Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences – 5 consortiums selected

18 August 2025

The advisory committee of the Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences Grant Scheme (ADRIE) has processed 26 applications from newly formed consortiums of makers, producers, institutions and researchers who seek to develop a programme for artistic and design-based research in the area of immersive experiences (IX). The total available budget of € 250,000 for this research has been distributed among five consortiums. Unfortunately, nine positively assessed applications fell out of budget after prioritisation.

All applications from round 1A were assessed according to four criteria:

• consortium composition;
• expected contributions of the consortium to the development and innovation of the Dutch IX field;
• consortium business health; and
• consistency in purpose and design of applications.

Later this year, in round 1B, the five selected consortiums will be eligible to receive a maximum grant of €1.3 million to implement the two-year programme they developed. Applicants whose proposals were not accepted may submit a new application in the first round of 2026. These applicants can also explore alternative opportunities within CIIIC to further develop their plans.

general impression

The committee is impressed with the quality of the submitted plans and the opportunities the applicants see for the development and innovation of IX in the Netherlands. The applications reveal great ambitions to join forces in the areas of knowledge and working methods for research, development and presentation. The envisioned international collaborations were of a high level, especially considering the early stage.

The submitted applications cover both overarching themes and more specifically targeted issues in the sector. The most common themes concerned the sustainability of the making and dissemination processes for IX, the embodiment of IX and the collective experience of IX.

The committee appreciates that the sector has made a considerable effort to set up consortiums in which all core groups (makers and designers, producers, media and cultural organisations, and researchers) make a substantial contribution, even though this is not common practice in this field. The consortium participants represent a broad variety of disciplines, ranging from digital culture to modern dance and from VR to pop music. The IX sector is also well-represented. The committee was interested to see a large number of participants less obviously involved in the field. In the coming years, it expects to see even more parties from the core sector.

‘This past period, the IX sector has eagerly anticipated the first round of the ADRIE grant scheme. I am impressed with both the quantity and the quality of the plans that the IX consortia of makers and designers, producers, cultural organisations and researchers from universities and universities of applied sciences were able to create in a relatively short window, while collaborating with national and international partners,’ says Syb Groeneveld, executive director of the Creative Industries Fund NL. ‘The selected five new collaborations will undoubtedly spark many new conceptual directions in IX. We also want to extend warm thanks to the international advisory committee and its chair, Dorien van de Pas, for its care and meticulousness in formulating clear, well-defined choices.’

Heleen Rouw, programme director of CIIIC: ‘This selection represents an important step in the continued rollout of the CIIIC programme. We see a strong, diverse sector, full of energy to work together and build the future of immersive experiences in the Netherlands. Our thanks to the Creative Industries Fund NL for their careful execution, and congratulations to the five selected consortiums. All other applicants are invited to come talk with us about other opportunities within CIIIC, so that we can continue to work together for a strong, connected and innovative immersive community.’

selection

Shared Realities: How to research and develop collective immersive experiences and a physical and sustainable exhibition culture for emerging forms of immersive art?
Shared Realities is a consortium that focuses on the exhibition of IX art. It will set up a research and development programme to devise artistic strategies and exhibition forms for IX as collective experiences in physical spaces. The consortium will also research ways to support a sustainable IX exhibition culture, with new presentation forms and audience interactions that deviate from traditional exhibition formats. The programme includes a ‘living lab’ that will offer room for experimentation and artistic/design-based research.

The parties involved in this consortium can be found here.

LAUNCHPAD NINE: Circular Alliance for a Sustainable Future of Immersive Experiences
LAUNCHPAD NINE intends to use artistic and practice-based research to build a sustainable model for the development and distribution of IX. The premise: a shared knowledge base about the creation, exhibition, teaching and documenting of immersive media. The consortium focuses on five themes: sustainable production, documentation of embodied and experience-focused artistic works, location-specific development, frameworks for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, and distribution models.

The parties involved in this consortium can be found here.

Listening to a multi-voiced world (Futures of Listening Consortium)
Listening to a multi-voiced world focuses on developing and profiling immersive listening: captivating and spatial audio experiences where the listener is surrounded by layers of sound from various directions. The consortium will investigate how people experience this art form (perception) and to what extent this mode of listening affects our experience, emotions and insights (transformative potential). The chosen approach is to activate makers and involve non-human entities, as well as to investigate the value of immersive listening for environmental and technological issues.

The parties involved in this consortium can be found here.

Thuis
Thuis revolves around the bodily experience of IX. The consortium wishes to research how immersive experiences can foster deeper feelings of connection, belonging and the intangible sense of ‘being at home’. To that end, the consortium will develop somatic approaches and experiments in (semi)public spaces to involve people who might otherwise not have access to IX. It will also investigate how shared immersive experiences can help in community building.

The parties involved in this consortium can be found here.

HEFT: IX Heritage of the Future - Expanding the IX ecosystem for embodied cultural experiences
HEFT focuses on reinforcing the IX ecosystem in the Netherlands. The consortium’s approach comprises the stimulation of interdisciplinary collaborations between makers, producers, institutions and researchers, the further development of immersive storytelling and the exploration of sustainable strategies for distribution and archiving. Applying three research themes — embodied engagement & social impact, collectivity & scalability and (re)production & sustainability — the consortium will work on artistic innovation and the structural transformation of the sector, in order to increase the cultural, social and educational value of immersive media.

The parties involved in this consortium can be found here.

follow-up

Consortiums awarded a grant in round 1A will not automatically receive a grant in round 1B as well. The five consortiums selected in round 1A will shortly receive an invitation to submit their proposal for round 1B in order to be eligible for a subsidy of up to € 1.3 million per consortium.

The next opportunity for new applicants and applicants who were not selected in 2025 is round 2A, which will begin in the first quarter of 2026. We also wish to refer these parties to CIIIC to explore further opportunities for the development of their plans.

about CIIIC

The Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences Grant Scheme is part of the Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC). CIIIC is the National Growth Fund programme of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science intended to establish the Netherlands as the leading international authority in the field of Immersive Experiences. With an investment of € 200 million, CIIIC fosters innovation, knowledge development, entrepreneurship and social impact. Under the auspices of CIIIC, creative professionals, knowledge institutions, businesses and authorities are collaborating to build the future of the digital and physical world. The safeguarding of public values is considered of essential importance in all activities. CIIIC’s implementing partners are the Taskforce for Applied Research SIA (NWO), RVO, TNO and the Creative Industries Fund NL. For more information, go to www.ciiic.nl.

any questions?

In the coming period, we will keep you informed about this grant scheme and the programme through our website, social media and newsletters. You can also email specific questions to ADRIE@stimuleringsfonds.nl.