Louise Gardner
At Watershed we are constantly seeking to develop new digital content by working in partnership with artists, schools, Further and Higher Education establishments, community groups and media companies.
In doing so, we create productive networks in which Watershed operates as a hub for presentation, debate, learning and the development of practice. The results of these collaborations are exhibited within the building and online and this programme of activity is attracting increasing profile, attention and listings around the world.
Electric December.
Electric December has been running for three year’s, and is an annual online advent calendar which features 24 days of unique digital presents from some of Bristol's finest creative talents.
The project objectives of Electric December included
- Raising public awareness of the web as a creative medium.
- Developing knowledge of the web among Bristol's creative communities.
and
- Fostering networks to share and develop New Media skills.
It’s made in Bristol by local organisations and groups, and is packaged as a festive calendar with a selection box of animation, games, multimedia, poetry, short film, video, and visual arts. In 2001 the contributors each interpreted life in Bristol at a particular hour of the clock, so that over the 24 days of Electric December 2001 a picture of city life gradually assembled.
The contributors are a varied mix of Bristol creative companies, schools and community groups who have come together to produce the 24 digital delights. For example, Aardman Animations worked with Withywood Community School to produce an animated film, and Bristol Old Vic worked with Zed Photography to produce an image which gives a new meaning to Œtheatre-in-the-round’.
Electric December also aims to bring online creative work to new audiences, and in 2001 it was available exclusively on Guardian Unlimited which is known for its innovative, creative approach, and is one of the UK's top websites.
This partnership gave Electric December a much wider profile than in previous years; banner adverts were run throughout the Guardian Unlimited site over the month of December. This online support was supplemented by print advertising that appeared in the tabloid sections of the daily paper, a full page advert in the Saturday guide and a full page advert in the Observer magazine. Guardian Unlimited also designed the supporting flyer.
Thanks to the partnership with Guardian Unlimited we applied for Arts and Business funding which enabled us to formally evaluate the project for the very first time and really test whether or nor we were meeting the project objectives. Here are a couple of the conclusions made by the evaluation report.
OBJECTIVE - To develop audiences for web based creative product
ED has undoubtedly developed the audiences for web based creative product over the three years of its operation. The more difficult question to answer is could it have been more successful in achieving this objective? And to what extent has the audience's knowledge of this work been broadened?
OBJECTIVE - To develop knowledge of the web among Bristol’s creative communities
Judged simply by the range of non-web based organisations that took part in ED, there is no doubt that it met this objective. The community and development organisations involved found it particularly helpful to realise the potential of the web as a teaching tool. Many of those who took part learned new skills and it broadened their understanding of how the web might be used in creative ways.’
OBJECTIVE - To foster networks to share and develop new media skills
ED is widely praised as a process that brings together people who might not have worked with each other: both within the sector and between the sector and the community²
PR coverage and support for Electric December is invaluable in raising the profile of project, and the local media has been incredibly supportive...
It’s time for the local internet event of the year as the Watershed once again unveils its Electric December virtual advent calendar’ (Venue Magazine)
Some stats from Electric December 2001
Visits from 44 countries
Visitors online 24 hours throughout period
Peak traffic between 9.00 and 17.00 GMT indicating heavy usage from UK
workplaces but significant traffic all hours and all days indicating
increased international traffic
Year on year growth of traffic in excess of 200% indicated by doubling of
data served from a project with generally smaller files than previous year
Contributor statistics
167 people involved in making ED2001
96 of these were aged 25 or under
53 were in full time education
3630 hours were spent on the project
Contributors valued their input at circa £69,000
Contributors Comments
It helped develop our web skills and was the first piece we created as our new organisation.’
The nine young people from Include have requested hands on tuition in multimedia authoring as a result of their involvement in Electric December 2001 and the resulting Day 2 contribution.’
2002-2008 © Audiences South West