Coast to Coast

Through the Coast to Coast Project, Dr Michael Smyth Co-Director of Creative Informatics (https://creativeinformatics.org/) and Frank Delaney from Future Screens Northern Ireland (https://www.futurescreens.org/) created a visual and textual study of creative practitioners, exploring the similarities and differences between the work of artists in two creative industries regional hubs. This publication brings this work together, sharing the practices of creatives in both Edinburgh and South East Scotland, and in and around Belfast. 

Creative Informatics
The Creative Informatics Partnership (AH/S002782/1) is a collaboration between University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Codebase and Creative Edinburgh, funded under the UKRI Creative Industries Clusters Programme (CICP) and managed by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the Industrial Strategy. Creative Informatics is also funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Data Driven Innovation Programme of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal (DDI). The five year project continues to investigate how data and data driven innovation can be used to grow the creative industries: from creative products and services to new modalities of experience. Creative Informatics is an ambitious research and development programme based in Edinburgh, which aims to bring the city's world class creative industries and technology sector together, providing funding and development opportunities that enable creative individuals and organisations to explore how data can be used to drive ground-breaking new products, businesses and experiences. Creative Informatics is nurturing local talent through five key funding programmes and regular events that support Edinburgh's creative industries to do inspiring things with data.

Future Screens NI
Future Screens (AH/S002855/1) is a cross-sector creative industries R&D partnership between Queen's University Belfast (QUB), Ulster University and local industry partners established to secure the future of the creative industries in Northern Ireland. It was created to accelerate growth through new product development, services and high value skills for jobs in a flourishing sector. With a multi-million pound investment from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and funding from industry, the £13 million Future Screens NI venture is the largest single investment in the creative industries in Northern Ireland. The overarching aim of Future Screens NI is to develop a new understanding of the role the creative industries can play in advancing the NI economy both in terms of financial growth and the creation of new employment opportunities. It supported research in new technologies and opportunities, developing appropriate educational and training models, placing NI creative businesses in front of international markets and working with government and other key agencies to ensure sustained growth.