We’re thrilled to be a supporter for this year’s Birmingham Design Festival. As a local organisation, we’re proud of our Brummie roots and keen to do our part and support a great organisation which strives to support the local creative community, whilst working hard to put Brum on the map.

So who are we? BOM (Birmingham Open Media) is an immersive arts organisation and our mission is to empower communities through immersive technology and inclusive learning programmes.

We’re a non-profit social enterprise which creates award-winning immersive experiences using virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), all with a strong social purpose. Our experience covers everything from app and games development, providing high level immersive consultancy, skills training, building VR worlds and creating interactive AR experiences.

BOM projects are varied and we’ve worked on some exciting projects which includes the world’s first ‘smart’ Queens Baton for the Birmingham2022 Commonwealth Games. We were excited to see the launch of the Baton at Buckingham Palace and a very proud moment was when Tom Daley carried the Baton into the stadium. We also worked on interactive AR picture books for ‘Just Like Me’, the UK’s first inclusive and interactive picture books which use AR to bring stories to life.

Community and social purpose is at the heart of everything we do and we have just released a travel companion app, Hidden Kingdoms. Born from an observation of real-life experiences, we wanted to create an app that would help some of our community feel less overwhelmed when travelling. By providing check-ins, soundscapes and meditations, the app helps users to arrive calm at their destination.

Bringing things back to the wider Birmingham community is our most recent project, Brum AR, a collaborative project with the city’s business improvement districts and local experts. The AR app allows tourists and locals alike to experience the city in a whole new way – blending the city’s vibrant culture and progressive spirit with immersive technology. Launching with an initial music-themed experience with potential to add further layers at a later date, we’re excited to continue to build on this, so watch this space!

Learning and inclusion is important to us and a big part of what we do at BOM. We deliver education and outreach to over 1,500 underserved children, young people and adults each year, particularly those who face economic barriers or disabilities.

This ranges from our Immersive Arts Bootcamp, where we teach adults how to develop immersive experiences using Unreal Engine, to working with local schools to build on their digital skills, and encouraging more young people from diverse backgrounds to consider creative industries careers.

As an organisation, BOM is passionate about the potential for immersive technologies to build social connections, for learning and creativity. So where better than to pledge our support to BDF who do so much to champion and support the local creative community. We’re excited to visit this year with the team and soak up the creativity!

To learn more visit www.bom.org.uk and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.