Immersive theatre, choreographed construction cranes, and streetlights that interact with passersby. A new kind of creative experience has emerged from Bristol's PMStudio fusing performance, sculpture and installation with technology. Innovative projects like these require a new kind of creative producer. Watershed and UWE have designed a new Creative Producing MA which is 50/50 practical and analytical. We've teamed up with producers across Bristol who will host MA students during the course. And we're a placement partner on it!

As part of our work on ACE's Agents for Change programme we're developing a 'mental health, wellbeing and flexible working in the arts' policy. To inform this, we're launching a survey with the hope that you'll let us know what works (and maybe what doesn't) so we can shape this policy around lived-experience. And make something that'll really work.                                   

We've been working with the ever-so-fabulous Alice Holland on ACE's Agents for Change programme. We're launching a survey to inform the making and shaping of our 'mental health, wellbeing and flexible working in the arts' policy and in this blog Alice gets real about navigating the freelancer-life, vulnerability and why we're doing this.

Here's a blog about Hannah Sullivan's participatory project Draw to Look. We're supporting Hannah's work through our growing programme of MAYK supported projects.

We've got an opportunity for Bristol-based artists to work with young people in the city and collaborate with artists in Kigali and Kampala. 

As we round off the year, here's a visual reminder of some of the best bits of our 2016. Merry Christmas!

MAYK has been awarded funding to deliver a new collaborative project between Bristol, Kampala and Kigali.

Hello friends. We have some Mayfest news.

We're taking a year off next year. Mayfest has been rampaging all over Bristol for, well, years. In the past few years the festival has increased quite dramatically in terms of reach, scale and ambition. And this year, we've really struggled to secure the additional investment we need in order to bring you the festival to which you are accustomed. As you may be aware, the pressures of fundraising in the current climate make delivering an annual festival very demanding. So we'll be back in 2018, and every 'even' year after that. In order to keep thriving, we need longer to make it all happen.

The first revelation for me in the Agents for Change process has been that walking and talking feels really good. I mean, I’ve done it on away days, but not really as part of my normal working day. It really allows you to think. But walk we did, Alice and I, around the harbourside from Colston Hall past Watershed and the amphitheatre all the way along to Hotwells and then back up past the ss Great Britain and M Shed.