Bewritings

Former MA Music & Sonic Media student Catherine Ireton (left) and PhD Informatics student J. Luis Berna Moya won the Sussex Innovation Centre’s StartUp Sussex 2021 Prize with their business Curious Connectors. Catherine described the company as “a creative studio [that uses] multi-sensory technology to create memorable moments in the form of installations.”

The Curious Connectors website notes that they “create visually stunning spectacles that engage the senses of touch, taste, sound or smell in playful and imaginative ways” with expertise from an array of entrepreneurial interdisciplinary artists, engineers, architects, and creative media professionals.

They were introduced to the StartUp Sussex Competition a year ago after getting in contact with the University of Sussex. Due to lockdown restrictions, they decided to dedicate time to working on a business that combined their respective skill sets. At the time they met, Catherine was working as an artist, creating site-specific installations and theatre, and J.Luis worked in the Interact Lab with technology such as haptic displays and multi-sensory technology. The pair aimed “to create a space where [they] both feel like [they’re] useful and to create something unique.” However, the StartUp lab at the Sussex Innovation Centre particularly inspired them to pursue the idea as a business.

Catherine notes how studying at Sussex provided her with skills that aided the development of the start-up. Her course had enough scope to allow “new areas of collaboration” between herself and Luis. These previous projects were extremely helpful as, although they came from two very different schools of thought, they learned to find common ground and “talk the same language.” In addition, Catherine appreciated the “very safe environment to just test things” as it increased her confidence, saying:

 “The support from the staff and faculty in terms of my work was tremendous. I have done a lot of work outside the course; even before the course I was working as an artist for a number of years. But it’s difficult when you’re working as an artist and you’re putting work out there publicly, and if it’s not as well-received, you can kind of lose your way… so being part of the course made me tune into what it is as a musician and artist to express myself.”

Looking to the future of the start-up, Catherine hopes “to stay true to [their] roots” whilst being able “to grow the business and work with a team of people to develop these ideas.” After working alongside Sussex, and conducting immense market research, they identified the experiential events sector for potential clients, with the increase in demand for pop-up, interactive events as lockdown restrictions ease providing ample opportunities. However, in the short term, the two plan to focus on “setting up [a] sense of self and brand” through their work.