Press room

Barbican announces departure of Patrick Moran, Head of Commercial Strategy & Partnerships, after sixteen years with the organisation, six of which spent at the head of Barbican Immersive Programme, which he founded with Luke Kemp.

Since founding the Immersive programme Patrick has played a pivotal role in shaping and growing the Barbican’s Immersive offer, establishing the Barbican as a leading destination for immersive work in both the UK and as a content partner internationally.

Working with artists, producers, partners and colleagues across the organisation, Patrick helped bring landmark productions to audiences, including Feel the Sound, In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats and In Other Worlds. He played a critical role in securing multi-million-pound sponsors and partners for the programme from organisations including Bloomberg Philanthropies, the British Film Institute, Agog: The Immersive Institute and Epic Games, enabling the development and presentation of ambitious new work at scale.

Patrick was instrumental in attracting younger and more diverse audiences to the Barbican through innovative experiences that brought together culture, technology and participation. He also developed an extensive network of commercial, cultural and international partnerships, creating new opportunities for collaboration, external investment and audience growth. This included the creation of the highly successful Shift Salon conference, which brought together global leaders from the immersive, technology and creative sectors, and helped strengthen the Barbican’s international profile and influence.

In 2026 alone, the global Immersive touring programme will present work across three continents and six territories, reflecting the scale of the platform, partnerships and international networks developed during his tenure.

Alongside the programme’s artistic achievements, Patrick played a leading role in developing its commercial strategy, securing significant external investment, building international partnerships and exploring new models for growth and sustainability. During his tenure, the Immersive programme established a reputation for artistic ambition, international collaboration and audience innovation, becoming one of the Barbican’s most distinctive and internationally recognised areas of activity. His work has helped position the Barbican at the forefront of a rapidly evolving global immersive sector. After his, departure, Patrick will continue to organise the Shift Salon conference, working with global partners to host this key immersive industry event. 

Patrick Moran says, “It has been an extraordinary experience to have founded and developed Barbican Immersive. To work on such groundbreaking projects alongside an incredible team. Building the partnerships that allowed us to share our work internationally has been a career highlight. We collectively built a programme that has touched every continent and been experienced by millions of visitors. I leave with great pride in our collective achievements and looking forward to continuing to build the Shift Salon as a key event for the Immersive sector."