INSIGHTS / News

Have you ever tried to find platform 14 at Bristol Temple Meads station? You may not have found it before, but we suggest you look again.

The next time you travel through Bristol, take yourself on an unexpected journey as 11 April sees the official opening of Platform 14 and new exhibition Connecting… the innovation showcase at Engine Shed, which aims to highlight the diversity of opportunity within the high tech, low carbon and creative sectors within the Bristol and Bath city region. 

Engine Shed is a focal point for innovation in Bristol at the heart of one of the UK’s most connected transport hubs. It houses a number of ‘Components’ that together make an exciting centre for activity where entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics, students and corporates can collaborate, inspire and be inspired, enable and be enabled.

Platform 14 is the public space at Engine Shed; free of charge and open from Monday 14 April, 8.30 am – 5.30 pm.  A space for imagination; a place for connecting to the world around you through creative experimentation. Your journey will lead through a circuit of shapes, colours, art, technology, and through inspiring collaborations both past and present.

Connecting… is both a reflection and a continuation of its wider space within Engine Shed. As a gateway to enterprise in Bristol and Bath, Engine Shed generates and encourages innovation through networks, linking the economic ecosystem of the West of England.

Put together by University of the West England (UWE) MA Curating cohort, Connecting… is the first exhibition within Platform 14. It explores the curious relationship between creativity and technology and the potential for creative development. UWE’s course leader, Dr Matthew Partington said: “As course leader of the new MA in Curating at UWE’s Department of Creative Industries I am delighted to see the fruits of a collaboration between five of our students and the team at Engine Shed. 

Despite only beginning the course in January the students have been responsible for everything from the labels and graphic design to liaising with artists and organising transportation of the exhibits. They have worked brilliantly together as a new team and have produced an exhibition which not only showcases the talents of the artists whose work is on show but their own considerable talent as curators”

Featuring works by Hannah Blight Anderson, Jono Sandilands, Kim Brunner, Arthur Buxton, Olivia Jones, Sarah Jeffs, Florrie James and Nick James, Connecting… will inspire you to consider your own journey, and your future destinations.

The exhibition will be officially opened by Mrs Mary Prior JP, Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, on Friday 11th April at 4pm.

Nick Sturge, director of Engine Shed and SETsquared, said: “Engine Shed’s mission is to stimulate economic growth in and around the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. Using our public showcase space to engage the population of Bristol and surrounding area, especially young people, and translate the high tech innovation that is happening here to everyday lives, is a crucial part of our mission. Platform 14 is a perfect successor to the highly informative Ambitious City exhibition.”

KPMG sponsored the launch event and Kay Drury, Director, KPMG Bristol said: “We are proud to support Engine Shed and this exciting exhibition, which showcases the vital relationship between technology and creativity. This initiative aims to bring together entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics and students in Bristol and Bath, and encourage us to share our skills and experience with each other.  In the long term, such increased collaboration between the academic and business communities will help to create the conditions needed to foster and boost growth in the tech industry.”