Bristol

Tobacco Factory kindly allowed us to take over their building for two days. We decided to use the space to create a temporarily expanded version of what Residence does. The most effectual element of our organisation is how it puts the SOCIAL at the centre of our work. Merely by being in regular contact with other artists we’ve all benefited. So Residence in Residence tried to do the same thing. Simply bring artists, producers and programmers together in the same space.

Present: The Milk Bar

We are renting 11 St Nicholas Street from Bristol City Council on a short-term basis. We share the building with Simon Games (link) It’s an old Victorian shop and very tall and thin. The following rooms are spread out over four floors.

IMAGE: The Milk Bar from Outside

Shop Floor Making Space

Darker, medium sized space with concrete floor and roughly painted walls
For: Making, Rehearsing Sharing/Showing, Events
Contains: Walls you can stick things to and a floor that you can spill things on, Blackboard, Whiteboard, Corkboard Wall, Shelf for projector, Stereo and Rigged Speakers

Upstairs Making Space
Smaller white studio space with wooden floorboard floor (shared with Simon Games)
For: Making, Rehearsing, Sharing/Showing
Contains: Walls you can stick things to and a floor that you can spill things on, Blackboard, Whiteboard, Corkboard Wall, Shelf for projector, Stereo and Rigged Speakers

Office and Communal Space
First floor living room type space with large windows Doing most of the informal unofficial things where the intangible Residence benefits happen. This includes: sharing coffee on the sofa, live art counseling, reading from the library, events and meetings. It’s also for “computer-based” work and other production activities.
Contains: Sofas for Hanging Out, Wi-Fi and printer and Residence Computer and shared stationery, Filing storage (cupboard per company), Library

Kitchen
We like to provide food for our events and also need somewhere to prepare lunches and snacks. But the kitchen table is often the site of a solution or idea formation or impromtu advice session. It’s also a place to bump into the Simons from Simon games.
Contains: Basic kitchen facilities to make food (and tea and coffee).

Storage Basement
Residence members store their materials for making work. It’s easily accessible so that we can retrieve and return props etc when touring/performing and also so we can get what we need for rehearsals easily.
Contains: Shared Props and Costume resource, Separate Shelves to store your own props and materials

Dry Storage
For any archive paperwork and technical/sensitive equipment. It’s also more accessible temporary storage for when we are working in the upstairs studio.

Toilet and Shower
We’re glad of the shower – for any guests that might like to sleepover/camp at The Milk Bar for a night or two.

FUTURE: A Pub/Small Hotel/Old Theatre in Central Bristol

Outdoor Space
For Events, Performance, Alternative (Summer) meeting and working space

Sleeping Space
For Permanent Tenants and Guests
Could have sofa beds and make one of the rooms have three beds so that we can accommodate small scale theatre companies (who are used to that kind of intimacy!)

Notes:

1. We’d like a more fit for purpose studio space – that is larger and gives us the opportunity to share work with a public audience (not as a venue) but as an open making space

2. We could combine our current office and kitchen space to create more opportunities for sharing and exchange. It is also economical in that it reduces the space we need and therefore overall project cost).