New Neighbourhood Arts Commissions open

The next round of commissions for Bristol 2015’s Neighbourhood Art Projects are now open and interested artists or artist collectives can respond to the briefs online via the Bristol 2015 website. Successful applicants will receive £10,000 to fund their project.

The 8 projects are centred in and around Avonmouth and Kingsweston, Greater Brislington, Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill, Henbury, Brentry and Southmead, Horfield and Lockleaze, Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury on Trym, St George, and Stockwood, Hengrove and Whitchurch. Each project is differently themed but all are focused on Green and environmental issues and engaging the community in each area.

The Avonmouth and Kingsweston project brief focuses on the Bristol Giants Goram and Ghyston.  Applicants are invited to interpret the giants as they wish but they must engage as many people as possible who live in these areas to create the artwork or event

Greater Brislington’s main aim is to give families and other residents of Brislington the impetus to connect with St Anne’s Wood. The end result of the commission could be anything from an event to workshops to art installations. Community engagement is vital to the delivery of this project.

Following meetings and consultations with Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill residents it was decided that this commission would be focused on an ‘active play’ project which will bring the community together.

The Henbury, Brentry & Southmead project will be contributing to the aims of the Be Proud of BS10 Group. The project must be designed to be fun and inspiring but also to educate residents of these areas about the effects of littering on the community they live in.

The residents of Horfield and Lockleaze decided that they wanted a project which would encourage people to get outside and use the two green spaces, Horfield Common and Stoke Park, in their area. They want the project to be fun, exciting and to get people talking about it. Applicants are invited to use any creative means to get local people out and about and discovering what is just outside their front door.

The Henleaze, Stoke Bishop & Westbury-on-Trym community are keen to have a project founded on participation and resulting in a temporary installation in a green space in one of these areas. One of the key elements of the process and the installation is that it stimulates debate about a major Green issue.

St George residents decided that they wanted a map that indicated all of the green spaces in their area. These spaces include parks, allotments, informal parks. The creation of the map must be inclusive and engage as many people from the community as possible. The main criteria for the map itself are that it is beautifully designed, reflects the historical identity of the areas and encourages everyone living in St George to explore their area.

The Stockwood, Hengrove and Whitchurch project brief is for the successful artist to create a cross generational project for the area using one of the main Bristol 2105 themes. These themes are energy, resources, transport, food or nature and the medium in which they are framed can be visual, performance, event or narrative based. The residents also expressed a wish to inspire more people to get involved with the community and community activities.

For more information on the commissions and to apply online, visit see www.bristol2015.co.uk/get-involved/neighbourhood-arts-programme/