Last year, THE ARTS+ was launched as a new meeting place for the cultural and creative industries. This year it is back – and will run parallel to Frankfurt Book Fair from 11 till 15 October. In the run up to the big event BookMachine and THE ARTS+ are organising an event in London. In our second interview with the team, we speak to Britta Friedrich, Programme Manager. (this interview first appeared here)

1) What does the Business Festival have to do with publishing and the Frankfurt Book Fair? And what will attendees experience there this year?

THE ARTS+ follows an interdisciplinary approach. Our goal is to bring together all the creative industries on one platform – including design, art, architecture and culture, as well as publishing. The creative and cultural industries are seen as pioneers and innovators – reaching beyond their industry borders. They have social and economic importance. The aim of THE ARTS+ is to show how digitalisation and new technologies affect these industries. With companies such as Google Cultural Institute and small ground-breaking start-ups, we are observing the emergence of an avant-garde force, creating something new at the crossroads of creativity and technology – and releasing unimaginable potential. We want to give these innovations a stage. For us, it’s about the future and new business opportunities for the cultural and creative industries.

2) What is the programme like for THE ARTS+ this year?

Thanks to digitalisation, any creative idea, any cultural asset, and any design can potentially become digital content which can be used in many different ways. This creates a completely new ecosystem with new structures, processes and possibilities of collaboration across industry borders. THE ARTS+ would like to help define the rules and legalities of this ecosystem. To this end, we invited pioneers of the industry, as well as politicians and stakeholders, to the festival on Wednesday. One focus will be the new business opportunities for creative and cultural companies. How can one effectively disprove the alleged contradiction between culture and entrepreneurship? And last but not least, we will dedicate ourselves to the monetisation of ideas and content – i.e. IP exploitation.

3) What role does technology play for the future of the cultural and creative sector?

Technological developments are unstoppable. Even today, there are bots, robots or computers that no longer only beat people in a game, but are also increasingly creative. The new geniuses of tomorrow are called (perhaps) E-David or Watson. They write, compose, or paint pictures. Just think of the project “THE NEXT REMBRANDT”, a picture that was calculated on the basis of data from Rembrandt by a computer and then realised using 3D technology. This project was already shown at THE ARTS+ in 2016 and this topic will be continued this year.

4) This applies mostly to the production of creative content. In what ways can the transmission of content be enriched multi-medially?

Not only is creation increasingly technical. Also the reception of cultural concepts has reached a new level. Interaction and the merging of the virtual and the real world play a key role. Some museums already are using very particular technologies to convey their collections, which make the “classic” visit to museums an immersive event. The visitor dives right into the exhibition object – and almost always receive important background information. The identification and the experience are then enhanced. The Rjiksmuseum is certainly one of the pioneers, from which not only other museums but also publishers and media companies can learn.

5) What technologies can be used to best implement these immersive approaches?

New technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual, augmented or mixed reality create many possibilities for processing content. However, using them should not be an end in itself. It’s more about content and technology mutually reinforcing each other. And, to focus on the users and their needs.

To find out more about ARTS+ and meeting industry professionals who might be attending this creative hub, join BookMachine and the Frankfurt Book Fair team in London on Wednesday 5^th July. Grab a ticket here.