Feasibility Study for the Development of a Shared Island ‘Atlantic Region of Creative Content’ (ARCC) including Virtual Production Facilities in the Northern & Western & North-Western Region of Ireland
Project Name
Feasibility Study for the Development of a Shared Island ‘Atlantic Region of Creative content’ (ARCC) including Virtual Production Facilities in the Northern & Western & North-Western Region of Ireland
Project Partners
Blu Zebra Ltd has been commissioned by Galway Culture Company on behalf of Galway City Council and is being co-ordinated in partnership with CREW. This study is being funded by the Shared Island Fund. The project partners are Derry City & Strabane District Council, Western Development Commission, Atlantic Technological University and University of Ulster.
Role of Galway Culture Company
This project was facilitated by Galway Culture Company on behalf of Galway City Council.
Role of Blu Zebra Ltd
Blu Zebra will carry out a Feasibility Study for the development of the ‘Atlantic Region of Creative Content’ (ARCC), an all-Island Creative Industries Cluster, focused on creative technologies, and facilitated through virtual production and other facilities and support, for the creative industries north and south, in the Galway, Sligo-Enniskillen, and Letterkenny-Derry regions.
Strategic Aim
This project falls under our second strategic aim;
Support and Develop Place-based Programming
Project Description
Galway Culture Company submitted an application for feasibility funding to Shared Island on behalf of Galway City Council. The application was successful and following on from a tender process, Blu Zebra Ltd was commissioned by Galway Culture Company on behalf of Galway City Council, and the project was coordinated in partnership with CREW.
The Feasibility Study is for the development of the ‘Atlantic Region of Creative Content’ (ARCC), an all-Island Creative Industries Cluster, focused on creative technologies, and facilitated through virtual production and other facilities and support, for the creative industries north and south, in the Galway, Sligo-Enniskillen, and Letterkenny-Derry regions.
The ARCC will be a cross-border network/cluster of collaborating creative enterprises, actively facilitated, and supported by education providers and support organisations, anchored by infrastructure, resources, and facilities at each end of the region – Galway and Belfast, and linked by infrastructure and facilities at critical juncture points across the region – Letterkenny-Derry, Sligo-Enniskillen, (possibly Dundalk-Newry also).
The feasibility will create a framework for the project partners to collaborate, develop and improve their contribution to the growth of the Creative Industries in the Creative Technology / Creative Digital space across the shared island – Atlantic Region of Creative Content (ARCC) and will test the feasibility of the virtual productions workspaces located at key juncture points across the region. It will also examine and define the development of such a north south cluster, how it would work, how it would be ultimately facilitated and managed as well as the operations of the virtual production spaces.
Project Outcomes – what we expect from this project
The project aims to address the economic, infrastructural, and ideological imperatives of a Shared Island. It will result in a feasibility study which will;
- Assist the development of an important growing economic sector for the region.
- Plan for infrastructure (physical and virtual), resources and facilities to support the sector.
- Create the collaborative community, space, and place to nurture, develop and secure the shared stories of our shared island culture.
How this project is funded
This study was funded by the Shared Island Fund.
Project Duration
The feasibility study was submitted to the Shared Island Unit in November 2023 and we await the outcome.
Survey
A survey was shared to the general public and we requested that people share their insights and expertise regarding the untapped potential in the creative digital space in a region which spans from Galway, extending through Sligo, Enniskillen, Letterkenny, and Derry. The survey aimed to gather perspectives on infrastructure, network development, and skill enhancement within this creative digital landscape.
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