Young people who work with Knowle West Media Centre will launch a two day programme of celebration on Thursday 10 April when they officially open the £2.6m green new HQ that they helped to plan, design and build.

The opening ceremony marks the successful end of a 5 year project to provide Knowle West with a beacon of creative and climate-friendly media enterprise, where young people can develop the technological skills demanded by the digital age.

Carolyn Hassan, Director of KWMC said: “This is a great achievement for the community. We could not have done it without the support of the many active individuals and community organisations that work locally. It’s important to us to remember our beginnings – we came out of a project set up by Knowle West Health Association and we remain committed to working with the community as well as developing a national presence. We intend to be a creative and activist organisation that Knowle West and the City can be proud of.”

Knowle West Media Centre’s services include, production facilities, room and equipment hire, events packages, and exciting hands on learning alongside professionals with media workshops in film, design, websites, digital stories, photography and animation.

“One of the first centres of its kind, built for the digital age, KWMC is opening at a time when local creative industries are starting to outstrip more traditional forms of money-earning, and will stand as an exemplar of climate-friendly building and working. With our excellent facilities we now have the opportunity to bring in new business to South Bristol. We want to really develop our creative media and arts practice. We will bring together artists, media professionals, community groups and young people to work collaboratively in interesting ways. Our aim is to do all of this in a sustainable way – both in terms of respecting our environment and enabling the work to carry on and develop.”

The project’s main financial backer is the South West RDA which put in £1.38million of the funding. Ian Knight, SWRDA area director, said: “Knowle West Media Centre will help to boost the economy of one of Bristol’s most deprived communities by providing young people with the experience and skills they need to break into the highly competitive creative industries.

“I am delighted that the South West RDA’s investment has helped to make this happen. The centre will offer some of the best media training facilities in the country and is a great base from which the partnership will be able to deliver its enterprising work with the community, helping to make a brighter future for Knowle West and bringing new talent into the local economy which might otherwise have gone untapped. The South West RDA is committed to strengthening the region’s economy in a sustainable way, so we are particularly pleased at that this building has been designed to such high environmentally friendly standards.”

Michael Smith, 23, is one of the young people from the Core Group: “The building is like nothing Knowle West could have ever imagined. The place is one big attraction with so much going on. The new building gives young people something to be excited about. I feel absolutely wonderful, and have a deep sense of achievement in my heart. When we first started I imagined it was going to be impressive, but I didn’t count on it being this fabulous…I feel so proud I think I shall one day explode!”

Other funders of KWMC’s new building include Arts Council England and Bristol City Council.

The two-day opening event will include film screenings, exhibitions, interactive media, Carbon Makeover, story telling, tree planting, animations, and play activities.

South West Screen is sponsoring the opening event and Caroline Norbury, Chief Executive said: “South West Screen is delighted to support the launch of the new Knowle West Media Centre. It’s fantastic that they now have a fit for purpose building which will allow them to continue to develop the work they are doing in the community and beyond.”

For further information about the Knowle West Media Centre and about the opening events go to www.kwmc.org.uk/index.php?project=42