Stimuleringsfonds

In round 2A of the Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences Grant Scheme – part of the Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC) – five consortiums have been selected. The Creative Industries Fund NL awards each consortium up to € 50,000 in subsidy to develop a two-year activities programme for the development and application of immersive experiences through artistic and design research.

16 July 2026

The advisory committee of the Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences (ADRIE) Grant Scheme considered 27 applications from newly formed consortiums. These consist of makers, producers, institutions and researchers who wish to develop an activities programme for artistic and design research in the field of immersive experiences (IX). The total available budget of € 250,000 for this round has been divided between five consortiums. Unfortunately, following prioritisation, 13 positively assessed applications fell outside the budget.

All applications for round 2A were assessed on four criteria:

the composition of the consortium;

the consortium’s expected contribution to development and innovation within the Dutch IX field;

the financial health of the consortium; and

the consistency between the aim and design of the application.

Later this year, in round 2B, the five selected consortiums can apply for up to € 1.3 million in subsidy for the implementation of the two-year activities programme.

General impression

The committee is impressed by the high quality of the submitted plans. They address urgent challenges from the field and take artistic-content-based or practice-based research themes as their starting point. Immersive experiences are approached from various perspectives and disciplines. For example, some projects research the sustainability of the production process and the distribution, embodiment or opportunities for healthcare.

Many consortiums opt for an approach based on a specific context, such as IX within pop music, games or IX for children. In addition, a large number of plans focus on practice-based research by setting up labs, residencies and open calls for new talent. There is also a strong focus on making knowledge accessible, with attention being paid to forms of presentation, contributions to the discourse, and (open-source) toolkits.

Compared with 2025, this year more co-applicants and partners are involved per consortium, including more international partners. It is notable that, in both 2026 and 2025, many consortiums operate outside the Fund's disciplines, for instance in the performing arts and journalism. The committee sees this broadening as a strengthening of the IX field.

Selection

Togetherness - alternate spaces for shared realities
By developing prototypes, the Togetherness consortium aims to research how the collective immersive experience of live music can be shaped. The activities programme to be developed will consist of long-term residencies and shorter trajectories for IX makers and mid-career artists, selected through an open call. The aim is to develop design methods that are accessible and applicable for makers, venues and festivals within and beyond the consortium, and that demonstrably contribute to the audience's sense of togetherness.

View here which parties are involved in this consortium.

Inside Out Outside In (IOOI)
Inside Out Outside In is a consortium at the intersection of artistic research, mental healthcare and neuroscience. The basic premise is that human consciousness is not confined to the brain, but is a physical process that is influenced by external factors and other organisms. The consortium wants to research how medical technologies and scientific insights in this area can contribute to embodied, multi-user immersive experiences. The programme to be developed consists of artistic research trajectories and an incubator programme for new talent, with the aim of building greater understanding of mental health and new working methods for the broader IX field.

View here which parties are involved in this consortium.

Consortium IX for Kids - The Immersive Circle of Play and Experience
The IX for Kids consortium wants to research the design of IX specifically for children, with a focus on inclusivity and ethics. In doing so, the consortium wants to explore how immersive experiences can stimulate imagination, curiosity and critical thinking in children of different ages. The proposed approach involves practice-based artistic research, for which the consortium is collaborating with, among others, libraries, hospitals and schools. The outcomes will be translated into a handbook, workshops and presentations of prototypes at international festivals.

View here which parties are involved in this consortium.

Beyond the Bubble
Beyond the Bubble is a consortium at the intersection of IX, ecology and art, in which a cooperative of makers takes a central position. It wants to research how IX enables people to become aware of the perspective of non-human organisms and to experience ecological empathy. The intended programme will be structured around themes based on the partners' expertise. For each theme, working groups of makers and researchers will be formed, to develop immersive experiences for a broad audience through fieldwork, artistic research and practical testing.

View here which parties are involved in this consortium.

The SHIFT
How can the IX production process create more room for the working methods of IX makers, so that they can experiment more freely with technology? This is the question The SHIFT consortium wants to address. The consortium aims to map out artistic working processes, build a shared knowledge base and community, and develop new production standards. Makers form the core of the consortium and explore these topics through new artistic work. The expected outcomes are an iterative practice model and recommendations for structural improvements to production conditions in the Benelux.

View here which parties are involved in this consortium.

Follow-up

Consortiums awarded a grant in round 2A will not automatically receive a grant in round 2B as well. The five consortiums selected in round 2A will shortly receive an invitation to submit their proposal for round 2B in order to be considered for a subsidy of up to € 1.3 million per consortium.

The next application opportunities are expected to follow in 2028 and 2029. This has not yet been definitively confirmed, as implementation depends on funding for the second phase of CIIIC from the National Growth Fund. In the meantime, Regieorgaan SIA offers opportunities for consortiums interested in applying to the ADRIE Grant Scheme in 2028 or 2029.

About CIIIC

The Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences Grant Scheme is part of the Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC), the National Growth Fund programme of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) in the area of Immersive Experiences (IX). With an investment of € 200 million, CIIIC helps makers, institutions, researchers, companies and governments to make the most of their opportunities in IX. Safeguarding public values in IX is considered essential in all activities. CIIIC's implementing partners are Regieorgaan SIA (NWO), RVO, TNO and the Creative Industries Fund NL.

Any questions?

We will keep you informed about ADRIE via our website and newsletter. See also the CIIIC website for more information about other opportunities within the national programme. If you have any questions about ADRIE, please contact us at ADRIE@stimuleringsfonds.nl.