We are passionate about the potential of technology to engage people and share knowledge. We use the power of collaboration to create transformative, disruptive and magical experiences.

Our programme of residencies, labs, events and funding schemes responds to emerging technologies, societal challenges and new partnerships. 

The Pervasive Media Studio, our world-leading research lab, is home to a thriving community of artists, technologists, start ups, researchers and industry. Playable City puts people and play at the heart of future cities around the world.

Photo of Maya by Luke Jerram
Project Ended in July 2013

Internationally renowned artist Luke Jerram's sculpture experiments with innovative digital technology and optical illusion.

Promotional image of BikeTAG
Project Ended in June 2013

Part exploration, part battle, part collaboration, part art experience...

objects connected by a family tree of lines
Project Ended in March 2013

A residency programme enabling makers to combine their crafts with cutting edge technologies.

Aerial photo of Guimaraes
Project Ended in November 2012

Artistic commissions which explored how ‘openness’ in city development can improve the social, cultural, and economic lives of inhabitants.

Balloon mapping aerial photography in 'Walking the Sky'
Project Ended in May 2012

What if cities were mapped by the people who lived there? Two workshops invited the Guimarães public to map their city.

Playable City Sprint
Length: 5m 52s

Twelve artists and designers from East Asia and the UK explored how to use creative technology to make public spaces more fun.

Artist Talk: Polyrhythmia
Length: 49m
Talks

In this event artist Jen Southern discusses 'Polyrhythmia', in conversation with Site Gallery director Laura Sillars.

Creative Producers Development Programme
Length: 7m 15s

Clare Reddington and participants of the development programme discuss the role of a creative producer and results of the summer school.

Still from Happy Town a Media Sandbox 2008 project
Project Ended in December 2010

A development scheme which enables companies to research possibilities in digital media, create new ideas and deliver innovation to market.

People exploring projected map in Give Me Back My Broken Night
Project Ended in November 2010

A theatrical guided tour of the future of your city.

Light Graffiti Workshops
Length: 5m 10s

In a series of workshops members of the public and Watershed staff ‘painted with light’ to investigate the spaces in and around Watershed.

Unlocking markets for content delivery
Length: 2m 13s

An eighteen month research and development project which resulted in the first ever iPhone app for the Tower of London.

Photo of Guerilla Dance Project
Project Ended in June 2011

Two residencies that enable artists to produce experimental works in a collaborative environment.

Tracing Light © Tine Bech 2008
Project Ended in June 2010

Two artists residencies that combined art, pervasive technologies, and culture, which focused on the development of digital practice.

Illustration of a magician
Project Ended in May 2010

The journal of an artists residency investigating contemporary digital techniques to reinvent authentic early stage illusions with a magical modern element.

Mobile Bristol logo
Project Ended in August 2005

Mobile Bristol was a 2002 DTI funded programme set up to explore the uses and potential of mobile technologies.