Introducing UNDERSHED
a new, world-class immersive gallery
Photo: Jon Aitken
‘Undershed will pioneer new ways to present and celebrate innovation in storytelling centering imaginative, thought-provoking and playful work and bringing people together in shared experiences’
Amy Rose, XR Creative Director
A groundbreaking new space for immersive content
Watershed is proud to introduce Undershed, a cutting-edge new gallery opening in 2024.
The space will showcase exciting new work and globally award-winning immersive content and will be situated on the ground floor of Watershed, a thriving cultural venue and hub in Bristol, UK.
Watershed is recognised nationally and internationally at the forefront of artistic innovation producing accessible and inclusive experiences
Undershed will bring together Cinema
and Creative Technology in Bristol, UK
Undershed the space
Undershed will be a place to engage with interactive and immersive stories. You might step foot into a virtual world, experience soundscapes that transport you, or head out into the streets to play and explore.
Undershed is
a new gallery for showing immersive and interactive artworks
an important home for sharing high quality work from brilliant artists from all over the world who are inventing this new art form
situated directly on Bristol’s Harbourside, which has an average footfall of 10,500 people per day situated on the ground floor of Watershed – a cultural landmark known as a place to experience exciting and unusual things
total space of 180 m2, with a generous floor to ceiling height of to 3.7m high, and also open for pop-up events and venue hire
a space for storytelling through VR, AR and XR, with capacity for sound and projections that go beyond what is possible in a traditional cinema setting
a dedicated welcome area, acting as a breathing space - an airlock - between the rest of the building and what lies inside the exhibition. The space is fully wheelchair accessible.
The space sits in the heart of Bristol with a high footfall and excellent public transport
Undershed the programme
Undershed’s programme will build on Watershed’s 15 years’ experience of Creative Technology, showing leading work from a broad range of storytellers. Our thematic programming will extend beyond the gallery space and across Watershed’s Cinema and Studio programmes.
Sing the Body Electric is the inaugural exhibition at Undershed – opening in October 2024. It will explore how we use the bodies we live in to connect with the constantly shifting bodies and worlds around us.
Two collections. A series of live events. 8 weeks of programming. With artists from Canada, Belgium, Korea, the UK and more – this programme offers a brand-new way of experiencing immersive stories, exploring profound and personal questions and using a broad range of new technologies.
The work presented will reach out of the space into our cinemas, the city and beyond
A track record of innovation
The development of Undershed is led by Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio, which has an international reputation for creative technology; producing cutting-edge creative products, awardwinning cultural experiences, globally leading research outputs and leveraging over £45m for the city region.
The Studio is a collaborative research and development space run in partnership with UWE Bristol and the University of Bristol. It explores creative technology with a community of over 180 artists, creative companies, technologists and academics. In 2022-23 alone, the Studio’s work reached 129 million people
In early 2024, the Studio was announced as the lead hub for Immersive
Arts, a three year £6 million UK wide programme
Working in partnership with cultural organisations in Belfast and Derry (Nerve Centre), Cardiff (Wales Millennium Centre) and Glasgow (Cryptic), Immersive Arts will generate a rich programme of inclusive and accessible opportunities, breaking down the barriers for artists of all backgrounds to engage with immersive tools.
Training and showcasing will be led by Crossover Labs and we will have strategic input from Unlimited, Immerse UK and XR Diversity Initiative. We also have support from an international Advisory Board including Sundance Institute, Electric South, PHI Centre, IDFA DocLab, Julie’s Bicycle, Black Xtended Realities Network, RSC, HTC Vive Arts, Limina Immersive and others.
‘The coming together of academic, the arts and tech people is really producing some pretty special projects’
James Parton, Director of Twilio, Europe on the Pervasive Media
Studio
Photo: Paul Blakemore
A history of success
Award-winning artists and inventive new projects from the Pervasive Media Studio community have included:
GOLIATH:
Playing With Reality
by Anagram is a 25-minute animated VR experience about schizophrenia, gaming and connection. Narrated by Tilda Swinton, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for an Emmy.
Street Game How (not) to get hit by a self-driving car by Tomo Kihara and Playfool invites participants to interact with a selfdriving car, uncovering its blind spots and shedding light on the limitations of AI. It was first showcased in Bristol in July 2023 and is already touring Europe.
Only Expansion
by Duncan Speakman is an augmented audio experience, which remixes the sound of the city around you. It won Best Immersive Awards at BFI London Film Festival and the Special Jury Award at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.
Nwando
Ebizie
challenges her audience to question their perceived realities through art personas, experimental theatre, neuroscience, music and African diasporic ritualistic dance. She has performed across the world, been featured in The Wire, The Quietus, The Guardian and the BBC (among others) and won the prestigious Oram Award in 2019.
We produce commercial success and extraordinary and inspiring cultural work.
Photo: Luke O’Donovan
The Change We Want to See
Undershed will be a space which is inclusive, inviting and open, for a wide range of cultural experiences. It will be designed to be wildly sustainable, and to foster togetherness.
At Watershed we strive to ensure every aspect of our offer is accessible to as many people as possible. We are at the forefront of work in the cultural sector to improve inclusion, access and climate action.
Watershed is:
A registered charity no 284188
A social enterprise
An accredited Living Wage Employer
Part of the 2023 Creative Climate Leadership (CCL) programme by pioneering not-for-profit organisation Julie’s Bicycle.
Winner of a 2023 Digital Culture Award: “Their efforts serve as a benchmark for cultural organisations striving to make use of their data for intersectional diversity and inclusion work”.
A truly cross art-form organisation with a record of accomplishment in increasing audiences from underrepresented groups.
Our values: inclusive, transparent, responsible, kind and hopeful
How We Could Build a Partnership With You
We want to partner with brands and companies that champion creativity and are committed to a brighter future.
We offer a range of exciting incentives for partners, that we would align to your own business objectives.
Potential partnerships could include the following, and much more:
Brand logo integrated in assets, signage and communications
Opportunity for R&D collaborations with Watershed’s extended community of researchers and technologists
We look forward to talking with you further.
Exclusive Undershed and Watershed access for your company and employees
A workshop at your company by Watershed CEO / Exec producer focused on creative innovation
For more details on our sponsorship opportunities, contact Sarah Brin sarah.b@watershed.co.uk
Find out more at watershed.co.uk