We are impossibly excited to have launched our search for a Magician in Residence! We are seeking an adventurous soul with an appetite for the unusual, an artistic temperament and an affinity for geek, with suggested skills of 'disappearing interfaces, conjuring circuits, pulling robotic rabbits out of haptic hats'.

Disrupting our usual residency service, we are inviting a magician, artist, illusionist or designer to join us for a spell of exploration into creative ideas that blend technology, interaction design, magic and illusion.

The Magician in Residence will receive research, development and production support over a two-month period, beginning in Ocober and culminating in a showcase in December. Applications are open now until Mon 10 June.

It’s a position that has already attracted the attention of top TV magician Derren Brown – himself a Bristol University graduate – who Tweeted to his 1.5m followers about our 'interesting project'.

Clare Reddington, director of Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio, said the residency could attract designers, artists, technicians or other creative practitioners, as well as old-school magicians.

'We’re interested in taking the sense of wonderment that traditional magic acts generate, and somehow bring it to introducing people to the latest forms of technology that are now being created. For most of us, modern digital technology actually appears to be some sort of illusion, simply because we don’t really understand how any of it works, so we were keen to tap into the energy of magicians as a way of making technology more accessible.'

We are delighted that the team has been inundated with applications and phone calls from interested parties. Clare continues:

'It’s been brilliant to talk to the magicians who have been phoning us up to ask for more information, because they’re positively bubbling with excitement at the prospect of it. Meanwhile, here in the office we’re all bubbling with excitement at the thought of having a magician in residence – everyone loves magic tricks, and the idea of having someone here performing those sort of tricks is genuinely exciting. It will be an interesting relationship, because the magic community is traditionally so secretive about its techniques, while the digital media community is always very open.'

To find out more about the programme and for how to apply, please see here.

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