Events

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.

June 2024 event

This First Friday event will take place both in Pervasive Media Studio on Fri 7 June 17:00-18:00.

People joining us 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. 

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

• Dr Katy Connor is an artist whose research HydroPoetics [Watershed Spring Bursary 2021] explores hydroponics as an experimental system. Katy will be presenting new video works that reveal the liveliness of plant cells through microscopic imaging: drawing attention to plant agency occurring at different scales. 
• Martin Viktorov, a sound and video artist, is captivated by the power of sounds to express personal experiences. He will lead a series of workshops in May/June, focused on capturing personal experiences through sounds. These workshops, open to beginners, will invite participants to record sounds from their surroundings using their smartphones and then weave soundscapes with recorded material. The workshops aim to explore unique perspectives, deepen understanding of perception and connect deeper with the sonic environment. Martin’s work and the work produced by the workshops participants will be showcased during this First Friday. 
• Theatre/ performance artist Sylvia Rimat and visual artist/ gardener Charli Clark work in a variety of media, exploring our connectivity with the natural world and the narratives we tell, climate action and notions of care beyond the human species. They will be sharing insights into the making of ‘Broad Meadow’, a free wildflower installation and audio experience in Broadmead, Bristol, 24th May - 20th June 2024. The work reconnects to Bristol prior to the 14th century, when Broadmead was a wet meadow, regularly flooded by the river Frome. (Trigger warning: n/a Age guidance: 11+) 
• Kexin Liu is an artist who creates speculative pieces that nurture alternative perspectives on the intricate connections between humanity, technology, and the natural world. Kexin will be showcasing 3607 - Bacteria Soundscape, a series of multisensory generative artworks inspired by the human microbiome. 

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

Join the First Friday mailing list here.

This event is supported by MyWorld.

Booking info

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.