We are delighted to collaborate with BETA Festival, Ireland’s art and technology festival, for the second year in November 2024. As part of British Council Ireland's ongoing commitment to connecting UK and Ireland in arts and culture, we are partnering with BETA again this year to support the emerging digital arts in Ireland through the inward mobility of a number of key high-level individuals involved in arts technologies in the UK. These artists include:
- Kay Watson, director of arts technologies, Serpentine Galleries
- Mike Stubbs, founder of Abandon Normal Devices (AND) Festival
- Nicola Triscott, director of FACT Liverpool
- Nimrod Vardi, curator, founder, and director of Arebyte Gallery, London
These UK practitioners will attend the launch weekend of the festival, participate in the AI & Art Assembly workshop on Friday 1st November. Kay Watson will also deliver a keynote on Saturday 2nd November at Day 2 of the BETA Festival Conference. Abeba Birhane, a cognitive scientist at Trinity College Dublin, who was a guest on British Council's 'Our World, Connected Podcast' will also deliver a keynote at the Conference. Finally, we will host an informal networking session on Saturday 2nd November to provide further time and space for artists and practitioners in arts technologies and digital arts to meet and connect in person.
Find out more about our partnership with the festival here.
About BETA Festival
BETA Festival will return for its second year in the first two weeks of November. Co-founded and supported by The Digital Hub, BETA will host a series of events including creative exhibitions, keynote speakers, interactive workshops and an assembly centred on artificial intelligence in Dublin 8 and beyond. The 2024 edition of BETA will explore critical themes around the relationship between technology and power, including facial recognition technologies, the impact of AI on artists, untold histories and elevating empathy through creative technologies. The festival will take place from the 1-17 November 2024 across multiple venues in Dublin including The Digital Hub, NCAD Gallery, Pallas Studios, Project Arts Centre and IMMA. Find out more about the programme and events here.