1996
2016
ANNUAL REPORT 2014/2015
www.kwmc.org.uk
contents
introduction.........................................3 highlights..............................................4 A snapshot of 2014/2015.....................9 projects................................................13 featured projects............................24 support...................................................31 staff and teams..................................34 2
INTRODUCTION 1996-2016: From a single darkroom to a strawbale centre
1996
A lot has changed since Carolyn Hassan began a photography project at Knowle West Health Association in 1996. The social, cultural and political landscape of the UK has shifted and the community of Knowle West has experienced changes and challenges. There have been huge advances in technology: the computers on our desks have halved in size and increased in power, and the ‘next industrial revolution’ has brought coding, robotics and digital manufacturing into the public consciousness. Since 1996, the team behind Knowle West Media Centre has utilised the power and potential of technology and the arts to stimulate debate, explore new ways of doing things, and provide opportunities for learning, employment and social action. From filmmaking projects with young people in the late 1990s to setting up a ‘pop-up’ manufacturing space in an empty youth centre in 2014, our work has been responsive to changing circumstances, emerging opportunities, and local needs. And it continues to inspire and challenge - across communities, contexts and even nations. But amidst these changes, community remains at the heart of everything we do. As our organisation evolves in size and scope, local residents and young people continue to work alongside staff, makers and artists to co-design products and initiatives that have positive social impact. As we move into our twentieth year, we will continue to innovate, respond and create, whilst upholding the founding aim that gives Knowle West Media Centre its purpose.
2016
Because even after twenty years, there are some things that don’t change.
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HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014-2015 LOOKING BACK: George Gallop, 1932- 2015 George Gallop was a Bristol-born photographer who lived and worked in the city for many years. After attending school in Knowle West he established his own photography business and spent 30 years photographing events, celebrities and activity around Bristol. George spent many hours at KWMC, sharing his stories and his skills, and in 2010 he worked with us to digitise his archive of 10,000 photographs, which are preserved on our Flickr site at www.flickr.com/kwmc. He once said it’s important that we remember our history - and we want to support his wish to make the archive available to view, so everyone can learn more about Bristol, its people and civic life. George passed away on February 15th 2015 and we hosted a celebration of his life for his friends and family at KWMC. He will be missed and joyfully remembered by all of the team here. George Gallop photographed Queen Elizabeth II in Bath in 1977.
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Preparing for Bristol’s year as European Green Capital We’re committed to being an environmentally sustainable organisation – from the projects we run to how we manage our working day – so we were keen to embrace Bristol’s year as European Green Capital in 2015 and encourage as many people as possible to reduce their impact on the environment. ‘Being green’ is certainly not a one-off thing – for KWMC or Knowle West. The area has a long history of environmental action, from home-grown gardening initiatives to recycling and ‘making’ projects. Six years ago we worked with 100 households in the Carbon Makeover project and we’re currently working with residents on a solar power initiative. KWMC was one of the original Bristol Green Capital ‘Pledge Organisations’ – stating our commitment to achieving a greener city back in 2007 – and during Green Capital year we wanted to step up our green activity. In 2015 we made 15 pledges to lower our carbon footprint, including reducing car travel to the site, encouraging wildlife to our garden, conserving water and using more recycled materials.
Team gardening session
Our sustainable activity didn’t begin and end with our strawbale building: it will continue to inform the issues we tackle and the way we go about it.
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LOOKING FORWARD: KWMC Manifesto 2015: Five calls for change As the political parties finalised their manifestos for the 2015 General Election, we issued five ‘calls for change’ that we believe will make a difference to communities most in need – and benefit the UK as a whole. Our 15-page Manifesto draws on our experience of working in Knowle West. At the heart of each call is the need for a fresh approach to politics and policy-making that fuses art, technology and community creativity to better meet people’s needs and aspirations.
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Supporting young people to enter the workforce This year we adapted our Young People’s Programme to better reflect the needs of our existing groups and ensure that young people are supported to confront and overcome barriers that could impede progression into their chosen careers.
The after-school activities of Jump Studios continue to provide an introduction to media skills and creative thinking, offering tasters in coding, design, animation, photography and music, while our Junior Digital Producer scheme and Eight employment platform offer opportunities for work-based learning and ongoing training. Other strands of work, such as Girls Making History, are seeking to understand and address the disparity between males and females entering technical roles. Through partnership work with the University of the West of England, Arts Council England and Rio, we are developing The Institute - a collaborative approach to providing work-based learning and skills training where young people are based in the city’s many arts, media and cultural organisations. This ‘out of the box’ thinking can make a real difference to young people’s prospects and the make-up of the creative workforce: 88% of our Junior Digital Producers have found work or entered self-employment since working with us, and we will continue to look for new ways to ensure that Bristol’s workforce is diverse, inclusive, and open to everyone.
Young women take part in workshops during the Girls Making History project.
We want to ensure that all young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups, can access the jobs, training and opportunities that accompany the growth of Bristol’s creative and digital sectors.
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A ‘Living Lab’ for Bristol Many of this year’s projects have focused specifically on the interplay of cutting-edge technology and the individual needs of people and communities.
Technology alone isn’t necessarily the solution to a problem: it’s vital to bring individuals, communities and tech companies together to co-design solutions, and share what’s been learned so others can benefit. As a Living Lab – part of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) – we are committed to expanding this work into 2015-16 as we prepare to launch a Citizen Sensing Programme.
The interface showing energy use and financial savings that was developed through SoLa Bristol
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Leading workshops for other professionals exploring what makes good community engagement
We’ve seen time and again that positive change - social and economic - comes when people aren’t perceived as mere ‘consumers’: projects like SoLa Bristol and IES Cities have shown that taking the time to understand how technology intersects with everyday life, and the arts, can help to enhance our experiences and improve our products.
a snapshot numbers:
2,620 different people took part in an activity at KWMC, an increase of more than 10% on last year 630 hours of volunteering time were contributed Over 500 people shared the motives and memories behind their body art in our mobile tattoo parlour and exhibition I Will Always Have You Nearly 500 pieces of new and ‘upcycled’ furniture were produced in our ‘pop-up’ manufacturing space 54 different projects were run this year 52% of the people who engaged with us were aged 25 or under and 23% were aged 60+ 41% of people attending activities were from our immediate postcode area, BS4 41 artists were commissioned to work with us on 8 pieces of work 21 hours of ‘Knowle West TV’ footage were digitised from the archives of 1970s community cable project Bristol Channel 9 apps were produced by staff and young people 8 new enterprises were developed through our Green & Digital Business Programme 5 exhibitions were held 5 calls for change were included in our 2015 Manifesto
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Stories
"There’s big support here that’s really important: it’s like the Media Centre has become my extended family and I think that if I hadn’t had as much support as I’ve had, I don’t think I would now have as much confidence in myself to do well." (Sophie Hosken-Taylor, Music Development Intern for 2014 – 2015)
"KWMC offers young interns the possibility for creativity that I think is difficult to find anywhere else…The Media Centre has also exposed me to a wider industry in a way that has allowed me to gain a much better idea of the kind of roles I would like to take on in the future." (Johnny Dadds, Events Intern for 2014 – 2015)
"We were delighted to work in partnership [with KWMC] to deliver social media training, which has enabled eight Hartcliffe community leaders to take invaluable skills back to their groups…[We had] a clear, helpful, excellent trainer and we all got a lot out of the session.'' (Sophie Burns, Knightstone Community Empowerment team)
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Mentions
a fab org & a great best practice model @MandyLFowler
Pondering my first visit to @knowlewestmedia today - art, technology and #Bristol community in a compelling mix that changes lives @JohnOrnaO Best thing about #Nightwalks - which I loved a lot - was sense of “instant community� conjured by @mammaliandiving & @knowlewestmedia #IBT15 @PhilGibby
Community journalist interviews the bread-making group
Amazing work by @knowlewestmedia [W]e are delighted to be a part of such an inspiring enterprise @RyanJamesMac
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West, during the I Will Always Have You project
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Exploring the Memory Scapes installation
Photographing local people’s body art on the streets of Knowle
Illustration of KWMC by intern Sophie Hosken-Taylor
projects April 2014 - March 2015 LOCAL ISSUES Arts and media projects primarily within Knowle West, exploring themes including representation of the area, local knowledge, and the natural environment • Knowle West TV: exploring the past, present and future of community media, and its role in regeneration, representation, and social action, using archive footage first broadcast by 1970s community cable project Bristol Channel.
• Who decides what’s in your fridge?: a participatory research project exploring the attitudes, habits and practicalities that influence local food choices. • Lost & Found: collating the community’s knowledge of the neighbourhood to create a way-finding system that is both playful and practical. • The Knowledge Newsletter and website: facilitating the production of a regular newsletter delivered to 5,500 households, and supporting local organisations and residents to populate its online counterpart knowlewest.co.uk • Productive Margins: a five-year collaborative project that aims to develop new forms of engagement in decision-making, working with community organisations and social enterprises in Bristol and South Wales and academics from the University of Bristol and Cardiff University.
Promotional posters for a week of activity exploring Knowle West TV
• Wild Thing: an event to explore and celebrate the city’s ‘wild food’ heritage.
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• Fixin’ it Ourselves – Women Activists in Knowle West: a sharing session exploring the history and current state of activism in the local community. • University of Local Knowledge: ongoing project uncovering and sharing the talents and skills that exist within Knowle West and South Bristol, through the creation of over 900 short films and an interactive website. • Silver Screen: a monthly older people’s film group.
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Exploring the videos on the University of Local Knowledge website
• Events included health and wellbeing festival Filwood Gets Fit (with multi-agency group Knowle West together), a Knowle West Heritage Walking Tour (with Bristol Museum & Art Gallery), Mayor’s Question Time, and the live broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions?
• Visible You: a six-month programme that employed eight young people aged 18-24 as Junior Digital Producers to research and produce an interactive documentary about how social isolation affects teenagers – and what can be done about it. • Data Toolkit: a step-by-step guide to gathering and visualising information in creative ways and involving interns and trainees in the process, designed for arts and cultural organisations. • Bristol Maker Lab: research and development of a new Bristol-based making space to address the citywide need for digital manufacturing skills and sustainable employment. • Girls Making History: a co-designed research project working with young women and using digital technologies to raise awareness of the signs of an unhealthy relationship.
Using the CNC router in KWMC’s digital manufacturing space. Image © Max McClure
Projects that investigate new and innovative approaches to creating employment, involving people in local decision-making, and encouraging social action
Researching young people’s favourite places during the Visible You project
RESEARCH
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YOUNG PEOPLE’S
PROGRAMME Regular activities for young people aged 10-25, rebranded this year as Jump Studios • Young Makers & Young Creators: weekly sessions providing an introduction to media disciplines include animation, coding, music, design, film and photography. • XLR Sessions: a six-month programme where young people can improve their musical ability and learn a range of related skills including performance, promotion, production and networking. • Control-Alt-Delete: a regular group supporting young people to learn the basics of coding and website and app development. • Music Studio sessions: supporting young and emerging artists to record their music. • Creative Hub: a space for young people to work on their own creative projects, with support.
• Arts Award: support for young people to work towards an accredited Arts Award qualification and complete creative portfolios for assessment.
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Music and coding sessions for young people
• Young People’s Steering Group: a space where young people can share ideas and guide the direction of the programme.
Special Projects • Festival of Code 2014: KWMC was a coding centre for the annual event run by Young Rewired State where young people use freely available open data to make websites and apps that address ‘real-world’ challenges.
• XLR 2014: annual music festival offering workshops, talks and live performances from emerging and established artists. • Art vs Tech: Easter holiday activities to give KWMC a ‘digital makeover’, including transforming a broken piano into a digital instrument, programming robots and games, and setting up a portrait studio. • See it, Make it: a ten-week course for young people to learn industry-standard filmmaking techniques and create their own film. • Generating Genius: a ten-week collaboration with University of Bristol giving young people aged 11 – 17 the chance to create their own computer game. • Digital Stories: supporting a group of young people to plan, develop and produce their own digital stories, in partnership with Media Trust.
Young coders working on their apps at the Young Rewired State Festival of Code 2014
• Summer Programme 2014: four days of creative and digital workshops teaching coding, laser printing, photography and performing arts.
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Commissions to work with Schools, Colleges
& Youth Organisations
•
After School Media Club at Bridge Learning Campus
• Community Liaison Module: supporting students from City of Bristol College’s Foundation Degree in Media Production.
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Young people take part in a coding lesson in the classroom
• Schools’ Programme: a programme of training sessions for teachers and in-school lessons for children including e-safety sessions, an introduction to code and training in using ‘local social network’ My Knowle West. Schools worked with included St Peter’s Primary, Bedminster Down Secondary, Victoria Park Primary, Knowle DGE, and Greenfield E-ACT Primary Academy.
EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS Working with artists and residents to reflect on notions of place, self and community and celebrate the creative culture of Bristol and Knowle West • Night Walks With Teenagers: an immersive walking performance with In Between Time and Mammalian Diving Reflex, where hundreds of visitors experienced Knowle West’s lively present and possible future through the eyes of local teenagers.
• Wild City - A Year in the Life of the Northern Slopes: a year-long project that used digital media to encourage people-from youth groups to older residents-to experience and enjoy their natural environment. • The South West Graduate Photography Prize: an exhibition of new photographic work from the finalists of the 2014 prize, with Fotonow.
• I Will Always Have You: mapping the tattooing heritage of Knowle West and exploring the power of memory and narrative, through a mobile tattoo parlour and photo booth, an exhibition of eight stories, and an interactive digital collection.
• The Five Thousand Island Forest: a photographic commission depicting the landscapes of Knowle West by Nicholas White.
• Objects of Desire: pairing artists and local residents to design and make a series of digitally fabricated objects inspired by local tattoo culture.
• Bristol Green Doors & Bristol Open Doors: opening the KWMC building to coincide with annual citywide events that celebrate environmental and cultural spaces.
• Mother in the Mother: a Bristolbased arts project from artist Pippa Robinson celebrating motherhood, collecting mothers’ stories and exploring our maternal lineage.
• Inspiring Change programme: attending events and conferences to share learning from a range of projects.
• A Working Lunch: a performance from artists Paul Hurley and Clare Thornton, introducing a new bookwork that explores the rhythms and rituals of working Bristol. I Will Always Have You exhibition preview
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Projects tackling isolation and unhealthy lifestyles through innovative use of arts and media • MemoryScapes: working with local community groups, older residents and people with dementia to collect memories about the history of South Bristol, in order to produce a multi-sensory installation that provides an insight into the past and also acts as a reminiscence tool. SPHERE (Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment): a five-year collaborative project developing home sensor systems to monitor the health and wellbeing of people living at home. •
• Social Mirror: in a pilot initiative responding to needs identified through research with The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), a digital tool was used in doctors’ surgeries to prescribe social activities to isolated people aged 18-25 and 65+.
Demonstrating the technologies involved in the SPHERE project
HEALTH & WELLBEING
• Sporting Memories: a collaboration with the Sporting Memories Network to offer a reminiscence group for older residents and people with dementia or memory issues.
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The Celebrating Age Festival at KWMC
• Celebrating Age: a joint event with Knowle West Health Park showcasing the activities on offer for over 55s in the Knowle West area.
ENVIRONMENTAL
• Eagle House Pop Up Furniture Factory: a six-month pilot project offering training and employment for Knowle West residents – and which produced nearly 500 pieces of new and ‘upcycled’ furniture. • IES Cities: a European partnership project using open data to develop a range of apps and online services for Bristol that address local needs and allow citizens and councils to interact and collaborate more easily. • My Knowle West and My Bristol: two ‘local social networks’ that allow users to share positive local activity and make new connections – within their community and across the city. • Democratree: conceived by a group of young people at KWMC, the app enables people to suggest locations for new trees to be planted in Bristol. • So La Bristol: partnership project providing solar panels and battery storage to 30 Council properties, with the aim of reducing energy use. • Plot to Plate: providing training in photography and using the social network app My Knowle West, for people who attend cookery and gardening courses at Knowle West Health Association.
Bread-making group Rising High, supported through the Do What You Love programme
• Do What You Love – the Green Digital Business programme: a two-year business programme supporting the development of new enterprises that make the most of new ‘green’ and digital technologies and create jobs within the Knowle West community.
Solar panels installed through SoLa Bristol
Projects exploring how digital technologies and the arts can support people to live more sustainably
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TRAINING
• Digital Skills training: computer training classes and special events to encourage people, particularly older residents, to access the benefits of being online. • Introduction to Digital Photography: weekly class for adult learners. • Professional Training Courses for charitable organisations and businesses including an introduction to Adobe InDesign, using Twitter to raise your profile, and beginner and intermediate courses in social media. • Eight: a new enterprise and training programme that pairs young creatives with employers who are looking to commission high-quality media work. • Bursary Films, with the Centre for Moving Image Research: five young artists from Bristol were supported to make a series of short films in response to the question ‘is the future green?’
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Training session with young creatives involved with the Eight programme
• Community Journalism: training local residents in journalism skills, including researching, interviewing and writing features for the Knowledge newsletter and website.
Phone and tablet training at the local allotment
A programme of training and workshops for artists, residents and professionals, covering a range of artforms and disciplines
design Design and branding work was delivered for clients including: • Branding for enterprises supported through the Do What You Love business programme, including A Ride in The Park, Harbour Training and Rising High. • Design of the Knowledge Newsletter for the Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill Neighbourhood Partnership. • Branding and design for the Filwood Gets Fit health and wellbeing festival, incorporating artwork designed by local schoolchildren. • Design of the newsletter for the European partnership project STEEP (Systems Thinking for Efficient Energy Planning). • Concept and design of document folders for Hartcliffe Nursery School & Children’s Centre. • Design of the regular programme for Knowle West Health Park.
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FEATURED PROJECTS Eagle House Pop Up Furniture Factory #digital manufacturing #enterprise #upcycling
Looking Back: The Project
Digital fabrication and the spread of technologies like 3D printers and laser cutters are fundamentally changing the way we make things. Some commentators are calling it ‘the next industrial revolution’. We believe that more can be done to make sure that the opportunities for learning and enterprise that these technologies present are available to the many - not just the few. The most recent Quality of Life survey by Bristol City Council (2013) reported that satisfaction with jobs is very low in the Filwood ward, where KWMC is based, at just 12%. The Eagle House Pop Up Furniture Factory was a six-month pilot programme that offered training and employment to Knowle West residents from a temporary base in a disused former youth centre. Eagle House Youth Centre is located on Newquay Road, Knowle West, and closed in early 2014. Between October 2014 and May 2015 it was leased and operated by KWMC, working in partnership with local charity and training provider re:work.
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Technician Tom using the CNC router. Image © Max McClure
•
The idea originated in our Green & Digital Business Programme, known as ‘Do What You Love’, which supported local people to explore self-employment and develop community-based enterprises in Knowle West. Through the Furniture Factory, we aimed to provide routes into sustainable employment for local people and reduce the amount of office furniture being shipped off to landfill - and the amount of furniture being shipped in when it could be made locally.
The commission enabled us to invest in digital manufacturing equipment (a CNC router and laser cutter). Over a six-month period, a team of artists and designers, including Hot Soup House and 00:/, worked with Knowle West residents at Eagle House to design, make and install nearly 500 pieces of wooden furniture. Some pieces were made from scratch using ‘open source’ designs, which were shared via the Open Desk platform (www.opendesk.cc). Others were ‘upcycled’ from unused chipboard desks brought out of Council storage. To date, 40 people have received training in using the digital manufacturing equipment, and a number of small enterprises were supported to use the factory space, including new business The Laser House and a local sewing enterprise.
The team behind the Eagle House PopUp Furniture Factory. Image © Max McClure
In November 2014 we secured a commercial furniture-making commission, from building contractors MIDAS and Bristol City Council, to supply the new Filwood Green Business Park, which opened at the end of May 2015.
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•
Looking Forward: The Future
The ‘pop up’ pilot was the beginning of our wider plan to establish a Bristol Maker Lab to address a city-wide need for new skills and sustainable employment by providing open public access to digital manufacturing equipment and expertise.
The Factory is a place where people of different backgrounds can share their skills - and challenge the notion of what it takes to be a ‘maker’. By commissioning The Factory and investing in a local procurement approach, rather than picking furniture from a catalogue, clients receive cutting-edge designs, support upcycling and recycling, and help to stimulate the local economy.
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Furniture produced for Filwood Green Business Park. Image © Max McClure
Our lease of the Eagle House building ended in May 2015 and the digital manufacturing enterprise, renamed KWMC: The Factory, moved into one of the business units at Filwood Green Business Park. As well as continuing to make furniture for clients, The Factory produces signage, installations and exhibitions. The team are also teaching digital manufacturing techniques to local schoolchildren through new education programme Maker Lab in a Box: in summer 2015 they worked with Greenfield E-Act Primary Academy to make and assemble a batch of wooden stools for their art room.
Junior Digital Producer Programme #training #social action #employment
•
Looking Back: The Project
In October 2014 we employed eight 1824 year olds as Junior Digital Producers (JDPs), a role we first introduced in 2013. Many JDPs had been unemployed for at least six months and experienced barriers to employment in the creative and digital industries. During their employment with us, the JDPs learned in-demand digital skills, such as coding, animation, filmmaking and design, whilst being supported to improve their confidence and professionalism. Their training took place within the context of a ‘real life’ project that aimed to produce a positive social impact by working with local people to respond to an identified need. Following reports that the numbers of socially isolated teenagers had risen in recent years, the JDPs researched potential causes of social isolation, met experts, and interviewed 200 young people in schools and colleges and out on the streets.
They discovered that 71% of teenagers spend more than three hours online each day and 49% of teenagers prefer staying in. In order to share their findings and potential ways to address social isolation, the group decided to make an interactive documentary about the issue, which would be housed on its own website: www.theglowingdivide.com. Unlike traditional documentaries, an interactive film has no set narrative structure: viewers access a collection of short film clips online and choose the order in which to view them, shaping the story themselves. Three young people agreed to share their highs and lows on camera and the film follows Charlie, Ella and Kyle, all 16, as they undertake a series of challenges and create a personal video diary.
The Nightwalks performance. Courtesy of In Between Time. Image by Paul Blakemore.
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•
Looking Forward: The Future
In March 2015 the JDPs hosted a premiere screening of the interactive documentary, titled ‘The Glowing Divide’, to a packed studio audience. Throughout their six months with us, we facilitated introductions between the JDPs and industry employers, where they networked and shared their work. Since leaving the programme, 88% of JDPs from the two cohorts (2013 and 2014) have found work or become self-employed. Max, a Junior Web Developer, commented that the training and employment experience gave him ‘entry [into] a very crowded and competitive job space’, while Sarah, a Studio Photography Assistant, said it gave her ‘the confidence and courage to go into photography.’ Joanna, now a Motion Graphics Editor at Aspect Film and Video, concluded: ‘working as a JDP provided me with the experience of working in a team and good organisational skills, which my current employers were looking for.’ Through the JDP programme we were able to support young professionals to develop in-demand skills, such as data literacy, data visualization and media production, and explore how these skills can be utilised to deliver projects that tackle relevant local and national issues, working closely with local people.
The Nightwalks performance. Courtesy of In Between Time. Image by Paul Blakemore.
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The documentary had a profound impact on the participants: the three young people who shared their stories in the film all reported an increase in confidence since being involved. Charlie commented: “I found being part of the documentary was absolutely amazing, I’m really happy I took part…I think my social confidence has improved a lot, I think I can talk to people a lot easier.” We collaborated with local businesses during the JDP programme, including Horstmann, and this approach has benefits for all parties: young people experience a range of working environments, businesses are introduced to potential employees, and everyone explores new opportunities for training, product development and innovation. Several JDPs continue to work with us through our supported employment programme Eight, which helps young professionals secure their second job and explore self-employment and freelancing whilst working on paid commissions. This bridge into further work is crucial to helping young people cement the skills they have learned and further their career progression in a crowded and fast-changing industry. In autumn 2015 we will employ eight more JDPs to support more young people into their chosen industry and see the city’s creative workforce further expanded and diversified.
Knowle west tv #media #representation #archive
•
Looking Back: The Project In the spring of 2015, we hosted a series of screenings of Knowle West TV and a discussion about the past, present and future of community media, featuring Bristol Channel manager Peter Lewis. Local people could also meet artist David Hopkinson who was creating new short films using the archive footage.
The footage was first broadcast on Bristol Channel, a community cable TV initiative that operated from 1973-75. Bristol Channel was set up by Rediffusion, at the time the UK’s largest cable company, and it reached 23,000 homes in Bristol via Rediffusion’s cable network in 1973. Knowle West TV was one of the strands of programming. Local residents were trained to record footage and just over 21 hours of local material were produced.
Personal stories were recorded throughout the week, while information about locations, such as the now-closed Fighting Cocks pub and the Merrywood School, were recorded using Know Your Bristol’s digital mapping tools.
From discussions about the women’s liberation movement and the 1974 General Election to music from local bands and street interviews, the films provide a fascinating and witty insight into life in Bristol and Knowle West in the 1970s. In late 2014, KWMC and Know Your Bristol ran several ‘focus group’ sessions, inviting people who had lived in the community for decades to help us identify footage that would be particularly relevant forty years on.
Local resident Lorraine sees herself on Knowle West TV forty years on.
In 2014, nearly 21 hours of footage showing life in Knowle West in the 1970s were digitized from videotape to mp4 format. Keen to identify the people and places in the footage and explore the parallels with contemporary experiences of life in Knowle West, we collaborated with the Know Your Bristol project at University of Bristol and Bristol Record Office to bring it back to our screens.
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•
Looking Forward: The Future
Bringing Knowle West TV back to our screens after forty years has provided an invaluable opportunity for the community to revisit its past and reflect: are the issues of 40 years ago still the issues of today? What has changed? What hasn’t? What can we learn from the past? Some of the issues discussed in the footage – women’s rights, equal pay, politics – are still topics of conversation today, while other things – corporal punishment in schools, the local secondary school, the thriving pubs – have passed into history. Street interview footage shows that use of Filwood Broadway has changed: the shopping area was lively and bustling in the 1970s, while today many units are empty and the area is earmarked for regeneration. The films have proved extremely popular, attracting over thirteen thousand views and hundreds of comments when they were shared on social media by BBC Radio Bristol. The granddaughter of one of Knowle West TV’s news presenters commented that ‘nan’s gone viral’, and the footage had been shared as far away as Australia. Many experiences of the footage have been personal and poignant: people have seen friends, classmates and family members they haven’t seen for years or who have passed away. In the summer of 2015 community media channel Made in Bristol TV ran a 12episode series about Knowle West TV, which took the form of a half-hour ‘highlights’ programme broadcast every Friday. As a result of seeing the programmes, nearly 30 people got in touch to share their stories and memories.
The process of acquiring and digitizing the footage has stimulated debate about the role played by community media initiatives and communitygenerated content in this age of social media, blogging and rapid technological advance. Knowle West TV was pioneering as it placed the media tools of the time into the hands of communities, enabling them to learn new media skills and represent themselves rather than be represented by others. This is something that KWMC does today, and will continue to do as we enter our twentieth year. We’re currently preparing to showcase local knowledge, culture and experiences, shared in residents’ own words, in an exhibition about University of Local Knowledge. With thanks to Peter Lewis, the Station Manager, for providing the summary of Bristol Channel and Knowle West TV.
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support
statement of financial activities Knowle West Media Centre Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities [including Income and Expenditure Account] for the year ended 31 March 2015
Incoming resources Incoming resources from generated funds Voluntary income Donations
Unrestricted funds 2015 £
33
Restricted funds 2015 £
529
Total funds 2015 £
2014 £
562
326
48,563 319
37,595 417
Activities to generate funds: Rent and sales of subsidiary company Interest receivable
48,563 319
Incoming resources from charitable activities Grants and contracts
288,082
707,794
995,876
938,528
Total incoming resources
336,997
708,323
1,045,320
976,866
Resources expended Costs of generating funds Charitable activities Governance costs Expenditure on subsidiary activities
17,699 346,509 8,539 -
2,767 749,213 1,162 52,878
20,466 1,095,722 9,701 52,878
6,418 920,918 9,902 52,703
Total resources expended
372,747
806,020
1,178,767
989,941
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources before transfers
(35,750)
(97,697)
(97)
97
Reconciliation of funds Transfers between funds
-
(133,447) -
(13,075) -
Total funds brought forward
156,009
2,343,167
2,499,176
2,512,251
Total funds carried forward
120,162
2,245,567
2,365,729
2,499,176
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 8 to the financial statements.
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Knowle West Media Centre Balance sheet as at 31 March 2015
balance sheet as for 31 march 2015
2015 ÂŁ
2014 ÂŁ
2,231,588 50
2,279,059 50
264,370 74,730
180,931 98,569
339,100
279,500
(205,009)
(59,433)
134,091
220,067
2,365,729
2,499,176
Restricted funds Media projects Depreciation reserve Restricted funds
110,162 10,000 120,162
139,377 16,632 156,009
13,979 2,231,588 2,245,567
64,108 2,279,059 2,343,167
Total funds
2,365,729
2,499,176
Fixed assets Tangible assets Long-term investments Current assets Debtors and prepayments Cash at bank and in hand
Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within 12 months Net current assets Net assets Funds Unrestricted funds General fund Designated funds
Knowle West Media Centre income 2010 - 2016
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Costs of generating funds Core expenditure by programme Creative Programme Young People/ Education Engagement Business Development Other projects Governance Depreciation
£20,466 £179,626 £136,335 £250,284 £156,527 £309,162 £47,383 £9,701 £69,283 £1,178,767
Expenditure 2014/15 Governance; £9,701
Deprecia,on; £69,283
Costs of genera,ng funds; £20,466 Core; £179,626
Other projects; £47,383
Crea,ve Programme; £136,335
Business Development; £309,162
Engagement; £156,527
Young People/ Educa,on; £250,284
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staff & teams • FULL TIME STAFF Barry Lynch Cameron Burrell Carolyn Hassan Hazel Grian James Kennaby James Wall Jen Rolfe Jeremy Empson Justin Ricks Mark Gingell Misty Tunks Naomi Yates Penny Evans Rebecca Thomas Russell Knights Sandra Manson Stephen Probert Steven Belgium Tom Barnes • PART TIME STAFF Bart Blazejewski Baylea Hart Candice Pepperall Caryn Davies Christine Silcocks Dorothy Baker Hassan Gail Bevan Geetha Patel Joanna Mitchell Kerry Luckett Lauren Hunt Lucinda Thelwell Luke Gregg Makala Campbell Martin Hall Martin Hanstead Melissa Mean Michael Williams Michaela Macrae Simpson Paul Butt
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Phoebe Langton-Beck Rachel Cato Rachel Clarke Ray Surman Roz Hall Samantha Hooper Samantha Payne Sandra Morris Sue Mackinnon Tim Kirkman • JUNIOR DIGITAL PRODUCERS & INTERNS Alice Franklin Alison Taylor Ben Griffiths Casey Martin Chadwick Jackson Deidre Canavan Jacob Evans Johnny Dadds Matthew Gallagher Max Hopkins Naomi Bowey Sarah Shorrock Sophie Hosken-Taylor Stephanie Li Taidghe Shea Tommie Moseray • ASSOCIATES We worked with a total of 70 artists, facilitators, producers and creative companies to deliver our work in 2014-15.
• TRUSTEES Sarah Chilcott (Chair) Oliver Callaghan (Treasurer) Alexandra Franklin Alison Bown Bob Fisher Ed Boal Kalpna Woolf Karron Chaplin Kelvin Blake (left 2014) Mark Baker Matt Little • WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS & VOLUNTEERS 49 volunteers worked with us in 2014-15. • GRANT FUNDERS Arts Council England Avon and Somerset Constabulary BBC Children in Need Bristol City Council Bristol Futures Business West Department for Work and Pensions Esmee Fairbairn Foundation European Union NESTA Next Gen Skills Academy Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) RSA University of Bristol University of the West of England West of England Local Enterprise Parnership Youth Music
contact us Knowle West Media Centre Leinster Avenue, Bristol, BS4 1NL tel: 0117 903 0444 www.kwmc.org.uk enquiries@kwmc.org.uk knowlewestmedia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Charity Number: 1092375 Company Number: 4358350 Become a Member from as little as ÂŁ10 and help us continue our work. Find out more at www.kwmc.org.uk/support
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KWMC projects are supported by:
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1996
2016