Art and the Public Realm Bristol

Online, www.arpb.co.uk 

 ARTIST                   Over 150 Projects and 200 Artists featured

Client      Bristol City Council

MY ROLE                Public Art Officer for Bristol City Council

DATE                        First developed 2009. Refreshed and re-launched 2023

The project

Bristol City Council is dedicated to making imaginative, meaningful and sustainable cultural experiences happen across our public realm as a result of planning policy. The Council believe that putting culture at the heart of place, considering creative opportunities early, and investing in people and process alongside high quality urban design can create the most successful places to live, work and move through.

Bristol is one of the leading city’s in the UK for Public Art commissioning and is known for its programme of projects with artists of local, national and international significance. Bristol’s Art and the Public Realm programme focusses on the development of visionary public art works across the city outside of conventional gallery and museum settings, instead bringing to life the streets, empty buildings, parks, fields and spaces in between. The Public Art programme has been active since the adoption of a Public Art Policy by Bristol City Council in 2000, and the development of a Public Art Strategy (2003). To date over 150 commissions have been produced and over 200 artists engaged and employed.

Art and the Public Realm Bristol as a website platform was first developed in 2009. It is a showcase of the City’s commitment to public realm commissioning – a visual platform for celebrating cultural case studies, both past and present. In 2022 – 2023 the Council commissioned a re-fresh of the current site which was managed by myself, Public Art Officer and the Public Art and Culture Team. This page links to the newly developed website that I invite you to explore first hand. 

www.arbp.co.uk

Art and the Public Realm Bristol website, design refresh by Fiasco Design.

THE PIECE I’VE CREATED HAS BEEN DEVELOPED WITH A HIGH QUALITY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP, WITH EXQUISITE DETAIL AND COLOUR, USING MATERIALS THAT ARE SYMPATHETIC TO AND RESONATE WITH BOTH THE BUILDING AND THE CITY.

Linda Brothwell

Artist, Motion Efficiency Study, Bristol Beacon

My Role

Georgina worked as Lead Producer of The Green Way for the Architecture Centre in collaboration with the wider creative team including Lead Architect Shankari Raj from Nudge Group. As a complex multi-site and partner project, this involved leading on successful funding bids for CIL and Arts Council funding and leading the creative co-design and collaborative placemaking process centred around community engagement and empowerment. A community launch event took place in September 2020 and a short film is being made about the journey of the project that will be shared soon.

With Thanks

The Green Way is a partnership between The Architecture Centre, St Pauls Learning Centre, St Pauls Adventure Playground, Nudge Group, TALO, Graft, 91 Ways to Build a Global City, and the local people and Councillors of St Pauls.

It was Produced by The Architecture Centre – a registered charity who specialise in bringing people together, working with the public, politicians and professionals to create better places for everyone.

The Green Way is funded by Bristol City Council (Community Infrastructure Levy) and Arts Council England (Grants for Arts).

With thanks to all funders, collaborators and partners who played a key role in bringing this project to life during such a challenging year.