LIPA secures £2.5m Office for Students capital funding to deliver new performance and digital innovation hub

The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) has been awarded £2.5 million in capital funding from the Office for Students (OfS) to develop a major new hub for performance, production and digital innovation. 

The award will enable LIPA to deliver Phase 2 of its transformational redevelopment of the One Hope Place building, significantly enhancing opportunities for students, researchers and industry partners. 

Scheduled for completion in Spring 2026, the redeveloped building will include: 

• A specialist Digital Creative Technologies lab designed for exploration of emerging technologies in the creative industries 

• Enhanced performance facilities integrating virtual production and advanced visualisation facilities 

• Digital tools and music production facilities to support innovative approaches to live music performance and composition. 

These new facilities will accelerate LIPA’s ambition to be at the forefront of digital innovation within the performing arts and creative sectors, supporting its mission to foster creativity, entrepreneurship and industry collaboration. 

Professor Sean McNamara, LIPA’s Principal and CEO, said: “This investment represents a major milestone for LIPA. It will provide our students with industry standard facilities and will strengthen our position as a centre of excellence for professional training and innovation. Coming so soon after achieving probationary degree-awarding powers, this award is a powerful endorsement of our long-term vision and of the impact LIPA continues to make regionally, nationally and internationally.”  

Work on the project has begun, with further updates to be shared as the redevelopment progresses.