Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) has unveiled plans for a pioneering digital-first performance venue, set to transform Wales' digital and immersive arts landscape. This new 550-seat venue will be WMC's first stand-alone addition since its 2004 opening by Queen Elizabeth II, reinforcing its role as a landmark for the creative industries. Located opposite WMC in Cardiff Bay, this cutting-edge space will feature production, rehearsal, and training facilities, empowering artists to explore storytelling through innovative technology.
Over the next five years, the venue aims to engage over 10,000 participants in creative training and expand WMC’s youth programs, offering young people invaluable opportunities to develop skills in digital and immersive arts. The strategic placement of the venue is part of the "Cardiff Live" development, which will incorporate community areas, exhibition halls, and new offices for Cardiff Council, making it a central hub for digital arts in Wales and a leading venue in the UK.
Graeme Farrow, WMC’s Chief Creative and Content Officer, emphasised the venue’s impact:
This new space will continue our work at the intersection of technology and the arts... allowing artists to explore and experiment with multimedia approaches to storytelling. Its flexibility ensures artists will always have access to the cutting-edge resources they need to push boundaries.”
WMC’s latest venture builds on its success with Bocs, an immersive XR (extended reality) venue launched in 2022 that attracted over 31,000 visitors and featured award-winning immersive experiences. From virtual rave scenes to powerful narratives like Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin, Bocs showcased how digital arts can engage and inspire diverse audiences. WMC also recently showcased Invisible Ocean, an immersive production that attracted 7,500 attendees in just six weeks, highlighting the growing demand for digital storytelling.
As the official Welsh partner in the UK-wide Immersive Arts consortium, WMC will further research emerging technologies such as motion capture and virtual reality tools. Through this partnership, WMC will help distribute £3.6 million in grant funding to UK-based artists, breaking down barriers for those keen to explore immersive storytelling. Additionally, WMC will launch an artist award in early 2025, granting a year-long development opportunity to an artist with an exceptional vision for digital arts.
As a cornerstone of Welsh culture since its founding, WMC has hosted 23 million visitors, generated £218 million in ticket sales, and staged 7,800 performances, including Hamilton, Nye, and the annual Llais arts festival. Each year, WMC provides free creative programs for 4,000 young people and has supported 60 technical apprentices. Its ongoing transformation is a testament to the belief that creativity is essential to the well-being and prosperity of everyone in Wales.
Cllr Russell Goodway from Cardiff Council says:
This project is a big part of our ambition for Cardiff Live... It epitomises our approach of supporting production as well as performance, allowing us to develop our cultural offerings for Cardiff’s communities.”
Cardiff Council has awarded the build contract to Goldbeck Construction, and the venue is expected to open as a central feature of Cardiff Bay’s cultural expansion.
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