Wales Millennium Centre announces dates for the first ever Annwn Prize exhibition

Some of the world’s most innovative and ambitious artworks will go on show at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the first-ever Annwn Prize exhibition, running from 27th May to 26th June 2026.

The first global award celebrating excellence in immersive storytelling, the Annwn Prize’s inaugural shortlist features four groundbreaking works from France, Greece, the UK and the USA, each pushing the boundaries of how stories can be experienced.

Chosen by a panel of international curators and commentators, the works on display invite audiences to explore four incredibly varied experiences through augmented reality, branching film, expanded cinema and interactive theatrical installation. Commended for their bold originality, emotional depth and innovative use of technology, the four shortlisted works are:

Colored / Noire by Novaya

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 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who, nine months before Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat on a bus.

Consensus Gentium by Karen Palmer

Audiences are immersed in a near-future society where freedoms erode under biased AI and surveillance. As the protagonist, participants navigate a government Global Citizen App to visit their sick Nana whilst subjected to tests that measure compliance or dissent. Using facial detection and AI, the film reads users’ expressions and decisions in real time, creating a unique, personalised journey.

Constantinopoliad by Sister Sylvester

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. A journey through lost and missing archives over time, and the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems.   

NOWISWHENWEARE (the stars) by Andrew Schneider

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 them to that precise moment.

The winner of the Annwn Prize 2026 will be selected at the exhibition by an independent panel of industry experts and well-known faces and announced on Sunday, 14th June 2026. The Prize, launched by Wales Millennium Centre and produced with Crossover Labs, will be awarded to the best example of compelling storytelling and immersive artistry.

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

The Annwn Prize was established to celebrate the very best in immersive storytelling and to provide a platform for trailblazing artists to reach new audiences. By bringing the shortlisted works to Wales Millennium Centre, that's exactly what we’re doing. These extraordinary works showcase how this developing artform can resonate with us in new and powerful ways. We can't wait for audiences to explore and experience these works here this spring.

By bringing these award-winning works and artists to Wales Millennium Centre, the exhibition presents a major moment in the global arts calendar. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience Thea Award-winning Colored / Noire (Novaya), SXSW XR Experience winner Consensus Gentium (Karen Palmer), winner of the INTER:ACTIVE Award at CPH:DOX 2025 Constantinopoliad (Sister Sylvester) and NOWISWHENWEARE (the stars) from OBIE award-winning Andrew Schneider altogether.

Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday. 6th February 2026. Each experience lasts up to an hour and, when booking all four together, tickets are valid for a whole month - perfect for a day out or spreading the experience across several visits. Between shows, visitors will also be able to explore the dedicated onsite Annwn Prize Zone to discover more about the programme and to connect with fellow visitors and share their experience.

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.

Wales Millennium Centre is dedicated to exploring new ways of telling stories using immersive technology and celebrating 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 venue as part of a continued commitment to the future of creativity in Wales.

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To find out more about The Annwn Prize, visit annwnprize.com. Tickets to experience the shortlisted work can be booked via wmc.org.uk.