Watershed have announced three new Fellowships in Residence with the Black Laboratory, Radstock’s Old Printworks Arts & The Studio (Bath), and Aardman as part of the MyWorld IDEAS programme.
MyWorld Fellowships are aimed at freelancers, practitioners, industry, and academics who have industry or practice-based experience. People are invited to think about these Fellowships as a period of collaborative thinking, innovation and experimentation, applying practice, expertise or relevant experience.
"Unlike more traditional Fellowships, we are encouraging people to make things and be part of an active network of people with extraordinary skills and expertise. It has been incredibly exciting to see how the Fellowships are operating as a kind of springboard into a web of connections, further research and funding. The climate for creative practitioners and businesses is very challenging right now, so being able to offer funding for this kind of R&D is really important."
MyWorld Fellowships are varied in theme and offer paid experimentation and research time, with an emphasis on collaboration and interdisciplinary working – previous Fellows have found themselves immersed in virtual reality, accessibility design, digital fashion & textiles, community tech, tactile narratives, and immersive performance.
"The Fellowship has been one of the most important experiences for my creative and professional practice. Working with a brilliantly innovative team and some of the best kit and facilities has pushed my technical and artistic abilities while also broadening my critical skills."
The Three Fellowships
(10 months, £20,000)
Apply by: Mon 16 Sept 10:00. BST
An opportunity to spend 10 months in residence with Old Printworks Arts, Radstock and Bath Spa University’s innovation hub ‘The Studio’. This is a practical Fellowship with a focus on community engagement and retention through music and sound technologies.
Alternative communication via remote talking puppets with Black Laboratory
(6 months, £12,000)
Apply by: Mon 23 Sept 10:00 BST
This is an opportunity to spend six months working with Black Laboratory, an award-winning animation and development studio to investigate using remote puppetry to develop indirect conversation tools for people with alternative communication preferences.
This Fellow will complement the team that is currently developing a prototype as part of the Collaborative Research & Development II projects supported by Digital Catapult. These projects are designed to address emerging challenges from across different areas of the Creative Industries.
Mixed Reality Interaction: Enabling tactile interaction with a digital world with Aardman Animations
(6 months, £12,000)
Apply by: Fri 27 Sept 10.00 BST
An opportunity to spend six months on a Fellowship with Aardman Animations. This is a practical Fellowship where you will explore methods for creatives who currently work in a physical and tactile way (in the creation of stop motion animation), to interact in a mixed reality and / or digital space.