Ulster Touring Opera, a Future Screens NI Narrative Futures funding recipient, has worked with award winning composer Deirdre McKay and librettist Ruth Mariner to commission an augmented reality opera for young audiences. The pandemic heightened societies awareness of the vital wellbeing role of music for young people, as data from University College London suggests that people who spent 30 minutes or more each day during the pandemic on arts activities have lower reported rates of depression and anxiety and greater life satisfaction. Introducing opera to young people through the medium of augmented reality is a key step in empowering the next generation to enjoy music in all of its forms, regardless of cultural stereotypes.
For more information on Ulster Touring Opera and Teeny Tiny Operas follow the link.
Narrative Futures is an open call to the Northern Ireland creative industries challenging them to explore, in a visionary manner, how the changes we have witnessed can be used as the catalyst for genuinely new and original thinking about how creative work could best be designed and delivered in the coming years.