Bristol is a city well known for its street art and 2024 saw numerous new murals appear as well as several art installations. While Upfest 2024 saw numerous murals appearing in South Bristol within the space of a few weeks, a recent reunion of some of Bristol’s most well known street artists would probably be considered the most memorable.
The city’s vibrant activist community has certainly made its voice known when it comes to support for those in Palestine. Bristol has seen countless displays of pro-Palestine graffiti and murals created throughout the year.
While some murals are quickly painted over and others only meant to be temporary, this year we saw the 30th anniversary of one of Bristol’s oldest pieces of artwork. Albert the camel celebrated his 30th birthday this year and Bristol Live told Albert’s story for the first time.
(Image: Google)
In another 30-year anniversary, Bristol celebrated the anniversary of the end of South African apartheid with the unveiling of a Nelson Mandela mural in a community building in Easton in April. Also in Easton, locals erected banners across Stapleton Road to celebrate the ‘aunties of Easton’, which included Lesley Wynne, the manager of St Mark’s Community Cafe which closed in 2023.
While October 2024 will be remembered as the month that a huge mural was painted adjacent to the IKEA car park in Eastville, we also saw a series of strange sculptures appear. Twisted telephone boxes, post boxes and phone boxes are among the surreal sculptures by artist Alex Chinneck which were temporarily installed in Bristol.
Shortly before the passing of Bristol Bus Boycott pioneer Paul Stephenson OBE, the work of Bristol school pupils who made posters to commemorate the boycott and take a stance against racism. Their work was displayed across several bus stops in the city prior to his death.
But the school pupil’s posters were not the only time Bristol witnessed a change to the standard advertising usually on display. Extinction Rebellion Youth created a ‘subvertising’ campaign back in April to raise awareness over the Elbit factory in Filton which has been subjected to numerous protests by pro-Palestinian activists over the last year.
While some pubs and local businesses have visually shown their support for Palestine by hanging up the flag or displaying new murals, many households have done the same. One man in St Pauls who regularly displays his own artwork on his front gate complained after he caught a council worker on CCTV removing it.
While most of the large protests in our city in 2024 focused on Palestine, over the summer we saw huge numbers of people turn out in Old Market and Easton after threats of a far right attack on a local solicitor’s firm began to circulate on social media. Shortly after the protest, a huge billboard appeared on Old Market with the words, ‘Thank God for immigrants.’
While the city’s street art is ever evolving there are some questions left unanswered in the visual landscape of Bristol. Four years after the toppling of Colston, the plinth remains empty, with its fate still undecided.
The swift sale of Turbo Island to an unknown buyer could see the end of an era to the section of Stokes Croft which had previously been a haven for street art. In recent months a billboard was installed celebrating Bristol’s rave culture. We will have to wait and see what evolves out of this new ownership and if Turbo Island will transform like the Bearpit, from an area simultaneously loved and despite for its forever changing, street art and graffiti, to one of plain grey walls.
Is there any important or memorable street art that you think we should highlight but have missed? If you have photos of new murals or interesting installations that have appeared over the last year that you wish to share please email them to yvonne.deeney@reachplc.com
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