An architect by training, Laura Mannelli is a Luxembourg XR artist and director who divides her life between Paris, Luxembourg and her networks. She likes to explore the digital universe by developing a practice at the crossroads of visual arts, virtual realities, video games and architecture. Co-founder of the Atopic Festival, one of the first European festivals dedicated to virtual realities and machinimas, she has also exhibited, among others, at the TriBeCa film festival in New York and at the Palais de Tokyo and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Nominated and awarded, these works, at the heart of digital creation processes, drive a multidisciplinary and collective approach to creation.

Cryptic’s artist residency programme provides professional development time and support for musicians and digital artists to focus exclusively upon their own practice, whilst engaging with other artists and receiving peer-to-peer learning. The emphasis of Cryptic’s residency programme is on research and the development of existing or new work and is not geared towards a final presentation.

This talent development opportunity is essential for both the artists and for Cryptic in nurturing the next generation of creative talent. Ultimately, the combination of international and UK artists at various stages in their career is what makes the learning experience so inspiring and for many artists it’s the ‘must go’ date in their calendar. Since 2012, Cryptic has curated this annual artist residency programme at Cove Park focusing on music, sound and multi-media, with over 78 artists benefitting.