At Knowle West Media Centre we support people to make positive changes in their lives and communities, using technology and the arts to come up with creative solutions to problems and explore new ways of doing things.
KWMC is an arts centre and charity and we’ve been based in South Bristol – on the Knowle West estate – since 1996.
Since those early days, our work has centred on working collaboratively with people from different backgrounds to develop new and creative models for achieving positive social change – and supporting people to develop the skills and confidence to be change-makers themselves.
Our current projects include skills training and employment opportunities for young people, supporting community organisations across Bristol in their work, and a diverse range of creative programmes exploring issues from housing to health.
We also operate The Factory, an award-winning making and training space based at Filwood Green Business Park. The Factory provides access to new digital manufacturing technologies (such as CNC routers and laser cutters), offers product design and prototyping services for clients, and delivers a range of free training courses.
Projects
- Come Together‘Come Together’ is an exciting new programme of public events, training, co-creation and commissions exploring It will take place from Summer – Autumn 2021. The programme is designed to support artists and communities to work together to develop new skills in ‘hybrid’ arts practices (digital and physical) and to co-create new inclusive spaces or experiences. The programme will explore: – Inspiring examples of practices that mix digital and physical tools and methods – The barriers and challe
Projects credited in
- Tech Talk: Interview with The GuardianInterview by Matthew Caines, The Guardian Hi Samantha, what can you tell me about the Knowle West Media Centre? The Knowle West Media Centre believes that the arts have the power to make a difference to our lives, neighbourhoods and environment. It's an arts organisation and charity based in Bristol that's been supporting individuals and communities to get the most out of digital technologies and the arts since 1996. In practice, that means providing exciting and relevant ways for people to get involved in community activism, education, employment and local decision-making. What kinds of challenges do you face in your work? A difficulty was coming up with a way to visualise the data in a form that instantly communicates the message but is also aesthetically exciting. We started looking at what other artists were doing with data and how it was being captured and visualised. Aaron Koblin's Flight Paths is my favourite visualisation because it can be stand alone art that tells a deeper story or a useful display of information. Just looking at his work makes me think about technology, art, climate change, space, the world, the future, past and present, and a million other things. What can you tell me about the Girls Making History project? This project is really close to my heart. We read in the news everyday about how women are being consistently harmed and violated both physically and emotionally, so we're working as a group to prevent that. We're trying to prototype a piece of technology that can help keep young girls safe. I'm working with a group of 13-24 year-old women who have all experienced or are experiencing domestic violence and abuse. The project is being driven from the ground up, meaning the women have complete creative control. We are developing an idea together, from branding, logos and campaign ideas, to the final prototype. Last week we were 3D printing bracelets using Sketch-Up. None of us had used 3D modelling software before, nor a 3D printer, but together with printing expert Joel Gibbard, we produced our own jewellery. We wanted to start thinking about the kind of tech we could fit into a bracelet that would send certain types of data. We'll be working closely with technologists and jewellery designers to help us reach our goal within the next few months.