February 2016

Archive for February, 2016

Change Creators: Induction Week

On Thursday 18th February, the Change Creators programme kicked off with a two-hour induction evening at Knowle West Media Centre. The session was designed to bring all of the Change Creators together for the first time and to challenge them in a team-based activity.

The team had to plan and execute a photo shoot in just 55 minutes and produce a powerful individual portrait of each person and two dynamic group photos. The team were given a camera, lights and access to Apple iMac computers, but the rest was up to them…The purpose of the task was to give the team an insight into what the next four months will entail, preparing them to take on positions of leadership and work collaboratively as a team.

To find out more visit the Change Creators page.

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2016 Workshop Programme

We’re in the process of planning a programme of practical workshops for our digital making space KWMC The Factory, ranging from basic carpentry to digital design and manufacturing using laser cutters and CNC equipment.

If you’re interested in a manufacturing workshop please contact Justin Ricks to register your interest. We’d be keen to hear if there are specific workshops you’d be interested in accessing from our exciting new making centre.

Take a look at some of the things we’ve made at The Factory since it opened last year…

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: The completed feedback toaster (and toast) for the ‘Who decides what’s in my fridge?’ project, made from 4mm laser birch plywood

: Bespoke oversized records made at The Factory, and customised by local artists

: Making signage for the Children’s Scrapstore from recycled materials

: Lightbox made at The Factory, in situ at The Rooms Festival

: Lightbox made for The Rooms festival

: Photography © Max McClure

: Photography © Max McClure

: Photography © Max McClure

: Photography © Max McClure

Highly Commended at Go Green Awards

Knowle West Media Centre was Highly Commended in the Most Improved Travel and Transport Category at the Go Green 2016 Awards this February.

Geographically, we know that KWMC can be a difficult location for some to get to – up a steep hill and south of the city centre. As an organisation we have been trying hard to reduce the number of single-person car journeys and the number of cars in our car park.

Our Green Actions have included getting an electric bike for staff to travel to local meetings, starting a car share scheme and taking part in Big Commuting Challenge where we came third in our category. We’ve also had a team cycle day which encouraged three members of staff who had not cycled for years to get back on a bike.

Staff have embraced alternative methods of transport – with numbers cycling and using public transport increasing and we hope to encourage visitors to our site to take up the challenge too!

We picked up our laser-cut award at The Bristol Hotel on 18th February. The awards were manufactured in our making space KWMC: The Factory – our technicians did a good job at keeping it a secret from the wider team and we’re all delighted with the award!

See the full list of award winners on the Go Green blog.

20 Photos for 20 Years

2016 marks 20 years of photography at Knowle West Media Centre. We developed (no pun intended) from a photography project with Knowle West Health Association back in 1996 and we’ve experimented with ever-changing technologies since then: from darkroom techniques and pinhole photography to digital photography and portraiture.

We’re proud to have supported artists and young people to make and exhibit their own work over the years and as we move into our 20th year we’ll continue to offer residencies, training courses and opportunities for learning to people of all ages.

In 2016 we’ll be releasing 20 snapshots from the life of KWMC to coincide with significant moments in our history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or check back here to see the gallery grow… Tweet your memories with #KWMC

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: 19th January 2010: the first XLR music festival

: 14th February 2008: Alistair Darling visits to mark the opening of our new strawbale building

: 19th February: 2007: Demolition begins on our old building

: 8th March 2014: International Women’s Day campaign goes viral

: 19th March 2003: Photography workshop

: 16th April 2010: the sell-out Fashionate fashion show

: 19th April 2004: Some black and white shots of our old building, the former William Budd Health Centre

: 2nd May 2014: Live broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions?

: 10th June 2002 – KWMC is registered as a charity

: 26th June 2010: Launch of the University of Local Knowledge

: 10th July 2012: 107 solar panels installed on our roof

: July 2001: Young journalists Mouth of the South cover the Knowle West Carnival

: 2nd August 2014: Young people from KWMC win a coding award at the Young Rewired State Festival of Code

: September 1995: Carolyn Hassan promotes the first photography workshops in Knowle West

: 11th September 2014: the I Will Always Have You tattoo exhibition opens

: 20th October 2011: Visit from Prince Edward, HRH The Earl of Wessex

: 1st November 2002: Photography training with one of our first trainees

: 8th November 2005: Local residents unveil giant photographs on the railings outside our old building

: 19th November 2014: The Eagle House ‘Pop Up’ Furniture Factory opens to the public

: 1st December 2010: the Anyhow, Anywhere exhibition opens, charting six decades of history and photography

KWMC awarded funding from Arts Council England

We’re delighted to announce that Knowle West Media Centre has been awarded £153,000 from the Arts Council England Small Capital grants programme. The funds will used to upgrade and improve our digital equipment and develop the environmental sustainability of our building.

Improving our infrastructure and equipment will enable us to reach and support more people to make positive changes in their lives and communities, play a central role in ‘smart’ city initiatives, and continue to reduce our environmental impact. Sustainable technologies and citizen engagement are key to a more efficient and productive future for us and we’re thrilled to have received support from Arts Council England.

Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: ‘Knowle West Media Centre offers a unique opportunity for their local community to engage with the arts and their environment, learn new skills and explore digital technology. By investing £153,000 through our National Lottery funded Capital programme, we are helping the organisation build a better, more resilient future by upgrading their technology and reducing their environmental impact.’

Recognition at the TechSpark SPARKies Awards

Knowle West Media Centre has been shortlisted at annual tech awards the SPARKies, which ‘celebrate the very best of the technology companies, organisations and individuals fuelling the success of the region.’

Our interactive documentary The Glowing Divide has been shortlisted for the Best Innovation in Digital Entertainment award. The film was produced by a team of eight Junior Digital Producers in 2015 and tackled the issue of social isolation amongst teenagers. It explored what could be done to provide help and support, engaging three isolated young people and providing skills training for a team of first-time filmmakers in the process. The SPARKies Best Innovation in Digital Entertainment award ‘celebrates the best in the West in the spheres of entertainment such as gaming, VR, 3D and novel film-making techniques’.

Four young people supported by KWMC have also been shortlisted for a SPARKies award. The FutureSPARK category recognises ‘a member of the tech & digital community who is 21 or under and has gone above and beyond in this sector’. Matt Coleclough, Sam Cording, Ben Coleclough and Katie Gardner created the ‘Lines’ game during the 2015 Young Rewired State Festival of Code. They made it to the final with their idea and the game is coming soon to the App store.

The award ceremony will take place on 17th February in Bristol. Read the full shortlist here.