folly

What folly does

Folly is a UK-registered charity (No 328232) operating as a leading digital arts organisation across England's North West since its founding as Folly Trust in 1989. The charity commissions, exhibits, promotes, and supports creative work emphasising online media, networked systems, and integrated technologies, and serves four principal user groups: the general public and communities in North West England, young people aged 12–16, public libraries and cultural organisations, and digital artists and creative practitioners. Its product surface is anchored by the AND (Abandon Normal Devices) Festival co-delivered with FACT Liverpool and Cornerhouse Manchester, supplemented by year-round programmes including the Radar library residency, FLI (Folly Lanternhouse International) artist residencies, the BUGs research taskforce on digital exclusion, the Predict leadership development scheme, the Digital Participation Programme, the Love Culture online community, the Portable Pixel Playground touring installation, and an online programme of artistic projects such as f.wish and What's Cooking Grandma. Technology assets include community platforms (digi_club, Love Culture) and bespoke interactive installations (Balloonascope), designed for public engagement rather than software commercialisation. The organisation is funded almost entirely through charitable grants — primarily from Arts Council England, NESTA, Legacy Trust UK, and Arts Council England Northwest — with operational scale of approximately 16 employees based in Lancaster under Chief Executive Taylor Nuttall. Delivery operates event-driven and partnership-led across regional physical venues (Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria) and online channels, with no disclosed commercial pricing model.

Name

folly

Legal name

folly

Website

https://folly.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Folly is a UK-registered charity and digital arts organisation based in Lancaster that commissions, exhibits, and supports creative technology work across England's North West. It serves the general public, young people, public libraries, and artists through festivals, residencies, online platforms, and digital inclusion programmes funded by Arts Council grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Arts and Cultural Services

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Arts & Design (Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation) (EDAMAAAB), Arts, Crafts & Maker Fairs (MPAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Digital arts
• Artist residencies
• Cultural festivals
• Digital participation
• Community engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Lancaster

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Charitable Grants and Funding: As a Registered Charity (No 328232), Folly operates primarily through grant funding from Arts Council England, NESTA, Legacy Trust UK, and Arts Council Northwest

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Folly commissions, exhibits, promotes and supports creative work and innovation using online media, networked systems and integrated technologies. It delivers a year-round programme of online projects, events, festivals (such as the AND Festival of new cinema and digital culture), artist commissions, exhibitions, residencies, workshops and conferences across England's North West, with a strong focus on creative interaction between artists and the public.

Product overview

Folly is a leading digital arts organisation working across England's North West that delivers a year-round diverse programme of online projects, events, festival activities, artist commissions, exhibitions, artist residencies, workshops and conferences. The organisation operates a portfolio of programmes including the AND Festival (Abandon Normal Devices) as its flagship event, the BUGs research taskforce examining digital participation, the Love Culture online community platform, Predict for developing future arts leaders, Radar library residencies, and the Portable Pixel Playground interactive installation. Additional offerings include FLI artist residencies, digi_club (now archived), Balloonascope consultation projects, and various online artworks like f.wish and What's Cooking Grandma. The organisation focuses on creative interaction between artists and the public using technology, with emphasis on online media, networked systems and integrated technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AND Festival (Abandon Normal Devices): Festival of new cinema and digital culture, a collaboration between folly, FACT and Cornerhouse.
• BUGs
• Current
• Portable Pixel Playground
• Radar
• Love Culture

Products and services

• AND Festival (Abandon Normal Devices) A flagship festival of new cinema and digital culture presenting screenings, exhibitions, installations, online projects, public realm interventions, workshops and live events across North West England. It is a collaboration between folly, FACT and Cornerhouse.
• BUGs (Digital Participation Taskforce) A research taskforce providing in-depth examination of the value and impact of socially engaged digital arts practice on digitally excluded groups.
• Current: An Experiment in Collecting Digital Art An experiment in collecting digital art exploring how digital artworks are acquired, preserved and exhibited, presented as a curatorial programme.
• Digital Participation Programme Initiatives aimed at empowering marginalised groups to engage online with confidence through art.
• Predict A programme for developing the next generation of arts leaders, supporting young people through mentoring, internships, work placements and trainee positions to excel within a future job market.
• Love Culture An online community platform where people can make friends and share views about art and culture, designed to bring arts organisations and audiences closer together.
• Radar Artists' residencies in public libraries across Lancashire, considering the role of libraries as free and accessible public gateways to culture.
• Portable Pixel Playground A touring interactive playground featuring digital art installations including bug projections, giant interactive inflatables and smart cubes for children and families.
• FLI Residencies (Folly Lanternhouse International) Support for artists working with new technologies to develop ideas and extend practice, with an emphasis on participatory activity, delivered in partnership with Lanternhouse International.
• Lancashire Balloonascope A creative consultation project using a giant interactive balloon diagram to investigate people's relationships to digital culture in libraries and public spaces across Lancashire.
• f.wish An online wishing tree artwork inspired by the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees in Hong Kong, created by artist duo boredomresearch, allowing users to submit wishes that hang on a virtual tree.
• What's Cooking Grandma A video cookbook of grandmothers and their special recipes, celebrating cooking and sharing knowledge across generations, created by artist duo Human Beans.
• The Secret Life of Cumbria A collaborative book written by the people of Cumbria, collecting stories about the region through text messages and website submissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Digi_club achieved 8000 unique visits per month with 400 global members
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• British WaterwaysminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Partner in AND Regional Residency Programme for canal boat residency on the canals of North West England.
• DaDa (Disability and Deaf Arts)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Disability and Deaf Arts organisation partnering with AND for online artists residency programme.
• Curious MindsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Co-producing Blaze youth culture and sport programme across Pennine Lancashire. Partner in WE PLAY and The Big Game project.
• North West Film ArchiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010AND partnered with North West Film Archive for Gleaners project, offering filmmakers month-long residencies in the archive.
• FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009AND Festival is a major collaboration between FACT, Cornerhouse and folly. FACT serves as the Liverpool venue and co-presenter of the Abandon Normal Devices festival of new cinema and digital culture.
• CornerhousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009AND Festival is a partnership between FACT, Cornerhouse and folly. Cornerhouse serves as the Manchester venue and is the base location for the Festival Coordinator position.
• Art Locates MeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Digital art and media project producing and distributing work made by young people from Cumbria. Previously partnered with folly on innovative digital arts work with young people.
• Forestry Commission GrizedaleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Government department responsible for forests and woodlands. Partner in Pod Camp project at Grizedale Forest, providing expertise in environment and sustainable energy.
• Lanternhouse InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Folly Lanternhouse International (FLI) residencies programme in partnership with Lanternhouse. Offers support to artists working with new technologies.
• Harris Museum and Art GalleryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2007Digi_club physical workshop programme delivered in partnership with Harris Museum in Preston.
• Cornerhouse ManchesterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2007Digi_club physical workshop programme delivered in partnership with Cornerhouse.
• More Music in MorecambeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2007Digi_club physical workshop programme delivered in partnership with More Music.
• BBC Radio LancashireminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2007Digi_club physical workshop programme delivered in partnership with BBC Radio Lancashire.
• boredomresearchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Southampton-based artist duo Vicky Isley and Paul Smith commissioned for f.wish online wishing tree project.
• Lancashire Libraries ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRadar programme places artists in residencies across Lancashire's public libraries, considering libraries as free and accessible public gateways to culture.
• We Make MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloping North programme of events in Cumbria, including Rule of Thirds creative gathering.
• Human BeansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist duo Mickaël Charbonnel and Chris Vanstone who created What's Cooking Grandma video cookbook project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HOME (Manchester): Manchester-based contemporary arts centre combining cinema, theatre, and gallery programmes. Successor organisation to Cornerhouse (Folly's AND Festival partner), offers directly comparable regional digital/film arts programming in the same North West geography.
• Watershed: Bristol-based cultural cinema and digital creativity centre. Runs comparable programmes of film, digital media, and creative technology engagement, including media lab-style activities for artists and the public. Closest non-regional UK peer in mission and operational model.
• Furtherfield: London-based arts organisation combining online and physical platforms for contemporary digital art, with focus on networked and participatory practice. Closely comparable in emphasis on online community platforms (e.g. Love Culture) and socially engaged digital art.
• FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology): Liverpool-based digital arts cinema and media centre. Co-presents AND Festival with Folly and Cornerhouse, operates a comparable programme of exhibitions, screenings, and digital culture commissions. Directly comparable mission in new cinema/digital culture and similar audience base in the North West.
• Lighthouse: Brighton-based digital culture agency supporting artists working with technology. Directly comparable specialist digital arts commissioning, residency, and exhibition programming, though serving a different region of the UK.
• Arnolfini: Bristol international centre for contemporary arts presenting exhibitions, performances, and digital culture programming. Comparable as a multi-disciplinary arts organisation delivering exhibitions, residencies, and public engagement though broader than Folly's digital focus.

Broad incumbents

• Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art: Gateshead-based major contemporary art gallery presenting international exhibitions of visual and digital art. Larger-scale regional North East peer with broader curatorial scope but overlapping digital/experimental art programming.
• Tate Modern: London-based national museum of modern and contemporary art including digital and time-based media. Overlaps with Folly's digital arts collecting/preservation interest (e.g. Current programme) at vastly larger institutional scale.
• Barbican Centre: London-based major arts centre presenting large-scale exhibitions, film, and digital culture programmes. Larger incumbent in the same field with substantially greater resources and audience reach.

Emerging players

• Onedotzero: London-based digital arts agency curating film, interactive, and moving image programmes with which Folly's AND Festival network has previously partnered. Comparable focus on new cinema/digital culture but at smaller event-based scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/folly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about folly