As Studio Assistant, I'm very much a fixture of Studio whilst I'm based here 5 days a week. However, I was given the brilliant opportunity to venture out to both attend and usher at a very special one-off event that happened earlier this month. The Rooms festival by REACT took over Bristol old firestation, police station, and previously unused magistrates courts between 5 - 7 Nov.

Utilising derelict space for an event is hardly a unique feat in Bristol, but never before have we experienced something quite like this event. Old police cells homing VR headsets, and captivating interactive documentary. A scaled-up blueprint of Bristol Old Vic theatre painted upon the floor and accompanied by recorded experiences in situ. A library reconstructed within the old courthouse - disordered and anything but silent and tranquil. These examples are just some of the admittedly vast and ambitious worlds created by the REACT team as a fitting tribute to four bounteous years and over 50 wildly varied projects that have progressed through their programme. 

Fun with robots last night at #TheRooms

A video posted by Rosie Cooke (@grrrlscout) on Nov 6, 2015 at 12:13am PST

A partnership between Watershed and 5 universities across the south west, REACT has collaborated with, and garnered the attention of a huge breadth of talent from within the creative, academic and research sectors, many of whom were invited to the friends and family view on 5 Nov. This evening event was followed by an academic conference on Friday, before opening to the public for open house, and a later screening of Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, culminating in a spectacular performance by the fantastic Invisible Circus for all to behold. 

A video posted by Rosie Cooke (@grrrlscout) on Nov 7, 2015 at 11:16am PST

A video posted by Rosie Cooke (@grrrlscout) on Nov 7, 2015 at 11:17am PST

The open house on Saturday attracted incredible public attention, seeing overall footfall figures surpassing the 6,000 mark. It was a thrilling arena to pump a selection of the works we see being crafted in the Studio out into the world, and watch the public interact with such intrigue. It is as events like these where Bristol really proves it's hunger for creative works, and REACT certainly consider themselves fortunate to have an appreciative audience in their locality.

Over the festival, a few residents launched brilliant new projects that have evolved from the REACT development programme. Arthur Buxton, in his own gallery room at the event, coupled the launch of his Colourstory app with an exhibition of his prints made with the technology. Colourstory was born out of Arthur's interest in colour palletes and how they can be used to evoke memories or convey a sense of story. The app plucks prominent colours from a selected batch of images - for example: a holiday album - which are overlaid onto a wheel. An example of the effect can be seen to the left in his 'Hungry Caterpillar' print, that displays the signature colours from the children’s storybook.

Victoria Forrest of VIKAbooks also launched the eagerly anticipated interactive version of a picture book, In the Shadow of Things, which documents the moving account of a woman and her family living with her Contamination OCD condition. Available as an app, the interface allows you to scroll through images, sound clips and text, creating a multi-layer experience that incorporates modern digital methods of documentation without losing the traditional feel of a scrapbook or journal. Victoria was based in the old police cells, renamed 'The Labs' - showcasing a variety of innovative interactive documentaries. 


Just beyond the animated garden with Tine Bech's popular Light Bug swing, was the Future Cemetery - hosted by the lively Jakob Sabra, a Danish PhD student based at Arnos Vale cemetery, researching how the digital age of data will impact the way we lay our loved ones to rest. Without even a hint of the macabre, Jakob invited visitors to add their 6 word epitaphs to the wall in chalk. After the public event the cemetery was saturated in satirical, witty and poignant last remarks. The attraction tied in well with the recently launched Future Cemetery Design Competition which is open for registration now. The brief is 'Designing Disposal for Both Dead Bodies and Digital Data' - you can read more about this here.

The team are now reviewing the success of the festival and generally feeling proud of everyone involved in embarking on new digital frontiers. If you attended the festival, we would really appreciate your feedback. Please take part in this short survey. 

Photograph by Max McClure http://maxmcclure.com/