British Council Ireland was thrilled to partner with Beta Festival, Ireland’s art and technology festival, for the third consecutive year.
As part of British Council Ireland’s ongoing commitment to strengthening cultural and artistic connections between UK and Ireland, we partnered with Beta Festival to support emerging digital artists by facilitating the inward mobility of key UK-based leaders in arts and technology.
Speakers included:
- Dr Oonagh Murphy: Goldsmiths, University of London, who explored ‘Responsible AI in the Cultural Sector – from Theory to Practice’ drawing on innovative R&D projects by the Arts Council England.
- Ploipailin Flyn: Co-founder of AI x Design, who ran a workshop on archival images of AI.
- Ami Clarke: Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, who contributed to the main thematic ‘Fluidity’ about her project developed in Belfast earlier this year.
The 2025 edition of Beta explored 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 took place from the 7–23 November 2025 across multiple venues in Dublin including The Digital Hub, the National College of Art and Design Gallery (NCAD Gallery), Pallas Studios, the Project Arts Centre and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).
Find out more about the programme and events.
AI Assembly
This year’s festival also included an AI Assembly workshop, delivered as a conversation-based session that explored how artistic perspectives can shape the development of emerging technologies.
The session turned to the question of how we can build the tools needed to inform our own policies and ensure that artists and arts organisations remain equipped and empowered.
More about Beta Festival
Beta is a festival of art and technology critically engaging with the impact of emerging technologies on society. Taking Ireland’s role as a central node in today’s wired world as a starting point, Beta showcases and celebrates Ireland’s research and artistic communities through a combination of creativity, debate and experimentation. Beta allows members of the public to engage playfully and critically with new technologies essentially beta testing ethical issues facing society.
The festival is currently the only festival of its kind in Ireland for art and technology bringing together artists, researchers and industry with a focus on ethics and public engagement.