The Fulldome Creative Network was born out of a collective need for ongoing conversation between active participants in the fulldome art community. Below is an overview of key moments from the Network’s history, and how it evolved from a small mainly UK-based group of 16 members to encompass more than 170 members around the world.
2014
Artist Michaela French creates the Fulldome Research Group at the Royal College of Art, after collaborating with the Peter Harrison Planetarium in London. By this point Michaela had also created artistic dome-based moving-image work during the very earliest digital fulldome experiments, and had been involved with Sky-Skan’s early beta fulldome video system testing in the late 1990s.
2016-2018
Live Cinema UK venture into fulldome for the first time. They attend Fulldome UK Festival, discuss fulldome at SXSW as part of the panel ‘The Future of Cinema in the Age of VR’, secure funding from Innovate UK for the research project Virtually Together: Shared VR Experiences to explore immersive screens, and test work with audiences at Glasgow International Film Festival
November 2019
Michaela French and Live Cinema UK meet for the first time at IDFA in Amsterdam, a festival instrumental in supporting fulldome research and exhibition as part of its wider programme
January 2020
Live Cinema UK secures funding from XR Stories for project Surround Stories, which brings new artists from different artforms into the dome at the newly opened CultVR to explore possibilities. Michaela French attends as a contributor and discusses her previous Fulldome Research Group as part of the programme. The seeds for a successor organisation are sown.
June 2020
Live Cinema UK secures more funding from XR Stories to support the formation of a new network as a successor to the Fulldome Research Group.
November 2020
This new network, called the Fulldome Arts Network, is announced during IDFA’s online event, and is to be chaired by Michaela French with admin support from Live Cinema UK.
January 2021
The first meeting of the Fulldome Arts Network is held online with 16 attendees: Michaela French, Kate Wellham, Lisa Brook, Ben Stern, Phil Mayer, Claire Honey, Paul Bouchard, Janire Najera, Lindsey Hall, Madeline Hall, Max Crow, Michael Gandham, Mike Phillips, Ruth Coalson, Tom Jackson, and Wotienke Vermeer.
July 2021
The Fulldome Arts Network is renamed, due to internal confusion caused by the initials FAN being the same as those of the Film Audience Network (an organisation many members also deal with daily). After suggestions from members – and a vote – the new name Fulldome Creative Network is chosen.
September 2021
The Fulldome Creative Network website is launched and is supported by Imersa.
November 2021
FCN members are part of IDFA’s roundtable discussions, the FCN is discussed in the post-event report, and new members join from the event. The FCN expands outside Europe for the first time by including members from SAT Montreal.
2022-2024
New members join from all over the world after meeting existing FCN members at festivals and conferences. Live Cinema UK’s funded support for the Network comes to an end during this time, but meetings and online discussions on Slack continue.
March 2024
WhatsApp takes over from Slack as the main method of communication for the Network, with the WhatsApp community created by Mourad Bennacer from SAT Montreal during SAT Fest 2024.
April 2025
Michaela steps down as Chair but remains an active member of the group. The Network structure changes and Kate Wellham continues independently as admin, joined by Mourad Bennacer.
The Network continues to be voluntarily run, and aims to adapt to both the growing numbers and the universal needs of the community. If you have any questions or suggestions, you’re welcome to get in touch at contact@fulldomecreativenetwork.com