The Christmas Decorations are slowly creeping out of the cupboards as we get ready for the last few weeks in the Studio before the Holiday. Sadly, we have had to say goodbye to our wonderful magicians in Residence, who will be sorely missed. On a happier note, we have welcomed two new residents into the Studio; Amy Roseand May Abdalla, who together form ANAGRAM. They will be here to research and develop their immersive documentary project, ‘Door Into the Dark’. We are also excited to learn that SquidSoup will be popping back to Bristol next week for two nights only to show ‘A Light Work In Progress' at The Eye as a special festive treat. Read on to find out more...

This week saw the culmination of the wonderfulMagicians in Residence programme. Stuart and Kieron have been working with us in the Studio, and also Pete, Jarrod and Mike from the University of Bristol’s Interaction and Graphics Lab (among others) over the last few months in an effort to explore the copious possibilities that technology in magic/magic in technology has to offer. The fruits of their labour were showcased in Watershed last night, and we feasted our eyes on telepathic headsets, Kieron powering a lightbulb, and Stuart’s mind reading IdeoBird + OuijaBird. The showcase was tail-ended by a fascinating discussion between Clare, Kieron, Stuart and Mike from University of Bristol. Among the topics discussed were the many layers of illusion in technology, trying to bring tech into the infamous Magic Circle and the weird and wonderful Magician in Residence interviews. The Showcase was filmed, and the footage will be posted on the website in the near future. For now, you can watch two short films about the magicians’ residencies, where Kieron, Stuart and the technologists explain what the programme was all about. Keep an eye out for the magicians’ final blog posts, where they’ll be recapping their residencies and giving us an insight into their thoughts concerning mixing technology and magic.

Calvium have formed a collaboration with UCAN, a creative arts co-operative for young people with visual impairment. The two organisations have been awarded funding to co-create an accessible indoor navigation app called UCAN Go. This will be a user-led project, exploring the process of verbally mapping arts venues in order to support non-visual navigation and engagement. We’re really looking forward to the wonderful things that will inevitably come out of this meeting of minds.

Mandy Rose, Director of DCRC, has become a curator of MIT’s Docubase, an open documentary lab online, which seeks to keep people engaged with the many exciting things that are happening in the field of Documentary making. The site has a huge expanse of information/links to brilliant documentaries, and is a hub for debate and discussion concerning factual film making. It really is worth a look. Another exciting piece of news is that the DCRC are planning a one-day symposium around robotics on 8 March in the New Year. The announcement is to follow, so keep your eyes peeled if you have an interest in Robotics.

Matt has been in India, to discuss the upcoming UnBox Labs. The Labs will see a collaboration of creative practitioners and researchers from both the UK and India, working on projects responding to the challenges of urban futures at a 10 day lab in Delhi in the New Year. He has been in conversation with the British Council about setting up a Future Cities Lab at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, where UnBox will take place. We can’t wait to see what will come out of the Labs.

Brunel’s Engine Shed has been revamped and reopened as an innovation centre, and a few of the PM Studio residents performed at the launch. Adam, founder of nu desine, played his multi-faceted instrument, the AlphaSphere, Laura Kriefman showcased her musical Rolling Stones and Ad Spiersexhibited Milk Pixel, his interactive light installation made out of plastic milk bottles.

We have been joined by two new Residents; Amy Rose and May Abdalla, who are here as part ofANAGRAM. They came to talk to us about their project; Door Into the Dark, which will explore the possibilities of immersive documentary using new technologies such as binaural recordings and geo-locative software to plunge people into the heart of the story being told. If you missed the talk, a write-up will soon be posted on the website.

The No Boundaries website has now been launched, and delegate passes are available to purchase. Visit the Contributors page to have a look at the list of speakers who have been confirmed so far, or visit theNews and Debate page to watch the discussion unfold and to contribute to it yourself.

We are very excited to announce another incredible light show from award winning international artistsSquidSoup. Following the immense success of Submergence, their interactive light installation comprising of 8,064 dynamic, suspended lights, SquidSoup have continued their residence in Bristol Temple Quarter’s The Eye. They are using the same hardware system to explore digital materiality, decay, granularity and movement in physical space. A Light Work in Progress will be a spectacular display of a kind of 3-dimensional screen, where pixels are represented by individual points of light. The installation will be open to the public for two days only – 16-17 December, from 16:00-22:00. Further details are on the Watershed website.