archive is still useful for planning. It shows the scale expected of a lead consortium: national reach, a five-partner minimum with a specific four-nation distribution, programme management, devolved awards, transparent assessment, training, research, knowledge exchange and an annual showcase. It also shows the administrative standard expected by UKRI: a registered Funding Service organisation, a lead research organisation, research-office and finance checks, a credible governance model and a budget that explains its full-economic-cost treatment.

The controlling source for the completed opportunity is Immersive Arts phase two: invite only on UKRI. For future announcements, check the official UKRI opportunity page and any AHRC communication before relying on an application date, award amount or eligibility rule.