Over the past decade we’ve reached many milestones that once felt like distant dreams. Our work has taken us across the Indonesian archipelago to create an award winning 360º documentary about the eco arts project Arka Kinari. We’ve toured our immersive contemporary dance experience, The Dance Dome, to more than 30 cities worldwide. Along the way, we’ve continued exploring how emerging technologies can deepen the way audiences connect with stories.
Five years ago we took another major step by founding the XR arts centre CULTVR Lab in Cardiff. The space has become a hub for immersive creativity and collaboration, and in 2023 we were proud to host Fulldome UK there, the longest running immersive arts festival in the UK. Bringing the festival to Wales for the first time was a huge moment for us, and after the success of last year’s edition, it will return again in 2024.
Next month we’ll also be celebrating our 10th anniversary at CULTVR Lab with a free public event featuring art installations, screenings of our award-winning 360º, exclusive announcements and more. Fittingly, it will take place on National Pi Day, 3.14, a date that has always felt close to our hearts.
Although we now work with commercial clients around the world, our roots are firmly in the arts and in Wales. 4Pi began with our founders, multidisciplinary artists Matt Wright and Janire Nájera. They first met while studying at the University of South Wales in Newport. Through their collaborations they began exploring immersive and interactive technologies as creative tools.
From those early experiments, 4Pi grew out of a shared passion for telling important and relevant stories while harnessing emerging technologies to inspire and connect with audiences. Alongside developing our own creative work, we began collaborating with organisations and clients who were also looking for new and engaging ways to reach people.
From the beginning, we’ve always embraced emerging technologies. We were early adopters of augmented reality, virtual reality and interactive tools, and over time portable domes and XR live performances have become one of our specialities. Our productions have toured worldwide, with dome installations appearing everywhere from Hong Kong and Macau to Norway.
Our work has also expanded into areas such as 3D scanning, virtual tours for cultural and commercial spaces, interactive installations, 360º site-specific artworks and photography.
Our 10th anniversary celebration on the 14th of March will be a chance for people to experience a snapshot of this journey, to see our work, meet our collaborators and explore some of the newest developments in immersive technology. For us, it’s also a moment to reflect.
Perhaps the most meaningful part of the past decade has been the people we’ve met and the communities we’ve worked with. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to collaborate with inspiring artists, travel to remarkable places and experience different cultures. If our dedication and perseverance have helped inspire others, or made the path a little easier for those exploring immersive arts after us, then that’s something we’re very proud of.
Looking ahead, the journey continues. In 2024 we’ll be touring our latest XR live performance to Canada, while our immersive documentary will be screening at festivals and planetariums around the world.
Our aim now is simple: to keep innovating and creating engaging projects and platforms both at home and internationally. We also have some exciting commercial projects on the horizon that will allow us to keep pushing the boundaries of immersive technology and the unique forms of storytelling it enables.
