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Maker City Winter Term!

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Our Tuesday night Maker City cohort is gaining great confidence both personally and in using the software and hardware in The Factory. This has been fantastic to see. We have been focusing on social action and incorporating that into different creative sessions. Guiding the young people through the design process from generating ideas in groups to discussing them openly and presenting their ideas publicly. From sketching and prototyping to designing on software and making the final products using The Factory kit.

Through our ongoing research project with UCL, we have recruited a team of young researchers from our core cohort. They have been learning about what makes equitable maker spaces; undergoing various research tasks to help understand and develop the Maker City program. The co-researchers both participate in research studies as well as design and facilitate their own research. 

As well as our after-school session, Maker City has been running weekly sessions at Knowle DGE secondary school through the winter term. Years 10 and 11 have been working together to learn digital fabrication skills. The cohort decided to use their new design skills to develop their own dungeons and dragons gaming world. One young person started designing dice on TinkerCAD which we printed on our 3D printer. The cohort also laser-cut their own personal character pieces in a variety of 2D and 3D design methods and started designing their own game board. 

The young people have been thinking about how to bring the community together and this new design project has allowed them to create a new Knowle DGE gaming community with other students; creating a safe space, thriving with creativity and possibilities which benefits young people’s mental health significantly. 

The young people at Knowle DGE have also learnt how to create stickers using Inkscape and a vinyl cutter. Liam is passionate about nature and green spaces in Bristol and designed squirrel stickers as part of an environmental project. Although he is worried about the climate crisis, Liam made us all smile by telling us about the squirrel near his home which he has seen navigating the zebra crossing like a human – twice!  

 
We can bring lots of our digital fabrication equipment into schools for Maker City sessions and at the end of the term we invite our school cohorts to The Factory to experience the rest of our equipment in action. This term we also ran our school program with Parson’s Street Primary School and Holy Cross Primary School.

At the end of March, we hosted the end-of-term showcase. There was a magical energy in the building as young people took their family and friends on tours around The Factory; showing them their projects and teaching them how to use the kit.  

Our partners from ARUP, Arcadis and Mott Macdonald joined us to support the young people and be part of this celebration. Professionals from each organisation have been mentoring the young people throughout the year, working closely with them to help them build on their ideas and connect their projects to real-world applications. These mentors will continue working with the young people and in July they will collaborate with us to run our once-in-a-lifetime work experience program.

If you are interested in signing up for any of our after-school sessions or have any questions, please email jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk.

Youth Council 2022 Wrap Up

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KWMC Youth Council had a huge year in 2022. From meeting at the media centre where we planned, discussed and voted for real-world issues to travelling around the city where the young people represented their local community in events all over Bristol.

The young people worked with Play Disrupt and Re:create Filwood to help co-design the new developments in Knowle West by workshopping and sharing ideas in meetings as well as taking part in augmented reality on the streets to use their voice to recreate the future of their community.

The Youth Council helped host KWMC’s Our Space event in April. The young people welcomed the members of the public into the media centre; proudly giving tours around the building and sharing their stories about the Our Space project and their involvement as part of the Knowle West Media Collective.

The young people also worked with Filwood Library by taking part in a toys audit. Playing games and helping the community at the same time.

On Thursday the 23rd of June, KWMC’s Youth Council headed down to City Hall to attend a youth conference hosted by Bristol City Council. The conference was an opportunity for youth council’s from around Bristol to come together and use their voices to help build the future of youth services in the city. 

The building was buzzing with excitable energy as young people gathered from all different corners of Bristol, from Southmead and Lawrence Weston to Hartcliff and Knowle West. Delicious food was provided and some inspirational videos were shared to highlight some of the amazing work being run by youth provisions within Bristol.  

Bristol City’s Youth Council were hosting the event and the members came round to greet all of the young people and talk to them about their passions and ideas. Conversations flowed about diverse topics; young people shared their views on the importance of trust and respect amongst young people and staff at youth provisions. Ideas about vegetable gardens and more green spaces were discussed in the hope to help the environment and the mental health of people in the city. As the young people talked, members of the Council made notes and the young people’s voices were recorded to send on to decision-makers in the Council. 

KWMC Youth Council were lucky enough to meet the Youth Mayor of Bristol, Anika Mistry and be given a tour of the Council Chamber. It was amazing to meet other young people in the city who were also keen to work together and make positive change in Bristol. 

In October, the Youth Council also attended K-West Fest and helped our team at Filwood Community Centre to create a beautiful festival where the community, danced, played games and shared food together. 

With so much to celebrate already, the Youth Council were generously awarded free VIP tickets to watch The Nutcracker in December at Bristol Old Vic. The young people had submitted their art as part of a competition with Bristol Old Vic and were overjoyed to be rewarded with tickets to this production. The show was phenomenal; from the amazing set design to the multi talented actors who were all singing, dancing and playing instruments! We had a magical time and we all left with smiles from ear to ear! 

The young people interviewed each other before and after the show and we have since written reviews about the show which we will be submitting as part of our Arts Awards Qualifications.

“I have never been the theatre but this has to be the best one I have ever seen.”

Young person

Thank you Bristol Old Vic for this unforgettable experience.

KWMC Youth Council has reconnected in 2023 welcoming some new faces and new energy. They are getting stuck into community development straight away, helping to decide on the new Filwood Broadway logo. We also spent the first session of 2023 writing some intentions for the year. The young people have some very exciting ideas in the pipeline!  

To find out more about the Youth Council please contact jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk 

October Half Term At Jump Studios

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Maker City

With Halloween on the horizon, local young people came together for a day of spooky STEAM shenanigans at KWMC The Factory. From pumpkin carving, and clay sculpturing to making their own Halloween stickers and laser-cut frames, they did it all.

Photography

The group of young people learned composition theory, and how to operate a professional DSLR camera. They participated in a photography expedition to the Northern Slopes, learned how to edit images, and hosted a public photography exhibit at Knowle West Media Centre in only two days.

The building felt alive as young people shared a collection of 2D photography collages, digital images and visual storytelling presentations. A collection of their work is going to be up in the main studio for people to come and see in their own time!

If you are interested in signing up for any of our after-school sessions or have any questions, please follow this link or email jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk.

The Jump Studios Summer Programme 2022

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Maker City

Jump Studios star-jumped into August with an action-packed Maker City week at KWMC The Factory. The programme’s first day began with exciting tasters of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) world we were about to explore.

The young people were given a tour of the building and shown live demos of the diverse technology we have available at The Factory. Excited by the laser cutter and the vinyl cutter; the young people tried their hand at making their own personalised stickers and wooden name badges, learning how to use Inkscape and transfer files onto the machines. They even learnt how to drive Sphero robots and created their own 3D mazes to race them around.

As well as tasters of the technology, Maker City Day 1 delved into Social Action; practising interactive activities to ignite conversations around interests and passions within their community. This led us to our first ‘Build Your Bristol’ challenge where the young people were given a budget for simple materials to design and engineer a prototype of something that Bristol would benefit from as a city.

Day 2 of Maker City continued with the fight for Social Action as we went out as a group into the local community and started highlighting things that we noticed. The young people were aware of the positive infrastructure around them and were equally aware of the things that were missing or that they would like to change. Passionate conversations arose about the environmental and social needs of the people and the area and how they could start making positive changes.

The group noticed social issues; large amounts of litter on the ground and overflowing bins, a lack of greenery and dull signposting. They discussed how these issues made some of them feel unsafe and unwelcome on Filwood Broadway. The young people started to think about the technology available at KWMC The Factory and how machines like the laser cutter or the vinyl cutter could be used to create bright colourful signs for the high street and how the CNC machine could help build more bins for the community.

When we got back to the Factory the young people started thinking about the Social Action Campaign they wanted to focus on throughout the project. They came up with snappy slogans and designed their own protest placards using digital drawings on their computers ready to be cut out on the laser cutter. Some of the slogans included; ‘This Is Not Freedom’, and ‘Protect Our Planet.’ The young people thought about products they might want to create to support their social action campaign and created prototypes of their designs.

One young person designed a pill-shaped magnet with their slogan on it to spread awareness about the current anti-abortion laws in America. Another young person wanted to focus on improving people’s lifestyles in Bristol by designing a free transport bus. One even designed an ocean-cleaning boat which gathered plastic from the top of the ocean as it moved.

The ideas were courageous and diverse, looking to help people and the environment in a variety of creative and innovative ways. Other STEAM tactile design activities were carried out on this day to help the young people develop their STEAM practices and influence their Social Action campaigns. The young people created personalised kaleidoscopes and embroidered their own tote bags to take home.

The third day of the programme is when we bought everything and everyone together. The young people processed their ideas from prototypes to their final products and created PowerPoints on Canva to explain their Social Action journey in a colourful and accessible way. Gathering all of their hard work together, the young people set up KWMC The Factory as an incredible exhibition space and invited friends and family to come along to enjoy their incredible creations.

Sound Wave

We ran our Sound Wave summer programme in the second week of August at Knowle West Media Centre. These three days consisted of young people taking part in drumming circle workshops, jamming together and creating their music using a mix of instruments and music software.  

Day 1 of the programme introduced the young people to different ways of creating music. We had workshops from our associate facilitators/musicians around lyric writing, using synthesizers and finding inspiration when writing a song. In one activity everyone shared a song that they really enjoy and connect with then gave a few reasons why. We found there was an eclectic range of songs and styles within the group and the young people were able to use it as a springboard to start creating and making their own music!  

Day 2 started with some group games that included learning how using different sounds in your music can change the feeling of your song. The young people would hear a sound and have to walk to a spot if they thought it was a High end, Midrange or Low end sound. We then went into a group jam with young people trying out different instruments and taking turns to conduct the group. We saw great group dynamics with everyone taking part and giving it a go.  

After everyone was warmed up the young people started creating their own songs using software (Soundtrap, Garageband or Logic) and instruments of their choice. We were then able to showcase the amazing work that was made. Parents and staff were invite to the main studio of KWMC, where the young people had their laptops and headphones ready to play the songs they had created. It was amazing to see the creativity that they all have.  

If you are interested in signing up for any of our after-school sessions or have any questions, please follow this link or email jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk 

April & May Youth Council Meeting

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April Youth Council

In April, the Youth Council recorded their meeting as a way to share their ideas and discussions. With the main studio mic-ed up and ready, to go we started the session by sharing the positive news that local community voices have driven change and helped sign off the new MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) which is being built on Filwood Fields.

This recent example of local voices being turned into action excited the committee and we spent some time mind mapping other changes we would like to see in Filwood. Some examples the young people came up with were: a bakery, a craft shop and a cafe where you can adopt animals.

The Youth Council mic-ed up in the main studio

A young person raised the matter of local concern in the last session about the proposed 5G mast that is being built in Redcatch Park. The group decided to investigate further and we did some self-led research. They searched the internet for stats, facts and forums before gathering information and reporting back.

We discussed the power of protesting and the young people decided on short snappy slogans to capture their beliefs about the mast. Examples were turned into placards which we later laser cut at KWMC.

The Youth Council presenting their placards

The rest of the session was spent thinking about some internal development within KWMC. The training rooms are undergoing a makeover so we went on a recce to check out the space and the young people shared their ideas about how we could change the space to suit their needs during Jump Studio sessions. 

After discussing plans as a group the team learnt how to use 3D design software; TinkerCAD to digitally design their ideal training room layout. The young people came up with some innovative ideas and supported them with advanced technical 3D designs. 

A Youth Council member using TinkerCAD to design their ideal training room

May Youth Council

Our May Youth Council session landed on the local referendum voting day. The main studio of KWMC was being used as a polling station so we created a mini polling station upstairs in the Western Room where the committee were given faux polling cards and were asked to vote on the real-life referendum. 

100% of the group voted that Bristol City Council should be run by 70 people as opposed to it being run by 1 mayor like it is at the moment. The young people discussed the pro’s and con’s of their democratic vote;

Pro’s of the Council being ran by 70 people:

  • Wanting something new  
  • Different ideas  
  • Different brain cells  
  • What if the mayor’s idea isn’t what the people want 
  • Different agreements  
  • Compromising and mixing different ideas together  
  • Think more about the community around Bristol  
  • Hold each other accountable for their actions  
  • Realising the risks that 1 person might not think about  
  • Democracy  

Cons;

  • Some people might disagree, it could cause arguments  

The young people then went on to discuss the legal age to vote. They were advocating that the law should change so that when young people reach Key Stage 4 at the age of 14 they should be allowed to vote. They believe there should be more information on the voting system at schools, in museums, and on the Tuesday night TV programme, ‘News Round’. Conversations emerged about the history of women’s ability to vote and the young people shared information they had about this topic. 

The young people spent the rest of the session thinking about their personal KWMC stories; how they first got involved with KWMC and how their journey has grown and developed. This was an opportunity for them to reflect on the impact KWMC has had on their lives and how they would like to stay connected in the future and help mould future projects.

To find out more about the Youth Council please contact jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk 

The New Term Begins!

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As we welcome young people back for a new term at Jump Studios, we thought we’d let you know what our first week looked like. Following on from last term’s theme ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’, this term we will be focusing on ‘The Celebration of Community!

Maker City

We kicked off Maker City this term with Sphero Mazes…

The young people worked collaboratively to decide on their interpretations of a ‘new Bristol’. They created new rules, such as everyone must be kind and everyone gets free bus fare. They also decided on some new landmarks and then prototyped their new city using scrap material. From there, they began to use Sphero robots to navigate around their new cities, allowing them to discuss what change they would like to see. Finally, they tried their hand at ‘Tinkercad’, using their new cities as inspiration to learn 3D design.

Young people creating their own cities for the Spheros to navigate through

Control Alt Delete  & Creative Hub

The group shared their favourite celebrations and festivals throughout the world. They carried out self-led research around a different celebration they did not know about already; from a different culture, religion or historical time. The group then used to learn ‘Canva’ and created posters and PowerPoints which advertised an event for their chosen celebration. At the end of the session, the group presented their work and shared their research findings with the rest of the group.

 

Young people researching various celebrations

Sound Wave

This week at Sound Wave, we welcomed some new young people to Knowle West Media Centre and we also had some familiar faces return. In our 10 – 16 group, we went over what we do at Sound Wave. This meant young people were able to try out different instruments in a group jam and then use ‘Soundtrap‘ loops to create their own piece of music and share it with the group.

In Sound Wave +, we looked at writing a song from a group jam and then continuing to refine or add sections to it as we progressed throughout the section. The young people really showed off their creativity after writing something in under an hour and the exciting part is that this is only the foundation of what they will be working on in the coming weeks.

Members of Sound Wave Jamming

Check out the video below to see Jump Studios in action!

If you want to find out more about how young people can get involved in any of our programmes, click ‘here‘ to find our registration form!

‘Our Space’ Celebration Event

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Last month, we ran the ‘Our Space’ celebration event at Knowle West Media Centre. The event celebrated the new artwork created by Yoli Ward-Streeter on the railings outside the media centre on Leinster Avenue to welcome the community inside.

Yoli collaborated with the young people of Jump Studios to create the beautiful artwork and at the celebration event, we invited friends and family down to the media centre to celebrate with refreshments and music performances.

Young people performing for friends and family

The young people co-led the event to showcase their musical talent and share their work that they have been rehearsing and practising over this term at ‘Sound Wave’.

Young people displaying their creations

The young people had the chance to share their creative personal projects with their parents and other members of the community. They took ownership of their space and their achievements, the energy was incredible and there was a real sense of pride and inspiration while we celebrated.

Our Space was such an exciting project to be part of, not only through collaborating with the young people but as an artist, I was given an enormous amount of creative freedom and support throughout the project.

Yoli Ward-Streeter

If you get the opportunity, please come down to the media centre and check out the new artwork on display and if you would like any updates you can follow us on Instagram or Twitter.

The Youth Council Of 2022

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On the 20th of January, we ran the first KWMC Youth Council of 2022 with our new cohort of young people. We started with some fun interactive games to get the new cohort thinking about the difference between facts and opinions. We split the main studio at KWMC into two; one side “agree” and one side “disagree”, we then read out a range of varied statements and the young people ran up and down the room making their decisions. They then took it upon themselves to share their own facts and ideas with the group and the game continued with them leading it. Through this active, fun warm-up, the team started to communicate with each other and the group dynamic began to flourish. 

The young people went on to think about what the Youth Council was and what it meant to them. They proudly chose their job titles and joined together for a photo as the new ‘KWMC Youth Council Committee’! 

ReCREATE Filwood 

The young people got stuck in straight away with ‘reCREATE Filwood’; a local project which is currently redesigning the local Filwood high street. As a group, we looked at the map of Knowle West and the young people shared the locations of places that they knew.  

‘ReCREATE Filwood’ created interactive maps which we used with the young people. This enabled them to click on locations in the area and write what they liked or disliked about these spaces. This was a great way to get the young people thinking about their community and we went on virtual tours around the neighbourhood using Google street view.  

Thinking about Filwood Broadway specifically, the young people thought about the following ideas: 

What would make Filwood Broadway a “go-to” place for young people? 

Any ideas from other high streets they may have been to… 

Any suggestions on street activities/events/… 

Arts and culture – linking to public art strategy   

How would they like to be involved in improving Filwood Broadway going forward? 

The Youth Council fearlessly took complete ownership of the task and came up with a wide range of ideas of how they would like to redesign the area. They carefully thought about the diverse needs of the people living locally and how they could help the community and environment in practical and creative ways. 

We recorded all of the young people’s work from the session and fed it back to ‘reCREATE Filwood’ who went on to use the young people’s voices to help develop the design ideas for the Broadway.  The Youth Council is eager to get involved and help with future developments and they were really excited to hear that their voices were going to be heard by the wider community.

Looking forward

We understand how important it is that local young people get their voices heard and our new Youth Council committee is willing to use their voice and start making positive change! 

Our Youth Council sessions will be running monthly. We want to talk to the community and understand current affairs for the young people to work on together. We are determined to bring together people from all different ages and walks of life and build an even more beautiful Bristol!  

If you would like to hear some of the discussion between the Youth Council of 2022, check out a link to our Soundcloud.

To find out more about the Youth Council please contact megan@kwmc.org.uk or jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk