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Archive for July, 2020

KWMC receives support from Community Fund

In July 2020 Knowle West Media Centre received a donation of nearly £1,500 from the Direct Line Group  (DLG) Community Fund, after being nominated by a staff member from their Bristol office.

In April 2020, Direct Line Group (DLG) launched their new strategy to ‘Be a Force for Good‘ and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the DLG Community Fund, they are donating £3.5 million to support communities where their largest sites are based, as well as several national charities. 

KWMC was nominated to receive support by Sandra, a Consultant at DLG.  She explained: “When I heard about the Force for Good Campaign in one of our team meetings the first charity that came to mind was Knowle West Media Centre. Throughout these unprecedented times KWMC has adapted to the needs of their participants by providing digital content and enabling people to participate through online platforms.

“For some participants, this is the only contact they have had with people outside of the family unit. KWMC and KWMC: The Factory have used social media to share useful skills, such as how to make face coverings. They have also worked alongside the Knowle West Alliance who have been supporting the vulnerable and isolated.

“I was so pleased that DLG were able to offer support to this fantastic charity that makes a visible difference not just in the local area but also in the wider Bristol community.”

We plan to use the funds donated by DLG to produce friendly and accessible signage that will be displayed at KWMC and other community venues to let people know about the COVID-19 safety measures in place and ensure that they feel safe and welcome when they access public community spaces.  The signs will be produced in the coming weeks, to coincide with some buildings in Knowle West beginning to re-open.

We’d like to say a big thank you to the team at Direct Line Group for their generous donation – and especially to Sandra for nominating us!

If you have a business and would like to find out more about supporting KWMC please visit the Support page. You can also donate online via the link below.

 

 

Call for ideas – Knowle West Fest 2020

We are excited to announce that Knowle West Fest 2020 will be happening online this year.  The annual festival usually takes place in the late Summer / early Autumn and celebrates the talent, creativity and community of Knowle West.

Inspired by the many festivals that have successfully moved their activities online this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, KWFest 2020 is going digital and will take place on Saturday 12 September.

Organising the festival is a collaborative effort, with local organisations and residents working together.  Every year one organisation takes responsibility for coordinating the planning, and in 2020 it’s KWMC’s turn!

Get involved

There are lots of ways to get involved:

1) Create or submit online content

This could be:

-a short video showcasing your organisation or community project
-a video of you or your group performing – either from your home or something you’ve made before (music, circus, theatre etc.)
-a live workshop or ‘how to’ video (e.g: a craft challenge, a yoga class, a cooking demo etc.)
-something else?

2) Be part of the organising team

-help promote the event and spread the word
-be part of planning and event organisation
-help out on the day
-help document the event

KWMC can offer:

-tech support to create your online content (video / audio / live workshop set-up)
-a small budget to cover your time and materials
-marketing support

Get in touch

If you have an idea for Knowle West Fest 2020 that you’d like to share, please contact Martha on martha.king@kwmc.org.uk

Please tell us:

-What you’d like to do and what you need to make it happen
-Any ideas you have for content to be included in a festival pack (to be posted out to homes)
-Recommendations for local food providers who could do festival take-aways
-Thoughts on any socially distanced outdoor activity that could complement the online programme

Knowle West Fest 2020 is funded by the Filwood Fantastic project and co-ordinated by Knowle West Media Centre.

KWMC receives Emergency Response Funds

This week Arts Council England (ACE) announced it will be supporting Knowle West Media Centre through its Emergency Response Funds – funding for organisations and individuals in need of immediate support due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The last few months have been hugely challenging for the arts and cultural sector – artists, freelancers, and organisations and venues of all sizes. We’re very grateful to ACE for their support of KWMC at this critical time.

We closed our buildings KWMC (Leinster Avenue) and KWMC: The Factory (Filwood Green Business Park) in March 2020, at the beginning of the nation-wide lockdown. Since then, we have had to delay activities and we’ve been unable to generate income through rental of our spaces, digital manufacturing kit and creative facilities – placing the future of the organisation under threat. The Emergency Response Funds support from ACE will cover the income lost during the Spring and Summer months (March to September 2020).

No longer threatened with closure, we look forward to working with ACE, our partners and communities in Knowle West and beyond as we move into a recovery phase – planning and delivering inclusive creative programmes that complement ACE’s Let’s Create vision and support communities, artists and people of all ages to create positive change, particularly those in precarious circumstances as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

We’d like to thank our fantastic team for the sacrifices they’ve made during this difficult period and for their dedication to KWMC and the artists, communities, makers and young people we work with.  During this period we have had to furlough some of our staff, and others have taken pay cuts. Since March 2020, our team have been working hard to reimagine activities that were planned to take place in-person. This includes digital design workshops, artist meet-ups, creative sessions for young people, talks, and a virtual Work Experience programme for Year 10 students – all of which have happened online.

Contact Us

Knowle West Media Centre
Leinster Avenue
Knowle West
Bristol
BS4 1NL
+44 (0) 117 903 0444
enquiries@kwmc.org.uk

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