In April 2010 Watershed commissioned two artists residencies at the Pervasive Media Studio to provide artists with the space and time to be creative and develop digital practice in an unpressured environment. The residencies focused on developing the proposed ideas and documenting the projects as they progressed. Both projects combined art, pervasive media and culture with an emphasis on digital technologies.

Daemon was a project in which writer/director Hazel Grian investigated how a robotic character could work in unison with its real life counterpart, introducing an adventure narrative in the tradition of Pullman’s His Dark Materials and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to the relationship between man and machine. 

Jay Kerry and Becca Gill used the residency to experiment with illusions created by magicians and engineers in the 19th and early 20th century, which they reinvented using film, performance and pervasive technologies. Their project; Magic and all that is ascribed to it, sought to maintain the aesthetic and grandeur of 19th century illusions whilst creating 21st century narratives within a site-specific installation.

The artists residencies built on the success of the Clark Bursary (1998-2007), which enabled Watershed to continue to support the development of new, experimental, digital works. Artists supported through the Clark Bursary scheme include, amongst others, Mongrel, Simon Poulter, Joe Magee, Luke Jerram, Stanza and Duncan Speakman. The legacy of the bursary is still very much apparent, with recipient artists continuing to develop and flourish in their respective fields.

The Pervasive Media Studio Artists Residencies were funded by Arts Council England through the Digital Opportunities programme 2008-2011.

Related Links:
www.pmstudio.co.uk/project/artists-residencies
www.artscouncil.org.uk/about-us/research/digital-opportunities/

 

Ended in June 2010

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