So, highlights of last week:

Ed Cookson of The Sancho Plan emailed to ask if we would be interested in the large scale augmented reality installation they are producing. The meeting with Ed (and Phil Stenton and Tarim) was exactly the kind of meeting I like - clear ideas, a good reason to collaborate and lots of mutual value all round. The turn-around is a bit quick and I was obviously ignoring my 'no new projects post-it' but looks like we are going to make something together in early March. Hopefully this project will also bring all of Tarim's hard work to fruition and finally get some interactive work on Bristol's BBC Big Screen (in advance of The Pervasive Media Studio artists residencies in April).

Quite a lot of my time is spent showing people around the Studio, a role I refer to as Dancing Monkey. We host these visits for many reasons (to remain open to new ideas/contacts, to profile projects, to please funders). Whilst sometimes they feel like they are taking me away from 'real work' they often bring valuable and serendipitous contacts and Friday's visits were particularly good, especially as the studio was buzzing with Mobile Pie's Global Games Jam. First came Caroline Thomson, Chief Operating Officer of the BBC and then Paul Gough and Guy Orpen, Vice Chancellors of Research at UWE and University of Bristol respectively. Residents informally presented their projects and fed back on the value of the studio with sincerity and generosity. I am hopeful that UWE, University of Bristol and BBC will all become more involved in the Studio over the forthcoming months and the tour certainly helped establish some common interests.

A couple of years ago we started some interesting work (with Demos) on the public spaces around Watershed but a changed economy forced us to put this work on hold. This week it was really exciting to re-visit this thinking and get together a team from across Watershed to plan a series of Light Graffiti Workshops with Tine Bech. I met Tine when she was taking part in Method (Cultural Leadership Programme) and last year she secured a PhD place with UWE's DCRC. She is now partly based at the Studio and is researching the creation of interactive installations which enhance our engagement with our environment.  With DCRC funding we are working with Tine to produce three light drawing workshops to explore how staff, audience and people who don't come to Watershed feel about the space outside of our building. The results will feed in to the eventual creation of a new installation by Tine for this space. Details of how to get involved will be posted soon on the Watershed website.

Other good things: Seeing the footage of AntiVJ's latest work (will post when it's online), Studio advisory group (two years in!), more Theatre Sandbox planning, interviewing for the DCRC Knowledge Transfer associate and catching up with Luke Jerram on his Aeolus project.

The bad bits - having to pull out of assessing for EPSRC's Research in the Wild Call and the Bristol Media digital dinner due to sporting a terrible cough and having to retire to bed.

Meanwhile this week brings a Watershed board meeting in which Mark, Louise and I will present the work we have done towards re-presenting our curatorial policy, and my final interview for the UK Young Interactive Entrepreneur award (which weirdly British Council seem to have taken down the website for).

Today they published a really nice overview of some of the ways Watershed and The Pervasive Media Studio has engaged with digital technologies, through DShed and projects like The Extended Theatre Experience:

"Watershed embodies the future of audiovisual literacy, exploiting the shift towards conversation and participation (rather than mere didactic presentation) that digital technologies enable…. The second aspect is to recognise the entrepreneurial and innovative possibilities that digital technologies afford around a closer working relationship between the cultural and commercial  sectors."

Read the full case study (as well as overviews of some other organisations doing great digital work) here.

In a shifting media landscape finding time and resources to explore ideas augmented by new technologies can be tricky. The residency programme was set-up as a direct response to this challenge, creating a ‘safe space’ for development in a peer-led arena.

A full brief and application form is now available and we'll be accepting applications from 1st February 2010. The scheme is looking for digital and non-digital artists’ interested in seeking time and space to research innovative ideas, explore technique, develop new works and make new connections.

Download application form (doc)

Download full brief (PDF)

Pervasive Media Studio Artists Residencies is a Watershed initiative, managed by iShed.

This programme is funded by Arts Council England through the Digital Opportunities programme 2008-2011.

The last 12 months have been exciting and busy. We have received some great recognition including the Media Innovation Award For Outstanding Contribution, the One World Media Award for Hazel Grian and a Vauxhall commission for Duncan Speakman's subtlemob as if it were the last time. Other highlights of the year include the Extended Theatre Experience which researched digital technology and theatre; Simon Games' igfest attracting over 1000 players from across the world and AntiVJ's Projecting Holograms.

We were also delighted to secure Technology Strategy Board funding for a collaborative research project with Bristol Old Vic, Historic Royal Palaces, the New Museum of Bristol and Calvium. Entitled 'Unlocking markets for content delivery', the project will deliver prototype authoring and delivery services to smart phones.

To see a full list of our projects, click here.

Hellos and Goodbyes
2009 saw some founding residents graduate from the Studio to continue their success. Mobile Pie have developed into an award-winning mobile content studio specialising in games and entertainment; Thought Den have extended their impressive portfolio with pervasive media training sessions for the BBC and Simon Games produced social street game Drom with London’s Soho Theatre, before taking over their own studio space in the city. Among those that have joined the Studio in recent months are start-up company Calvium, artist Luke Jerram and PhD researcher Tine Bech.

To see a full list of our Studio residents, click here.

Visits, Travels and Guests
2009 was a year of exciting visits, trips and festivals; the Guardian Technology podcast was recorded at the studio and featured interviews with many residents; Jim Knight, the Minister for the South West visited us in the context of the Digital Britain report and legendary music producer Jools Holland supported Media Sandbox commission Visual Voice Pro. Our favourite 2009 destinations include Glastonbury Festival where Studio Resident Tarim decorated the BBC village screen with his Instant Graffiti; Birds Eye View film festival where we provided a taste of pervasive media and SXSW Interactive Festival.

Read the visits and festivals blog.

Digital Cultures Research Centre
Finally, late in 2009, the University of the West of England became an official partner of the Pervasive Media Studio. The Digital Cultures Research Centre (DCRC) led by Professor Jon Dovey, is now permanently based within the Studio to represent and promote the work of a diverse network of researchers from the Faculty of Creative Arts and the Bristol Institute of Technology.

Visit us at: www.pmstudio.co.uk 

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