Immersed is a month-long, cross-disciplinary creative festival produced by students at the University of South Wales and experienced by the public as a fully-fledged cultural event. It blends live music, film, fashion, theatre, visual art, journalism and digital broadcasting into one shared platform.
Each year, more than 500 students take on real industry roles to deliver a festival in the Welsh capital that attracts thousands of attendees, as well as partners such as Music Declares Emergency, the Welsh Government and BBC platforms. The festival actively connects students with Cardiff’s creative community, local businesses, cultural organisations and national partners, creating shared cultural, social and economic value.
Along with being student run, Immersed also sets itself apart from other events due to the strong civic mission it has developed, working to widen access to culture, support emerging creative talent, and champion social and environmental sustainability.
Immersed is creative, ambitious and values-led – a pioneering educational project with cultural energy and civic purpose.
A creative spark
Immersed grew from a desire to create a platform where students experience the energy, responsibility and creative freedom of working within a real cultural event. Having worked across both industry and education, I wanted to build something that dissolved traditional boundaries between learning, professional practice and public engagement.
The first festival in 2019 was modest in scale but incredibly bold in spirit. Learners on a handful of the university’s courses collaborated to programme artists, build stages, develop branding and deliver a live public event. Even then, there was a sense of ownership and ambition that felt closer to industry than education, and it was clear to me that Immersed had the potential to grow into something much larger.
Today, Immersed has evolved into a major creative ecosystem. What began as a single evening has expanded into a month-long programme of gigs, screenings, installations, broadcasts and industry events, culminating in a 1,000-capacity live festival that’s typically held during March.
As the festival has grown, so has the scale of artists involved. We have welcomed headliners including Richard Ashcroft, Bob Vylan, Lady Leshurr, Tom Grennan and Peter Doherty, significantly expanding audience reach and strengthening industry engagement. Crucially, this creates rare opportunities for students to share the stage and professional creative process with globally recognised artists – gaining first-hand experience of live performance, production and industry practice at the highest level.
Students pulling the strings
More than fifteen courses now contribute to Immersed. Music students curate line-ups and manage live production. Film and TV students produce Immersed TV. Fashion, Drama and Art students shape the creative identity through styling, performance, installations and murals. Journalism students lead interviews and storytelling, while Events and Marketing students manage logistics, partnerships and audience experience.
This collaboration is central to Immersed’s success. Students work together across disciplines in ways that reflect shared creative values, while gaining confidence and capability that stems from operating in real roles with real responsibility.
While students undertake tasks like managing the artists, delivering broadcasts, collaborating with partners, and engaging live audiences, they also build networks with industry professionals, develop content for their portfolios, and experience a springboard for employability. Many describe Immersed as the moment they stop feeling like students and start seeing themselves as practitioners.
That’s not to say things don’t sometimes go awry. Live events always bring unpredictability and we’ve experienced last-minute artist changes, technical challenges and logistical surprises. What’s remarkable is how students respond, adapting to challenges quickly, supporting one another and finding creative solutions under pressure, often turning potential setbacks into successes.
Audience feedback consistently highlights the scale, professionalism, and atmosphere of the festival. Members of the public who’ve attended the festival are often surprised to learn it’s student-led. There is also strong resonance with the festival’s social and environmental themes. Audiences value that Immersed combines creativity with purpose, relevance, and real-world skill development.
Shaped by sustainability
Sustainability is integral to Immersed’s identity and civic mission. We work closely with Music Declares Emergency, the global climate charity mobilising the music industry around the climate and ecological crisis. Together, we translate climate awareness into visible cultural action, through themed programming, creative responses, sustainable production practices and permanent public artworks, including large‑scale murals across the city of Cardiff.
A growing part of this work is recognising the emotional reality of the climate crisis, especially for young people. Climate anxiety, feelings of disconnect, and the overwhelm that comes with an uncertain future are now common experiences. By giving youth a platform, we reinforce their right to a future, amplifying their voices through creative commissions, workshops and public conversations that centre around hope, agency and collective action.
Through this lens, sustainability at Immersed isn’t a bolt‑on – it shapes partnerships, programming and legacy. It becomes a positive driver of cultural energy, empowering the next generation not only to process their fears but to channel them into imagination, solidarity and meaningful change.
Cardiff’s contribution
Cardiff is at the heart of Immersed’s identity. The city’s scale, energy and cultural diversity make it a uniquely fertile place for emerging talent to grow. Its creative communities, grassroots venues and collaborative spirit shape the way Immersed works – open, connected and rooted in real local stories.
Immersed receives enormous support from Welsh Government via Creative Wales and from Cardiff Council, whose investment in culture and young people underpins the festival’s ability to thrive. This foundation is strengthened further by the University of South Wales, where Immersed is a flagship project that showcases our curriculum and the talent, innovation and industry‑readiness of our students.
We also really value the work we do with community organisations that share our commitment to developing the next generation of Welsh talent, including Horizons, Sound Progression and Ministry of Life. Their work ensures that young artists from all backgrounds can access opportunities, skills and platforms that help them move forward.
Cardiff’s compactness means artists, educators, producers and audiences are never far apart. Ideas travel quickly, collaborations form naturally, and the city’s creative ecosystem becomes a living network that young people can step into and shape. Immersed sits within this ecosystem, not as an isolated event, but as part of a wider movement to champion Welsh creativity, amplify youth voices and build long‑term pathways into the industry.
Looking forward, Immersed moves into the future by building on what already works, celebrating what we’ve created, sustaining the momentum, and continuing to give young people a platform to grow. The aim is to keep making a real difference: expanding opportunities, strengthening pathways into the industry, and ensuring young voices remain at the centre of Wales’s creative landscape.
Each year becomes a chance to deepen our impact, support more emerging talent, and keep shaping a future where young people feel seen, valued and able to thrive.
Learn more about Immersed Festival, and purchase tickets for this year’s edition of the event, on the official Immersed website.
