Pervasive Media Studio

24/09/2025

In this Lunchtime Talk on Fri 26 Sept we'll be joined by Action Hero, James Stenhouse and Gemma Paintin. They'll share their playful approach to exploring serious, complex topics through art. Their work includes performance, installation, sound, digital media, and pieces for public spaces.

This is a free event join us online on YouTube or in the studio.

Book a ticket: www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13508/from-ashes

17/09/2025

In this Lunchtime Talk on Fri 19 Sept, we'll be bidding farewell to the brilliant Furaha Asani, who after nearly five years as Research Lead at Watershed will be taking on new adventures. 💓

We'll see a slightly different format, with our Talent Development Producer Tony Bhajam in conversation with Furaha. Together they’ll reflect on a range of topics: from Watershed’s inclusive recruitment process, to some of the fantastic projects the research team have led.

This is part of a year long theme at Watershed where we are exploring the idea of Home.

This is a free event join us online on YouTube or in the studio.

Book a ticket: www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13539/finding-home-tony-bhajam-in-conversation-with-furaha

11/09/2025

The Dreamtime Fellowship invites Bristol-based mid-career practitioners making art for the public domain that engages with technology. Fellows will have workspace at Pervasive Media Studio, tailored mentoring, a vibrant peer community, and a £5,500 bursary with production budget.

A partnership between Watershedshed and the Jerram Foundation

Runs Mon 12 Jan – Fri 11 Dec 2026
Deadline: Wed 15 Oct, 10:00

The Fellowship is a partnership between Watershed and Jerram Foundation, a fantastic opportunity for self-led professional development, offering the chance to research, test and develop new artwork in the public domain and push forward your career as an artist.

10/09/2025

This week we're back! Our Lunchtime Talk on Fri 12 Sept with Studio Resident Vincent Baidoo, will take you on a visually-led tour of holographic displays – screens that can create 3D digital images by bending light.

This is a free event join us online on YouTube or in the studio.

Book a free ticket: www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13540/holographic-displays

02/09/2025

Join us this Fri 5 Sept for First Friday— our monthly social and showcase open to all, featuring work from our Studio community.

This month we’re excited to share projects from Make Shift Camp 2025, a five-day creative camp for working class people aged 18–30. Together they explored, played with tech, and built fresh ideas around this year’s theme: Home Improvements — part of Watershed’s year-long exploration of Home.

Free & open to everyone. 17:00–19:00 in the Pervasive Media Studio, no booking required.

18/08/2025

Have you visited our Access Support page?

We aim to break down barriers for artists of all backgrounds to create and engage with immersive technologies. We want to celebrate different stories and experiences and challenge traditional ways of thinking, creating and working.

Access support is available for:

- Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people
- Those experiencing poor short or long-term physical or mental health.

We work closely with our partner Unlimited a leading disability arts organisation.

The deadline to ask for this support is Mon 1 Sep 2025 at 17:00.

Find out more: immersivearts.uk/resources/access-support

14/08/2025

To accompany the release of Motherboard, step into Victoria Mapplebeck’s award-winning VR piece The Waiting Room — an intimate, immersive reflection on her journey with breast cancer, culminating in a powerful 360° take of her final radiotherapy session.

Preview + Q&A: Wed 20 Aug
Film runs: Fri 22 – Thu 28 Aug

Book now via our website: www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13521/the-waiting-room-vr

13/08/2025

We've still got a few spaces left for our next family workshop.

This summer holiday, young people aged 8–14 and their grown-ups are invited to join artist Ant Nasce for Intergalactic Message in a Bottle - a creative tech workshop on Thu 28 Aug, 10:00.

In this playful, hands-on workshop, you’ll work as part of a space crew to design and build your own interstellar message using sound, tech and imagination.

Book tickets: https://ow.ly/Xiwy50WF8ZN

📸 Jon Aitken

12/08/2025

Meet our 2025 Make Shift Campers! 🥳 From Mon 18 – Fri 22 Aug, they’ll join us for a week of creative exploration.

Willow Simmons (they/them) – Hartcliffe-born creative and activist, using history and art to reflect on social deprivation.

Ishaan Bhatia (he/him) – Engineer exploring the unworldly through design and sound, inventing with joy at the forefront.

Joanna Witecka (she/her) – Multidisciplinary artist whose playful works in illustration, ceramics and print explore belonging.

Rozhina Ghasemizadeh (she/her) – Poet, filmmaker and musician using art to share political perspectives and inner worlds.

Kalahari Sevenzo (he/him) – Artist fascinated by history, artefacts and immersive tech, inspired by multisensory experiences.

Serina Pandhare (she/her) – Interdisciplinary artist blending theatre and technology to create multisensory, boundary-breaking works.

Charlotte Goldsworthy (she/her) – Artist combining data, textiles and glitch aesthetics to question how systems shape our lives.

Maya Albagli (she/her) – Mixed media artist merging dance, music and storytelling into immersive spaces of childlike wonder.

Make Shift is made possible with support from Arts Council England and The Nisbet Trust. Our Make Shift Camp is additionally supported by our partners in Pervasive Media Studio, the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol.

Find out more in our news post: https://ow.ly/XruL50WEnLG

05/08/2025

Our studio residents Air Giants and our Undershed team are getting ready for our next exhibition opening this Thu 7 Aug 🥳

Tickets cost £2-£12 so everyone can join in the fun, explore, and play!

Find out more on the Watershed website: www.watershed.co.uk/hothouse

31/07/2025

Our Studio residents and Bristol favourites, Air Giants, are bringing The Hothouse Laboratory to Undershed from Thu 7 Aug to Mon 1 Sep 2025.

Their giant robotic inflatables will take over the space, inviting everyone who steps through the door to help invent and uncover a strange and wonderful story.

Tickets cost £2–£12 each on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale, so everyone can join in the fun.

Designed for children aged 2 to 102.

Head to the Watershed website to book tickets: www.watershed.co.uk/hothouse

Image 2 credit: Tom Heuijerjans

29/07/2025

The Expression Orchestra - created by our studio residents pyka - has been nominated for the MIDI Innovation Awards in the category Hardware prototypes/non-commercial products. A suite of multi-sensory instruments designed to increase access to musical expression - a sensory symphonia where the audience are the performers.

The team is up against some big names and needs your support to advance to the next phase.

Voting closes on Mon 4 Aug 2025.

Read more about the project here and cast your vote: midi.org/innovation-award/the-expression-orchestra

Image credits: Shamil Ahmed