Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) and WeCanMake are excited to share some big changes to how and where residents, artists, makers and traders can design, make, and create together in the neighbourhood.
Over the past several years, KWMC and WeCanMake have shared The Factory at Filwood Green Business Park – a space that has grown from a community pop-up in 2014 into a long-standing neighbourhood hub for making and experimenting together. As both organisations grow, our spaces are evolving too – which means more space for our community to make!
We’re excited to announce that KWMC is bringing its digital making kit all under one roof at Leinster Avenue in Knowle West, while WeCanMake takes on The Factory as its base for building new and retrofitting existing homes.
KWMC: Digital Making Space
As KWMC enters its 30th year, the arts and tech charity is bringing more of its work together under one roof at its award-winning straw-bale eco-building on Leinster Avenue in Knowle West. This means KWMC’s digital making kit (laser cutter, embroidery machine, 3D printer, UV printer, vinyl cutter, heat press and more) is now all in one place. The new Digital Making Space sits alongside KWMC’s wider resources, including music production facilities, exhibition space, creative tech and media kit (such as cameras, VR headsets, projectors and lots more).
Membership remains at a very accessible £5 a month, plus a small charge for inductions, materials, and kit use.
The space will continue to evolve with the people who already use it and those who haven’t yet discovered it. KWMC are now working with ‘Open Doors’ Artist in Residence Emmanuella Blake Morsi, who will work with the community to reimagine how people experience the building – from the front gates through to inside and beyond. More on this soon – keep an eye on KWMC’s blog!
WeCanMake: a new independent Neighbourhood Factory
WeCanMake began as an artist residency at KWMC. Having been successfully incubated within KWMC, it has recently grown into an independent Community Land Trust. As part of this transition, WeCanMake are now taking on The Factory at Filwood Green Business Park as a neighbourhood hub for making good homes locally.
This includes combining biomaterials (such as timber, clay, and hemp), digital fabrication, and natural building techniques to design and make new affordable homes and retrofit existing ones so they are better for people and the planet. This work involves making the structural components of the buildings, right through to designing and making tiles, kitchens, furniture and fittings – all the things people need to make a house a home!
WeCanMake will begin construction later this year on a six-home apartment block and new community space in Hengrove, just five minutes from The Factory.
Get involved
Everyone is welcome at KWMC’s Digital Making Space. Whether you’ve been part of KWMC’s creative activities over the years, or freshly curious, now is a great time to get involved.
- Find out what’s on offer or become a member: Digital Making Space. As the space grows, opening times and activities will continue to develop based on what the community wants.
- Explore events and workshops for all ages on KWMC’s Whats On page.
- KWMC’s after-school Maker City programme (previously at The Factory) will continue in the new Digital Making Space. These are playful sessions for 10–17 year-olds to explore creative technology, social action, and making with tools like laser cutters and 3D printers.
There is a warm welcome for all at WeCanMake’s Neighbourhood Factory too:
- Neighbourhood Meet-ups – chat, share food, and get hands-on with different making activities. Every 3rd Thursday 5-7:30pm.
- Making Together programme in Hengrove, experimenting with rescued clay, reclaimed bricks, and homegrown timber to design and make the community infrastructure for the new homes.
- Find out about WeCanMake’s Neighbourhood Trade Crew for newbuild and retrofit, with opportunities for skills and training taking place on-site and at The Factory. Email hello@wecanmake.org
KWMC and WeCanMake are continuing to collaborate on projects and research. We are sharing some of the digital making kit too, such as the CNC machine and plastics recycling kit which will remain at The Factory. If you are interested in using this kit for a commission or your own project, visit KWMC’s Commissions page.
A New Chapter
KWMC and WeCanMake are excited about this next chapter in Knowle West’s adventures in all things designing, creating, and making together. We are looking forward to working and growing with our community in the same way as always – being open, creative, collaborative, and rooted in South Bristol.