Annwn Prize for Excellence in Immersive Storytelling announces shortlist

Immersive Rumours
Nov 12
4 min read

Text announcing "ANNWN PRIZE 2026" shortlist. Colorful geometric background with green, yellow, and teal tones. Website: annwnprize.com.

The Annwn Prize – the first global award that celebrates excellence in immersive storytelling – has announced the four works shortlisted for its inaugural edition: Colored / Noire (Novaya), Consensus Gentium (Karen Palmer), Constantinopoliad (Sister Sylvester) and NOWISWHENWEARE (the stars) (Andrew Schneider). An exhibition of the shortlisted works will open at Wales Millennium Centre in May 2026, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the very best work from across the world in the UK. The winner will be announced on Sunday, 14th June 2026, at an awards ceremony in Cardiff.

The four shortlisted works, arranged alphabetically by title, are:

Colored / Noire – France, Novaya

Young girl in pink outfit, held by two dotted silhouettes resembling officers on a black background, shows a determined expression.

Visitors equipped with augmented reality headsets and bone-conduction audio systems are transported to 1950s Alabama, at the heart of the civil rights struggle. The experience allows participants to relive, as if they were there, the courageous act of Claudette Colvin - a 15-year-old girl who, nine months before Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat on a bus. The selection committee commended its exceptional theatrical quality, essential and skilful writing and directing, as well as its groundbreaking use of Extended Reality (XR) to evoke deep emotional connection.

Consensus Gentium – UK, Karen Palmer

Three smartphones display images: a person in white with text "USE YOUR GAZE," a green-tinted face with "IDENTIFYING VISITOR," and a man in beads. Background is dark with abstract patterns.

An innovative app immerses audiences in a near-future society where freedoms erode under biased AI and surveillance. As the protagonist, you navigate a government Global Citizen App to visit your sick Nana - subjected to tests that measure your compliance or dissent. Using facial detection and AI, the film reads your expressions and decisions in real time, creating a unique, personalised journey. The selection committee praised its emotionally charged, participant-driven narrative that powerfully explores digital citizenship, agency and surveillance - where the participants every choice reflects urgent questions of our connected future.

Constantinopoliad – UK/Greece, Sister Sylvester

Hands flipping through pages with typed text, "Constantinopolis" visible, under warm lighting. Focus on book and hands. Mysterious, intriguing mood.

An expanded cinema work that gathers its audience for an act of collective reading. A response to the archive of the poet Constantine Cavafy, the work is inspired by the blank and torn-out pages in “Constantinopoliad, an epic”, the journal the teenage Cavafy began when he and his family fled Alexandria. By Lost and missing archives through time, and by the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems. The selection committee commended its use of touch, imagery, sound, and words to create a vivid experience for audiences - inviting you to embark on a journey into the imagination of a young Cavafy as he explores his creative potential and sexuality.

NOWISWHENWEARE (the stars) – USA, Andrew Schneider

Blue-lit room with cascading star-like lights. Two people sit on the floor, creating a serene, otherworldly atmosphere.

An interactive theatrical installation where the audience steps into total darkness and becomes the centre of a shifting constellation. Guided by an unseen narrator, participants journey from complete sensory deprivation into a precisely programmed matrix of nearly 4,000 reactive LED lights and a 496-channel soundscape. Part meditation, part exploration, the work draws visitors into a hyper-focus of the present, tracing every decision they have made leading to that precise moment. The selection committee praised its highly original approach to spatial storytelling, precise technical virtuosity and masterful pacing that invites audiences to reflect on how we spend our time and the meaning we discover in everyday acts.

The shortlist spans geographical representation and medium, with artists from four different countries exploring the possibilities of augmented reality, branching film, expanded cinema and interactive theatrical installation. The shortlisted works demonstrate excellence in compelling storytelling; make audiences an active and integral part of the piece; and utilise technologies to enhance, augment or impact our sense of reality. They must have been exhibited in a festival, tour or venue programme between January 2024 – July 2025 to be eligible.

The Annwn Prize’s inaugural shortlist has been chosen by a selection committee, comprising six of a wider nominating panel of international curators and commentators: Mark Atkin, director, Crossover Labs; Ana Brzezinska, immersive curator, Barbican/Moment Factory; Samantha King, head of programme, VIVE Arts; Ellen Kuo, head of XR market, Newimages Festival; David Massey, senior producer for creative technology and storytelling, Wales Millennium Centre; Tom Millen, director, Crossover Labs.

The Prize, launched in 2025 by Wales Millennium Centre and produced with Crossover Labs, marks a major new moment in the global arts calendar. Supported by Peter and Janet Swinburn, the winning artist or studio will be awarded £20,000 along with a bespoke residency to support the development of new work.

Graeme Farrow, chief creative and content officer at Wales Millennium Centre, said:

Our inaugural shortlist represents exactly what the Annwn Prize was established to celebrate: the pioneering nature of immersive storytelling to resonate with us in new and unique ways. The four shortlisted works are at the forefront of this rapidly evolving art form, the possibilities of which are matched only by the boundless creativity of the artists working within it. Huge congratulations to the shortlisted artists, and we look forward to bringing their extraordinary works to audiences at the Wales Millennium Centre next Spring.

The shortlist selection committee, said:

The Annwn Prize selection committee is excited to announce four works, celebrating excellence, storytelling and artistry. Together, we have compiled a selection that pushes the boundaries of storytelling and entertainment whilst maintaining high standards of technical proficiency and staging. The shortlist examines poignant and urgent themes such as social injustice, truth, love, and the very nature of existence. As a committee, we have enjoyed the opportunity to come together to hold honest and critical conversations about the extraordinary immersive work being created by artists around the world. The collection of finalists embodies what the Annwn Prize sets out to celebrate and demonstrates the vast possibilities of the art form itself.

The Annwn Prize’s mission is to provide a global platform to elevate immersive storytelling as a vital pillar of cultural expression, celebrate pioneering artists and drive critical discussion of this art form, bringing exceptional and compelling work to UK audiences.

Wales Millennium Centre is dedicated to exploring new ways of telling stories using immersive technology and celebrates creators working at the intersection of art and technology. In 2022, the centre launched Bocs, a dedicated space for immersive experiences and extended reality (XR), and in 2024, unveiled plans for a forthcoming, cutting-edge and digital-first performance creativity in Wales.

To find out more about The Annwn Prize and the shortlist, visit annwnprize.com