New project will bring Antarctic heritage to life

18/12/2020

We have partnered with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) to bring British Antarctic heritage to life via immersive, audio-visual technologies and innovative storytelling methods.

ARU’s StoryLab will lead the project, which has been established through Innovate UK, to access rich historical archives and use new technology to create a virtual experience accessible to a global audience.

Our £197,000 knowledge transfer partnership will take place over the next two and a half years and is being supported by the School of Creative Industries and the School of Management at ARU.

We exist to preserve, enhance and promote British Antarctic heritage, and look after important buildings and artefacts on the continent. The most sparsely populated continent on Earth is home to a huge history of exploration, and the UK has often been at the forefront of important scientific and research work.

Dr Shreepali Patel, Director of StoryLab, said: "Advances in emerging media are rapidly reshaping the landscape of storytelling. Our collaboration with UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UK-AHT) will bring to life the multi-textural adventures captured by Antarctic explorers and scientists in their incredible archive. Immersive storytelling has the ability to engage audiences with powerful, long-lasting experiences, and more importantly make the inaccessible accessible for many.

“This interdisciplinary project brings together expertise in cultural heritage, 3D visualisation, gaming, storytelling and innovative business models. We are extremely excited to continue our collaboration with UK-AHT with the support of Innovate UK.”

We are hugely grateful to Innovate UK for sharing our vision and for making this a reality. Being able to combine our resources, expertise and creativity with the team at ARU is an incredible opportunity and one that will bring our remote Antarctic heritage to many more people here in the UK and across the world.

This project means that these places and stories will no longer be the preserve of the privileged few who are able to visit. Instead, archival materials from these globally significant sites will bring Antarctic history to life for a new audience and inspire a new generation with the incredible stories of exploration, science and human endeavour embodied by these sites.