First Friday is a monthly social event open to anyone. These events are somewhere between the last meeting of the week and the first event of your weekend. You might meet an artist or an engineer, a school teacher or a city leader. It is a place to connect with someone you might not otherwise meet, and hear about stuff you didn’t already know. All are welcome - from inside and outside the city, online or in the Watershed building. 

April 2024 event 

This First Friday event will take place both in Pervasive Media Studio and online on Fri 5 April 17:00-18:00. 

Our April event offers the opportunity to see a selection of work from the Pervasive Media Studio community.  

People joining us in person will have the opportunity to have a look around Pervasive Media Studio and to find out more about some of the work that happens here. There will also be some equipment set up to chat with people joining the event remotely. 

As well as the chance to socialise in the Studio, attendees joining the event in person will also get to see a selection of work by some of our Studio community. 

People sharing work include: 

  • Natalie Hyacinth is an academic and sound artist, weaving together sonic worlds and stories from across the diaspora. Natalie will be showcasing her sound piece, Working Class Women and Work: A Sonic Exploration that reflects upon the worlds of work, care and labour centred around the historical, 19th century founded Kendrick and Jefferson printing factory in West Bromwich, UK. 
  • Brave Bold Drama is an award-winning theatre and community arts company led by two working class LGBTQAI+ freelance artists. They will be showcasing Beside the Sea which is a sensory story designed for 1-2-1 use with a carer or family member and a person living with dementia. 
  • Simone Einfalt is an artist and filmmaker, working at the intersection of moving image, sound and object art. Simone will present 'Strawberry Line', the title of Simone's wider R&D art and documentary project with communities around the former Cheddar Valley Railway Line, North Somerset. 
  • Derek Ahmedzai and Norts of award-winning technologists The Peeps will be showcasing an array of Gen AI commercial projects and leftfield experiments they've been working on over the last 12 months. Expect to see bold ideas and challenging creativity that effortlessly stands apart from the mundane.

We have a fun addition this First Friday: a cardboard racing track built by families as part of our half term family workshops. Join us today from 5pm to 6pm and learn more about this fantastic IRL video racing game workshop supported by Tony Bhajam and delivered by Toby Harris and have a go at racing a car!

The hosted element of the event will finish at 6pm. After that, in person attendees are welcome to continue conversations in Watershed's cafe bar area. 

People joining online can participate in short speed networking conversations, facilitated by our chat roulette style software. You will be paired up at random for a series of five-minute conversations, one-to-one with other guests. There is an option to take a break between each chat and you are welcome to pop in and out whenever you like. It's fine to join the event late and leave the event early. 

Join the First Friday mailing list here. 

This event is supported by MyWorld. 

 

Booking info 

To join us online sign up here. You will be asked for your email address so we can send you your personal link. Please try and use either Chrome or Firefox on your computer (rather than a mobile device). 

If you are attending in person, there is no need to pre-book. Head to our main bar area, buy a drink if you want to, and then follow directions down to Pervasive Media Studio. 

  

About Pervasive Media Studio 

The Pervasive Media Studio hosts an international community of over 150 artists, companies, technologists, and academics exploring experience design and creative technology. We are a space for risk taking and early ideas; for the kind of projects and questions that inhabit the meeting points of art, technology, and society. 

Our projects span play, robotics, location-based media, food, connected objects, interactive documentary, new forms of performance and more. 

We have an open plan studio with a culture if generosity, curiosity, and interruptibility. We believe that by clustering people together from a broad range of backgrounds, with differing skills, experience, and opinions, all of our ideas become better. 

  

Access 

Pervasive Media Studio is wheelchair accessible and there is an accessible and gender-neutral toilet. There is also a baby changing area. 

We have a dedicated quiet room where there is low lighting, sofas, bean bags and space to lie down. This is away from the general open space of the Studio. 

If drop in events aren't accessible for you, please email studio@watershed.co.uk to book in. When you book in, we will link you up with a member of our team who will reach out to find out where you would like them to meet you and what time you will arrive. That team member can also arrange a time for you to visit the Studio for a 1-2-1 tour so you can familiarise yourself with our space before attending.