MSL Digital

Photo: Craig Penfold

MSL Digital operating in the heart of Hastings

Established in 2014 to exploit the potential for AR, VR, mobile, and now immersive technology, our focus is placemaking and integrating heritage with social, learning and economic objectives.

We create performances, workshops, exhibitions, and installations that celebrate heritage, community and place and offer opportunities for learning and digital skills through workshops centred on digital skills development.

MSL Digital seeks to bring digital solutions to heritage narratives to provide a more immersive, inclusive experience. We deliver experiential learning and cultural experiences using digital technology. This translates into locally-focused projects and programmes that over time have drawn in a diverse range of participants – whether young, older, skilled or beginners and creatives.

With Piano in 2017, we pioneered the use of live-streaming of the competition and when this previewed at Source Park, we mounted an audience evaluation and schools programme by way of audience development. With our work on the Alley on Claremont, This is for Everyone and the Trinity Triangle Heritage Action Zone we created a digital evaluation toolkit that enabled us to successfully monitor audience data.

Almost all our projects have a built-in skills development strand. Hastings’ Creative Spring and Hastings’ Creative Summer targeted young people, and Our Past, Our Future, older people who were wanting to develop digital skills in interpreting and translating their own response to local heritage. This is for Everyone, A Derelict Chorale and Remixed and Remade centred on commissions to artists to create their own responses to heritage narratives in digital formats.

We’ve also documented our projects and put the outcomes up on our Smart Heritage map accessible in the town centre via WiFi. It brings original creative works made both by professionals and beginners to public space.

Each of the projects below has some digital components. We are currently working on several new ones such as Moving Stories which we’ll have more information on soon. We will be updating this page as projects and events progress, so watch this space.