Watershed and the University of Bristol disrupted normal residency service to invite two magicians to explore creative ideas that blend technology, interaction design, magic and illusion.

Kieron Kirkland is a professional magician, technologist, theatre practitioner and researcher with a significant performing history including close-up and stage (Globe Theatre, Tobacco Factory, Punchdrunk, Stand and Stare). He has also worked as ASM for Derren Brown. He is an experienced researcher working with innovative applications of current and emerging digital technologies (researcher at Futurelab, and currently Development Research Manager for Nominet Trust). Throughout his residency Kieron researched the synergies and opportunities between magic and the maker movement
Find out more about Kieron's project here

Stuart Nolan is an applied magician with a background in performance, cell biology, interactive media, experience design, programming, technology development, academic research, playful and performative facilitation, and education. Since a NESTA Fellowship in 2002, he has collaborated with others to apply techniques, tools, and insights from the arts of performance magic to a variety of other creative fields including installation art, architecture, visual design, game design, software design, media, sport, and performance arts. Stuart explored how to track subconscious muscle responses to create a friendly mind-reading robot pet.
Find out more about Stuart's project here

The Magicians in Residence received research, development and production support. The two-month residency began on 1 Oct 2013 and culminate in an evening showcase event on Wed 4th December. They were co-hosted by Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio and The Bristol Interaction and Graphics Group in the Computer Science Department of the University of Bristol.

Read about the interview process for this unusual call, their talk at Pervasive Media Studio and, for more details, you can read the original brief here.