Sue Austin

360 Degrees - A New Angle on Access included 3 exhibitions across the South West of England, 15 home visits, 4 new artworks, 3 different recording and display systems, lots of experimentation and masses of data collection and analysis.

Freewheeling and its partners completed this Digital R&D Fund for the Arts Project in Summer 2015.

To read the full report please go to: http://artsdigitalrnd.org.uk/projects/freewheeling/

Or read the Executive Summary here:

http://www.wearefreewheeling.org.uk/360-summary-with-outcomes

Original Project description:

Through this project we aim to engage new audiences by broadening, deepening and diversifying arts experiences through the highest quality 360° technology. 

Supported by the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, this research and development project is structured so that the outcomes produce a commercially viable, robust system of integrated 360° recording, editing and display technologies that can be easily adopted by the arts sector and beyond. 

Presented through portable 360° interactive headsets plus affordable, transportable 360° installations for small arts, community and educational venues, this will research meaningful, home and community based, inspiring art experiences for audiences currently excluded from accessing arts venues due to disabling physical, psychological, and financial barriers. 

We hope that the resulting technology will form the basis of an innovative ‘Access to the Arts Scheme’ and be ready to integrate with research into 360° live streaming capabilities as the technology becomes affordable and available.

Throughout the project we will explore the potential application of 360° user generated content through workshops to enhance audience participation in community environments and increase understanding and adoption of this technological solution.

This project will result in useful knowledge about cutting edge 360º technology that will be disseminated to a diverse range of creative industries.