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.

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. This month's theme is 'play' and 'playfulness' and we will host a range of interactive showcases:

  • Pyka are sharing The Expression Orchestra, a suite of alternative musical instruments, driven by the machine learning powered - Conductor. Pyka will be trialing new musical expressions of the instrument ROLL, and invite audience members to have a play with these instruments and explore a musical phenomenology that suites these instruments.
  • Constance Fleuriot is an artist/writer/gamemaker creating gently subversive games and storyworlds. She also runs Creative Labs for people to develop their own apps and games. Come and play the video and board game versions of Wonzie World, a game for anyone who has ever tried to outrun a grandparent intent on kissing them.
  • Robin Thorn, known online by the name [Thawney], is a nonbinary musician, programmer and creator with a background in technical theater and product design. They enjoy putting complex ideas into tangible formats and this project offers a look at the concept of sentience and how A.I. can give inanimate objects a voice. For this First Friday, come and have a chat with Robin and their receipt printer.
  • d[-_-]b Joseph Wilk is an artist and programmer using the digital to explore disability and disability to explore the digital. Joseph will be showing his project 'CripShip', a table top roleplaying game about Resisting AI, where Disability saves society from Big Tech.
  • Pervasive Media Studio resident, illustrator and designer Jasmine Thompson will be sharing some of her recent work and you will have the opportunity to join a collective illustration activity.

October 2024 Event

This First Friday event will take place both in Pervasive Media Studio on Fri 4 October 17:00-19:00.

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. This month's First Friday theme is 'play'. 

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 200 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.

Studio themes