Photo if a man working in the Pervasive Media Studio

Beyond the Café & Bar lies the Pervasive Media Studio

The Studio is our research and development space where magic really does happen. From talking lamp posts to flying to the moon (no, really), we support and nurture the brains behind the next big thing that will get everyone talking.

Talent and ideas are the vital raw materials for Watershed's public programme and for the wider cultural and creative economy. The Pervasive Media Studio is the focus for our work with emergent ideas and talent.

The Pervasive Media Studio opened in 2008 and was designed to be a research space bringing together a network of over 200 artists, creative companies, technologists and academics working on emergent ideas, experiences and applications in digital media with both cultural and commercial potentials.

Since that time the Studio has supported an active alumni of 238 creatives and counting, helped launch 42 new cultural and creative businesses, supported nine businesses to trade internationally, developed 42 artists and their work nationally and internationally, and collaborated with seven universities on long term programmes.

Essentially the Studio is a space that hosts a community of brilliant people who come together to do some really amazing things with creative technology.

From an app that allows you and your friends to simultaneously film and playback the moments that matter to you, to a breathing stone that reads your heart rate and creates a personal soundtrack to help you to unwind, to a revolutionary new type of electronic musical instrument, to internet connected robot toys that you nurture, train and control with your phone, to street lights that capture and playback the shadow of the last person to pass by to flying to the moon (no, really), the Studio is where you will find the brains behind the next big thing that will get everyone talking.

Don't just take our word for it:

Watershed offered me a place at the PM Studio and it's like a paradise. My whole working life has changed. It's an oasis of calm and creativity, it's a place to think and dream. Watershed is enthusiastic and open-minded and crucially not too hung up on the format of artworks. If an artist isn't quite sure what their piece is going to look like, or what technology it's going to use Watershed see that as no problem. They are open to ideas and receptive to enthusiasm. So what is Watershed's particular creative x-factor, its galvanising magic?... The interest it takes in each person's creative journey." Luke Jerram, inventor, researcher, scientist, artist

Every Friday there's a chance to meet and talk to the people in the Studio too – we host free Lunchtime talks. Come along, bring a sandwich, and get to know more about the Studio community, current and up-coming projects, or residents' work – you are welcome to stay and hot desk at the Studio for the rest of the afternoon.

"It's a world of amazingness and wonder. If Willy Wonka existed, he'd be jealous of it :)" Kieron Kirkland, former Magician in residence

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