What is the Department of Culture’s MakerSpace?
As part of a key initiative from the 2023 Throne Speech, the Department of Culture’s MakerSpace project reflects a commitment to fostering creative empowerment and community enrichment. This project goes beyond creating a physical space—it’s a vital resource for Bermuda’s artists, musicians, dancers, and performers to grow, collaborate, and refine their craft.
Located at CedarBridge Academy, the Department of Culture’s MakerSpace offers dedicated areas for visual artists, musicians, dancers, and actors to practice and create, free of charge. Equipped with tools like easels, musical instruments, and studio space, this facility is designed to remove financial barriers and provide a supportive environment for Bermuda’s talent.
MakerSpace operates from 4:30 PM -8:30 PM on weekdays, with weekend access available by appointment. Registration will be available on this page soon. Creatives are encouraged to sign up and take full advantage of this space, where they can experiment, collaborate, and contribute to Bermuda’s vibrant cultural landscape.
This is just the first phase of the MakerSpace project, with future plans shaped by user feedback to ensure it evolves with the community’s needs. As the Department of Culture and the Government of Bermuda invests in our creatives, we uplift the entire community, enriching our culture and inspiring the next generation of talent.
What is a MakerSpace?
A makerspace is a collaborative workspace designed for making, learning, exploring, and sharing. This concept is not unique to Bermuda’s Department of Culture. For example, ChaShaMa, a non-profit arts organization in New York, serves as a prominent model. ChaShaMa transforms unused properties into artist studios, exhibition spaces, performance venues, and educational workshops.
Bermuda High School’s (BHS) Innovation Centre provides another example of a successful makerspace. During a site visit and consultation, key takeaways highlighted the importance of balancing specificity and flexibility. These examples underscore the potential for well-designed makerspaces to support creative communities effectively.
When can I use the MakerSpace?
MakerSpace is bookable for pre-vetted creatives from 4:30 PM – 8:30 PM on weekdays. Bookings on weekends, school breaks, and holidays are by-request no less than 3 business days in advance of the intended date. Bookings are accepted up to three months in advance. It is possible that bookings in shared space rooms (see below) will be cancelled up to 2 weeks in advance of a pre-booking if there is a need for the room by students.
The Department of Culture facilitates bookings through a virtual sign-up calendar system that prevents overbooking or clashes. Rooms can be booked on our calendar here. For first-time users, an orientation tour is required and can be booked here.
What is in the Department of Culture’s MakerSpace? What rooms are available?
The MakerSpace is currently in a soft-launch status as there is still equipment arriving and ongoing work happening to meet the needs of our artistic community.
There are the following rooms available with the below equipment (it is noted if equipment is still-to-come):
- St. George’s – Dance Studio
- Note that this is a Shared Space with CedarBridge Academy and is bookable by-request only.
- This is a large dance room equipped with dance floors, mirrors, and barres.
- Hamilton– Recording Booth
- Note that this is a Shared Space with CedarBridge Academy and is bookable by-request only.
- This is a music recording booth with space for a musician inside, a window, and an enclosed space for an engineer. There is presently no equipment in this space. This could be utilized as a music practice room. If musicians wish to bring their own equipment, the acoustics in these rooms are very crisp for recording.
- Smith’s- Storage
- This room is not bookable.
- Devonshire– Photography
- This is a small, bright, white room with a green screen backdrop available for it.
- Pembroke– Graphic Design Suite
- This is a small room with a desk, Apple 24″ iMac with M4 Chip, magic keyboard, magic mouse, equipped with Office 365 & Adobe Creative Suite and full internet access. There is also a ring light available for streamers or influencers.
- Paget– Computing Suite
- This is a small room with a desk, Dell OptiPlex 7020 Small Form Factor Desktop Computer, dual monitors, equipped with Office 365 & Adobe Creative Suite and full internet access. This computer also has a printer attached as many creatives gave the feedback that they needed a space to do basic word processing and invoicing.
- Warwick– Practice Studio
- This is a small room with a desk perfect for a single musician to practice acoustically or with a small input, such as violin, acoustic guitar, keyboard, etc. Instruments are not included. It would also be an excellent space for a writer to work from quietly.
- Southampton– Meeting/Conference Room
- This is a large room with boardroom table, chairs, a modular couch that can be arranged based on your meeting, flat screen TV, projector screen, and white board. A projector is coming. This is perfect for groups of creatives planning a project, meetings, or community board gatherings. This is in response to creatives feedback saying there is limited meeting space for them to book.
- Sandys – Visual Arts and Performance Room
- This is a large room for multi-disciplinary creative endeavours. In this first phase, it will be booked for one creative at a time, but in future phases we may open it up to multiple people using the room simultaneously based on feedback from initial phases.
- There are bean bag chairs, chairs, tables, and coffee tables which can be moved around to suit the needs of the creative using the space.
- Visual Arts Supplies – there are currently 4 easels with workbenches and stools still to come. There is a sink just outside of the room to clean paintbrushes. The Department of Culture has provided basic supplies for the main visual arts space for the soft launch, including acrylic and oil paints, charcoal sketching materials, stencil paper, and various canvases. However, its primary responsibility is maintaining the space itself, with users expected to bring their own materials. It is important to note that there is no natural light in this room.
- Music Supplies- there is currently a drum kit and keyboard in the space, with a mixer, speakers, microphones, and amps ordered and en-route. The intention is that a band could easily rehearse in this space without having to bring all of their backline with them. This is in response to creatives sharing that there are few places to rehearse.
Sounds great! What is prohibited?
MakerSpace is inside of CedarBridge Academy and so every precaution has been taken to safeguard the students and the facility. Each user has to sign a waiver to a standard set of rules, but it includes:
Prohibited Materials/Equipment
- Illegal Substances
- Alcohol and/or Inebriating substances
- Fixative spray
- Hotplates, hotpots, hot-knives, torches, pneumatic tools
- Incandescent, Halogen, Neolite, Purelite, or other high temp bulbs
- Any chemicals, liquids, or materials with a flashpoint of 100 0 F or lower
- Loose pigments or other materials hazardous to the respiratory systems
- Aerosols of any kind, including spray paint, spray glue, and spray fixative
- Acetone or Benzene (found in some solvents, paints, and thinners)
- Acids (such as those used in intaglio and lithography)
- Aromatic epoxies and aromatic epoxy paints
- Asbestos laden stone (such as some alabasters and soapstone; check with vendor for content)
- Bondo and similar fillers; Contact cement (except water-based)
- Candles, incense, or anything with an open flame
- Fiberglass
- Kerosene, petroleum, gasoline
- Mineral Spirits (only odorless is allowed)
- Turpentine (only Turpenoid is allowed)
- Toluene, xylene, and/or industrial paint thinners
Prohibited Processes
- Any process which creates hazardous or noxious fumes
- Spray painting and spraying aerosols of any kind
- Dry carving/rasping/sanding which creates excessive amounts of airborne silt (with such materials as plaster, plastics, wood, stone, etc.)
- Brazing, Burning, Encaustic, Welding
Prohibited/ Community Conduct
- At no point is the use of illegal substances permitted on the premises
- At no point is verbal, sexual, bodily or emotional harassment permitted on the premises
- Access pins/codes are not to be shared with parties not assigned or permitted to their use
- At no point is Food Trash to be left in the studio spaces; all Food Trash is to be disposed of on the same day off-site.
Can you teach me how to use X?
The Department of Culture will give new users an orientation tour of the space and assess what artistic interests they may have. At that time, they will be introduced to the equipment in the space. As an example, if creatives using the space have booked for visual art, they are not permitted to use the musical equipment to ensure that it stays in good condition and well-maintained for the artists that need to use them.
The Department of Culture runs the Creatives Culture Labs workshop series which will now have a home at MakerSpace and some of the next series of workshops will be directed towards equipment in the space and relevant artistic practices.
Are we safe in MakerSpace?
GET Security is on-premises at CedarBridge Academy at all times that MakerSpace is open. The rooms are secured with individual access codes, so only verified users are able to enter. CedarBridge has CCTV cameras within the school, and the Department of Culture is installing cameras within the main MakerSpace facility (not shared spaces). Each user of the space signs a waiver agreeing to the rules. The secure internet network is separate from the main CedarBridge Academy lines or Government computer systems, and the computers limit what users can download to prevent malicious attacks.
What do you mean by phase one?
Before soft-launching the MakerSpace, the Department of Culture held extensive consultation within the creative community to assess their needs and desires, and industry stakeholder experts on what would be best to start with for each individual area. We are opening to allow creatives to use the space as we continue to develop it, to ensure that we develop in accordance with the needs of our artistic community and in response to the demand for certain areas or elements. We consider this our “proof-of-concept” phase. This phase is not a set amount of time but rather a development period and process.
Do I have to pay?
Use of MakerSpace is completely free!
