Weekly Blog: 05/08/13 - 09/08/13

We can hardly believe we’re already midway though August; the last few weeks have flown by full of exciting projects, events and opportunities. The Studio’s been it’s usual busy self and this week’s been no different. We’re really pleased to be able to announce the participants taking part in our Digital Producers programme, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to take part in an amazing project in Brazil and we’re throwing open our doors again and inviting artists, filmmakers and art organisations to pick our brains on all things digital. Read on to find out more:

We’re very pleased to announce the twelve exceptional Digital Producers that will join Watershed and National Theatre Wales in autumn to participate in a new programme that fosters digital talent, and aims to catalyse development of creative technology projects in Wales. Supported by Arts Council Wales, Watershed’s Digital Producers Lab is the first programme of its kind to take place in the country. It aims to train a brilliant cohort of Digital Producers, who will go on to support each other, create new business opportunities and enable audiences to enjoy extraordinary new cultural experiences. You can find a list of all the participants here.

This week TEDxBristol announced one of their speakers will be our very own Studio resident Paul Archer. This year’s TEDxBristol is centred around the theme of ‘Failure,’ and local speakers with a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds will share their tales of all manner of failures, and how failure has shaped their ideas, outlooks and businesses. Paul will be speaking about his ‘It’s on the Meter‘ expedition – a trip where three friends tried to drive to Sydney in a London Black Cab in February 2011. They didn’t stop at Sydney though, returning to London 15 months later having circumnavigated the world, broken two Guinness World Records, raised £20,000 for the Red Cross, racked up £80,000 on the meter and had numerous ludicrous adventures and failures along the way. Tickets for the conference are currently available for an early bird price of £15, so don’t forget to get yours here.

REACT Director Jon Dovey published a think piece that asks whether REACT collaborations are starting to demonstrate the key role that Arts and Humanities research might play in the emerging world of experience design, which you can find here. REACT also announced three additions to their strategic projects portfolio. The projects are Doc 360, Testimony and With New Eyes I See, and will all receive feasibility funding to take the first steps in developing an idea or partnership. The fund provides an opportunity to explore potential audiences and markets, and plan the next steps in a project’s development. You can read all about REACT’s Strategic Fund here.

Don’t forget we’ve still got a very exciting call open for artists for ‘Recife: The Playable City’, an international initiative to bring artists, creative producers and technologists together from Brazil’s Pernambuco region and the UK. In collaboration with the British Council and Porto Digital in Brazil, we are seeking four UK-based artists, four Brazilian-based artists and four Brazilian-based producers, to collaborate and develop experimental work exploring the theme of the Playable City. During the three-week programme, practitioners will work together in small teams, to develop playful interventions that rethink public space. Participants will spend two weeks developing ideas in the Studio, and one week developing work at Porto Digital in Recife. Through a shared process of making and testing, practitioners will explore ideas and develop works that respond to the challenges our future cities may face. Selected participants will receive a bursary, travel and accommodation, as well as a programme of activities delivered by Watershed, Porto Digital and the British Council. Our call for UK artists is live, so find out more and apply here.

If you were not able to join us for Jan Lisiecki From Every Angle, streamed live from the Bristol Old Vic during #BristolProms then you can see a brillant edited version of it on 4OD here. It was originally shown on Piano Night on More 4 on Saturday 3 August. You can also find more information about the #BristolProms programme here and look out for some additional online content that we will be publishing soon on dShed here.

Lastly don’t forget to book your slot for Time Bank. Time Bank is aimed at supporting artists, filmmakers and cultural organisations who are exploring the use of digital technologies in their work. The Watershed team will offer their thoughts, learnings, mistakes and examples of related work that we have seen and rated. You can book a half an hour slot to discuss anything, or you can join us at the end of the day for an open discussion where the people who turn up will set the agenda. The next time bank will take place on 11 Sept in the Studio. To book a surgery, please email admin@pmstudio.co.uk with a short description of your work and area of interest and we will endeavour to fix you up with the appropriate member of the Watershed team. You can find out more information here.