'First of its kind' 360 dome launches immersive hub
A £7.6million transformative regeneration programme, set to put Plymouth, England, on the global map as a leader in immersive technology came to fruition when Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England, joined creative leaders from across the country to formally open the city’s Grade II listed Market Hall.
The new Market Hall in Devonport offers enriching cultural experiences and immersive opportunities in its groundbreaking Dome alongside creative and collaborative workspace, learning, workshops, expansive meeting rooms, event spaces, a production suite and a café dishing up nutritious lunch options and barista-grounded coffee.
Tickets to the dome’s very first show have gone live via Real Ideas’ website. The immersive family-friendly film, Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure allows dome-goers to meet the ‘other’ dinosaurs, the ones that lived below the surface, under the depths of the sea.
Travel back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the seas and meet Dolly – a curious and adventurous dolichorhynchops – as she travels through the most dangerous oceans in history. Along the way, she encounters long-necked plesiosaurs, giant turtles, enormous fish, fierce sharks, and the most dangerous sea monsters of all, the mosasaur.
Developed in partnership with Plymouth City Council and the Institute of Digital Art and Technology at the University of Plymouth, the Market Hall, in the Devonport area of the city, will create a new space for the local community.
The project has been supported with funding from Arts Council England, the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, ERDF, and the Unlocking Growth Fund administered by Heart of the South West LEP. All of this is new investment into Plymouth from national and European sources which is anticipated to have a significant impact.
In addition, linking this building’s significant past to its cutting-edge future, a prestigious blue plaque in commemoration of major 18th century European painter and founder of the Royal Academy of Arts, Sir Joshua Reynolds, who had his studio on this site, has been unveiled.