Today in City Hall we unveiled seven incredible pieces of artwork created by local artists from different Bristol wards.

No.1: Untitled, by Brushstrokes Group, Southmead 2017

No.2: Untitled, by Jasmin Nowak Fearon and Cotham School, Cotham 2017

No.3: Arts in the Park, by Rachel Heaton, Knowle

No.4: Homeward Bound, byMatthew, by Mr K Bradshaw, Stockwood

No.5: Totterdown Together, by Jane Vellender, Windmill Hill

No.6: One Community Handprints, by Knowle West Against Racism, Created at Knowle West Fest August 2016

We want to ensure City Hall is a public space for the people of Bristol. Using the walls of our building to display the work of Bristol people, we can turn City Hall into a gallery of talent and life from across the city. Members of the public can come into the building to view the artwork anytime during opening hours.

The idea came from an inspirational afternoon I spent with people in Knowle West. The community had come together to make a stand against racism following a couple of unwelcome incidents. They had produced a piece of work consisting of multi-coloured handprints (shown below) of people in the community. I suggested it would be great to put the work up in City Hall for the whole city before suggesting it would great to have it joined by work from right across Bristol.  

We have now allocated a space on the walls of city hall to every ward in Bristol. We have offered all Bristol City councillors the opportunity to source work from their ward. The opportunity is to have each on the wall for six months before being rotated for a new work. If you have a piece of artwork which you think would be suitable for City Hall, please get in touch with your local councillor.

It’s already made a huge difference to this area of City Hall and I look forward to seeing more artwork on our walls very soon.