clarered

"Hope locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen. In the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act." Rebecca Solnit

So long, Twitter/X - we're leaving 👋 It’s a sad end, but we have been asking ourselves how we can say we are a values-led organisation whilst using a platform that promotes irresponsible content and hateful behaviour. Read more and follow us elsewhere: watershed.co.uk/news/so-long-f…

i am over at Bluesky bsky.app/profile/clarer…

Settling down to sleep in this over-lit and pretty damp city in aid of youth homelessness. 1625ip.enthuse.com/pf/clare-reddi…

Kathryn Bigelow's '90s cult classic Point Break surfs back into cinemas this wknd 🏄 Here in #Bristol @wshed & @TheWave invite you to a beach party Sat 9 Nov; expect surfing rodeo, cocktails, a DJ set, & lots of“I! Am! An F! B! I! Agent!” impressions.

🧯 US EMBASSY PAINTED ORANGE AS WE REJECT FASCISM This morning the world wakes to find it has slipped further into fascism as well as climate breakdown. Trump's win puts the lives of ordinary people at risk, everywhere. Political systems that can be bought by big oil have no value as we face the biggest challenge of our time. The only real winner of today’s election is the corporate power that controls the major parties in both the US and UK. They continue to ensure the interests of the fossil fuel industry will continue to be prioritised over the wellbeing of ordinary people. It is only through people coming together to disrupt business-as-usual that humanity will stand any chance of minimising the effects of climate breakdown, and the social collapse that follows. In Spain this week, hundreds of bodies continue to be dragged from the mud – this is just a small portent of what is to come if we don’t change course immediately. As long as democracy is hijacked by corporate interests and billionaires, it will fail to deliver the change people are crying out for. This will always leave the door open for fake populists like Trump to exploit the disaffection many feel. It’s time for ordinary people to step up, organise and make change happen, because it should be clear by now, no political leaders are coming to save us. Just Stop Oil.

And for those who turn to art in times of challenge, we offer the following - If you are in need of hope we recommend watching Perfect Days. If you were in need of thrills try The Inspector Wears Skirts. If you want to stoke your fury – The Apprentice is "The Most Brutal Donald Trump Biopic Imaginable." - Rolling Stone And, if you want to delve deeper into global politics, equity and restitution watch Dahomey. watershed.co.uk/whatson

For many of our staff, creatives and audiences, today will be a low day as we grieve the news from America and what it means for ourselves and the world. @wshed believes in the absolute necessity of culture and togetherness at times like this – our work may be small in a world-scale but coming together in solidarity to share stories, catalyse hope and celebrate difference remains vital. If you want some company today - Watershed staff will be in the bar from 5pm.

It is US election day today. The world probably won't get a clear answer of who will be president for a while, but in the meantime The Apprentice is on @wshed "The Most Brutal Donald Trump Biopic Imaginable." - Rolling Stone watershed.co.uk/whatson/12907/…

We are celebrating #LivingWageWeek. @wshed has paid living wage since 2021 and we are proud to be an @LivingWageUK employer in a Living Wage City. Despite how tough it is in the culture sector - fair pay is necessary for inclusion. livingwage.org.uk

.@CatVideoFest is coming to Bristol! We are hosting two dates in December. Enjoy 73 minutes of non-stop silly cat videos AND raise money for @Bristol_ARC! Who's in? wshd.to/catvideofest

the guy who just mansplained The Handmaid’s Tale to the author of The Handmaid’s Tale

Read more about Paul Stephenson’s amazing story and the work Unlimited have done to mark the Bus Boycott curiosityunltd.com

Dr Paul Stephenson OBE, the man behind the Bristol Bus Boycott has sadly passed away. Last year we worked with Curiosity Unlimited to honour all the Boycott Pioneers - there are plaques dedicated to each of them in @wshed Cinema 3. Rest In Power Paul.

paying suppliers and staff fairly (we pay Real Living Wage) while keeping prices accessible is so important to us. And we are a charity so are not lining the pockets of any shareholders but instead creating public benefit and impact. We had hoped for a charity exemption. But there's no fear of us being like spoons!

@AdamArmfield @clarered @wshed Arguably Wetherspns can afford to do that because they don't pay a fair price for the beer in the first place. The Watershed cafe-bar supports small local independent breweries and pays them a price that allows them (us!) to be viable businesses. Don't be like 'spoons! 🍻

Crunching numbers after the budget - a conservative estimate of the salary increases that @wshed will pay this year and next is the equivalent of 76% of our annual public funding from ACE. This factors in cost of living and today’s NI rise only - not utilities etc which have also increased by over 21% since '21.

Thrilled to share our year-long £30k residency for socially engaged artists! KWMC are lead producers for this exciting public art commission, part of the £14.5 million Levelling Up works funded by UK Govt, happening across Filwood Broadway in 2025. kwmc.org.uk/filwood-in-mot…

@wshed And do please consider donating to support our vital work producing accessible and inclusive cultural experiences. watershed.co.uk/support-us

@wshed receives core public funding of £757,000 per year from Arts Council England, which is currently our only core funding. I appreciate that this is a privilege BUT the Government last approved an inflationary uplift to ACE’s NPO grants in 21/22 - and it was only 1.84%. Today’s budget had a lot of difficult decisions within in it – but we need to get real about the impact on culture and what it is we might lose.

NEW: ‘A Cartography of Genocide’. Since October 2023, we have collected and analysed data related to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Our findings indicate that Israel has systematically targeted all aspects of civilian life. tinyurl.com/bdcrnzka