Using artists to mobilize a city
to dramatically reduce its environmental impact
and increase conviviality and positive connection to Nature
Who we are
We are a group of people concerned about community and the human impact on the natural world. We are a small community-led organisation of volunteers, employees, and self-employed folk. Some of us work in the arts. We are led by a steering group which meets monthly.
Our aims
When THE BRISTOL ECOSHOWS began in 2009 we aimed to use arts practitioners to make real carbon footprint reductions across Bristol. Working with artists of all kinds, in as many parts of Bristol as possible, Bristol Ecoshows wanted to help Bristol dramatically reduce its environmental impact, whilst increasing the sense of community between people and with nature.
From the autumn of 2011, our emphasis is on building community across Bristol and developing a sense of custodianship of nature as a way of reconnection. Arts practitioners and the ecoshow itself, which tends to be a mid summer celebration, work in service of community building. Through an emotional and imaginative connecting with nature in the city we want to inspire people to reduce their adverse impacts on nature, but we don’t think at present this is our direct aim. It’s an indirect benefit and can only happen as a result of the first. Nor can we as an organisation measure our impact on carbon-footprint reduction easily. In the light of a lack of financial and other resources we’ve cut our suit to match our cloth.
Why are we doing this?
Currently, more than half of the people in the world live in towns or cities, so it's at a city level that we have to make sustainability meaningful. In Bristol, there is a chance to lead the way in showing what's possible, to shift from regional to global heavy weight in our environmental impact.
Where environmentalists have succeeded in raising awareness, artists can bring behavioural change: they can inspire and engage people though workshops leading to top class "ecoshows" - a coming together of amateur and professional. At the same time, engagement includes politics and institutions, tackling systems like transport or planning issues which we live under. Custodianship implies citizenship. A vision of living lightly is inspired by the wisdoms of indigenous peoples who are fast becoming extinct across the world: all of us are needed to make it happen. From the autumn of 2011 we, the members of the ecoshows steering group, are applying our understanding, particularly of Aboriginal culture, by deepening our dialogue within our own neighbourhoods. We’re wayfaring around our own stream and river catchment areas to get to know local features, stories and points of connection with other water catchment systems. This way we’ll begin to really see the natural landscape beneath the cityscape and build community on more solid foundations than the merely social.
What's the impact of an environmental artist working with a community?
"Annie Davenport’s attitude is inclusive and very hands on. Her organic, flexible approach proved to be just right for the setting of our large, noisy toddler group. The activities combined artistic quality with creative fun for the very young age group of the children involved. Although their attention span is minimal the adults found it easy to join in with them and have a go.
They liked the variety of the workshops and the sensory trail at the end. There was a lot of enthusiasm over the gardening. When they took those they planted home someone made the comment “I haven’t killed my plant yet. I can’t believe I can do this, its great!” It has certainly been a learning by doing experience that has encouraged some to continue to garden."
Faithspace development worker
