Futuresonic/FutureEverything
The UK’s leading festival for digital culture,
celebrated worldwide, and based in
Manchester.
Est. 1995.

Our Mission
Our mission is to position Manchester as a
bright, contemporary, ultra-modern place of
radical thinking.

Awards
FutureEverything was nominated for the
prestigious Lever Prize 2009, and the
Director, Drew Hemment, received an
Honorary Mention at Ars Electronica 2008.

Scale
3 days and nights
300 artists
100 events
30 venues

What is it like?
It is an urban festival of art, music and ideas

Art
The world renowned Art strand presents
astonishing artworks, including many world
firsts. Themes include society, technology
and the city plus this year Environment 2.0.

Music
The festival takes over the finest venues in
Manchester for a celebration of musicianship
and a salute to those who perform on the
cutting-edge. It encompasses many genres
and spans generations, with a focus on the
white heat of tomorrow.

Conference
The Social Technologies Summit is a leading
international conference that explores the latest
upgrade affecting today's digital culture. It
presents pioneering ideas, which will transform
the way you and your organisation operate,
innovate and interact.

Why did we start it?
Because we couldn’t live without it.
It is creatively driven, artist led.

Why in Manchester?
The festival has deep roots, and has been
shaped by and shapes the city of Manchester.
If Original Modern is about \"the now,\"
Futuresonic is about \"the next thing.\"

Audience
Last year it attracted an audience in excess of
50,000 people and its acclaimed conference,
the Social Technologies Summit, attracted
900 people over three days, with 22% of
delegates from outside the UK.

Stats
51,000 people in 2008
53% were aged 16 - 24
5.5% of audience international
51.5% from outside Greater Manchester
(based on sample)

Media Footprint
£26 million (IPBC)
On the opening day of Futuresonic in 2007
there were only two items on regional TV
news, Tony Blair's resignation and the
Futuresonic exhibition.

Impact
Festivals have a disproportionate impact
because they are the occasions when
creatives and technology companies launch
new updates and have maximum visibility.

An international community
The festival is a destination for a world-wide
community of creative visionaries in digital
art and contemporary culture.
At Futuresonic everyone is a participant.

Rapid prototyping future culture
It is the only festival in the world conceived
as an accelerator and rapid prototyper for
future culture. It creates a space where new
ideas, technologies and forms of culture
can be tested and presented.

World Firsts
Futuresonic presented in 2006 the first fully
realised live show using the TENORI-ON by
Yamaha and Toshio Iwai. It was so successful
that it led Yamaha to stage the worldwide
launch exclusively in Manchester and London
in partnership with Futuresonic.

World Firsts
Futuresonic presented the first major art
exhibition worldwide on mobile and locative
media (Mobile Connections, 2004) and the
first major art exhibition on social networking
(Social Networking Unplugged, 2008).

Relationship to creative economy
It is an international hub for Manchester
and the region, drawing visitors, inward
investment and opportunities for local
talent on a global stage.

Joined up
The festival is embedded in university
research, and is increasingly embedded in
business networks and support, so that
there is seamless transition between the
inspiration space of the conference and
year-round support and engagement.

Delegates
Artists
Senior Management
Directors
Developers
Sectors: Media, Technology, Creative
Industries, Science, Academia, Arts

Existing International Market
Germany
Sweden
Netherlands
China
South Africa
Australia
USA

Dr. Drew Hemment
Founder and Director
His work covered prominently by New York Times,
BBC and NBC, awarded an Honorary Mention at
Prix Ars Electronica 2008. A leading figure in the
fields of Social Technologies and Locative Media.
Associate Director of ImaginationLancaster rated
4th in the UK in Art and Design.

In 2010 Futuresonic will return as FutureEverything
www.futureeverything.org

With thanks to
FutureEverything has been awarded Pillar Status by
Manchester City Council, Regularly Funded Organisation
(RFO) status by Arts Council England, and three year funding
by Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Thank you to all the partners, funders, supporters and
participants, without you the event would not be possible.