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Edinburgh International Festival collaborates with leading STEAM partners for Festival UK 2022


Festival UK 2022 is a collection of ten large-scale public engagement projects designed to showcase the UK’s creativity and innovation to the world.

To develop this ambitious programme, 30 creative teams, comprising over 500 organisations and individuals from across the UK in the industries of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) have been brought together. Over the coming months, the teams will collaborate to research and develop proposals designed to reach millions and bring people together. The proposals will be pitched to a panel in 2021 and up to ten of them will be taken forward into full commissions as part of the UK-wide Festival throughout 2022.

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Festival UK 2022 is already showing us new and exciting opportunities for Scotland’s world-renowned Arts and Technology sectors to work together.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture


‘Festival UK 2022 is already showing us new and exciting opportunities for Scotland’s world-renowned Arts and Technology sectors to work together.’ Said Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture. ‘I welcome this announcement as a boost for artists, practitioners and organisations across Scotland’s STEAM sectors – and beyond, tapping into our talents, creativity and innovation.’

Following an open call and rigorous selection process, Edinburgh International Festival has been chosen to join an exciting team of research and development partners to begin work on a proposal in November 2020. The group’s explorations focus on the intersection of game design, space technology and popular culture, recognising these provide accessible windows into the wider world of STEM and creative innovation.

Edinburgh International Festival joins one of two creative teams for Scotland, representing STEAM centres of excellence: National Theatre of Scotland is represented by Artistic Director Jackie Wylie, Creative Associate Wezi Mhura and artist and performance-maker Nic Green; from V&A Dundee, Director of Audiences and Media Claire Eva and Sonia Napolitano from V&A Dundee's Young People's Collective; they are joined by Etienne Kubwabo, a film maker and DJ who recently published a comic book about Glasgow's first black superhero; Vanessa Woodard represents Sky Arts; Simon Gage, Director at Edinburgh Science; Professor Malcolm Macdonald, Director of the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications based at the University of Strathclyde; and Chris van der Kuyl, Director of Dundee-based games developer 4J Studios. Festival Director Fergus Linehan represents Edinburgh International Festival, and DJ, producer and live performer Brian D'Souza (Auntie Flo), has been proposed to the group by the International Festival.


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They've gone through fierce competition to get here and highlight exactly what's possible when organisations from every part of the UK work together.

Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary


‘These 30 teams show our world-class British creativity at its very best - risk-taking, groundbreaking and diverse.’ Said Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden. ‘They've gone through fierce competition to get here and highlight exactly what's possible when organisations from every part of the UK work together.’

With Festival UK 2022 lining up with the Platinum Jubilee and the Birmingham Commonwealth, it is likely to be an extraordinary year for British culture and innovation. Festival UK 2022 is supported by the four governments of the UK, but independently run and led by Chief Creative Officer Martin Green, who previously organised the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Green has collated a Creative Advisory of radical young artists and STEM professionals, prioritising creativity and championing under-represented voices in the fields of STEM and the arts.

‘Festival UK 2022 is a massive experiment in creativity with the core values of being open, original and optimistic, and encouraging teams to think big.’ Said Green. ‘It’s wonderful that so many brilliant people, offering extraordinary creativity across STEAM, want to collaborate beyond their usual disciplines and with people they might not have worked with before.’

Each research and development project will bring new opportunities for creative people in sectors that have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. In response to the challenges currently facing the Arts sector in the UK, the teams explore how creativity and innovation can bring people together. As well as working within their teams, contributors are being encouraged to work across teams, to maximise the potential of the combined, cross-sector talent and to stimulate new creative networks.

More information on the festival can be found at festival2022.uk


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