South West Artists Residencies 2010
In 2010, Watershed commissioned two research residencies at the Pervasive Media Studio that supported South West artists, to produce and present projects at the juncture of art, pervasive technologies and culture.
Made by
Jay Kerry
Jay Kerry is a trained actor, technician, project manager, performance artist and aerial acrobat.
Becca Gill
Becca Gill works as an independent director and producer creating multi-disciplinary arts events.
Hazel Grian
A pioneer of interactive drama, specialising in robots, Hazel began as a live performer & filmmaker. In a 35 year career, she is driven by her ambition to bring stories to audiences by ‘any medium necessary’.In 2010, Watershed commissioned two research residencies at the Pervasive Media Studio that supported South West artists, to produce and present projects at the juncture of art, pervasive technologies and culture.
We were pleased to welcome newly formed partnership Mercurial Wrestler (Jay Kerry & Becca Gill), they used this opportunity to experiment with illusions invented by magicians and engineers in the 19th and early 20th century and reinvent these utilising film, performance and pervasive technologies. They were looking to maintain the aesthetic of 19th century illusions and whilst creating 21st century narratives within site-specific installation. Their project culminated in the creation of The Magician's Desk. Hear Jay & Becca talk: about Magic
Jay and Becca worked alongside Hazel Grian. A writer/director with a background in short film, theatre and radio, Hazel spent the past 4 years focusing on Alternate Reality Games - multi-platform interactive narratives crossing the digital and the physical worlds, engaging online audiences in collective creative experiences. Working in partnership with Dr Kenton O’Hara at Microsoft Research, Hazel used this opportunity to create Daemon, a project exploring the exciting area of robotics and narrative.
After two months of intense research and development and a showcase event in June, both projects have produced research reports detailing their work and their experience of taking part in the scheme; and if you missed the showcase don’t worry, we captured the whole thing for dShed (Watershed’s online publishing platform) and it’s now available to watch.
- Read Hazel Grian's Research Report: download
- Read Mercurial Wrestler's Research Report: download
- Watch the Showcase Event: dShed
Now drawn to a close, the scheme offered lots of opportunities for everyone to join the conversation. Public and peers were invited to help test out ideas in Watershed, take part in discussions, or simply follow the artists’ online journals.
Many thanks to the artists and all those who contributed to making the scheme a success.
South West Artists Residencies 2010 was a Watershed initiative, delivered by iShed.
This programme was funded by Arts Council England through the Digital Opportunities programme 2008-2011.
