easton arts trail

Welcome to the third Easton Arts Trail, which took place in Easton’s open houses, cafes, pubs and community venues and in the open spaces, streets and cycle paths in between on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June 2009. This year more than 40 venues and over 100 artists, makers and performers took part in another dazzling celebration of Easton’s creativity. There were also 12 new temporary, site-specific installations, workshops and performances that were sited in the streets, open spaces and along the Bristol to Bath cycle path as part of this year’s arts trail.

Below are edited highlights of this year’s arts trail. However, you can see where all the venues were by visiting our amazing interactive map at Venue Map and find out who took part by visiting Artists & Performers, and there are more details about the 12 new Open Space Installations, Performances & Workshops below too. Free guides/maps to the event were delivered to every home and business in Easton during the first week of June and you were also able to pick up guides/maps at most pubs, cafes and community centres in Easton too.

Please also note: You can download a printable .pdf version of the guide below by visiting Your Guide To EAT09

Your Guide To The Easton Arts Trail 09

In 2009 there were two big group exhibitions which took place in the Easton Community Centre on Kilburn Road and at St Marks Road Baptist Church, and there was an exhibition of student’s work at Silai For Skills on Easton Road too. You could also see art exhibitions and/or hear live music at The Chelsea Inn, The Greenbank Pub, Cafe Maitreya and the Thali Cafe. There were also group exhibitions at at Salaam Shalom at no 404 (above BMCs) and at Kebele Community Cooperative on Robertson Road.

At the heart of the Easton Arts Trail are the small group and solo exhibitions in the 21 Open Houses (& gardens). These included open houses on the outer edges of the trail which were definitely worth the extra mile: from Vicarage Road to Turley Road and from Northcote Road to Robertson Road and everything in between there was so much to see! There were also two special exhibitions of local children’s artwork at St Marks Road Baptist Church and at Baggator at The Pickle Factory on All Hallows Road so there was something on offer for everyone.

Special Events & Workshops:

Easton Arts Trail Launch Party – Friday 19 June, from 9pm

There was the Easton Arts Trail launch party at The Plough on Kilburn Road (opposite the Easton Community Centre) on Friday 19 June from 9pm until late, with our very own djs Stu Bigfoot, Marcus ‘dj booth’ Campbell and Disco Dave. Big thanks to Stu for organising this party for us again this year.

Easton Community Choir – Saturday 20 June, from 2pm

One of the highlights of last year’s arts trail was the performance by the Easton Community Choir. Sheila Tang led the choir again this year as they performed a host of inspirational songs. They performed at the Easton Community Centre from 2pm on Saturday 20 June.

Saturday Night at The Plough, Saturday 20 June, from 8pm

Live music from Easton based blues band The Smokestack Shakers. Take the sound of the delta slide guitar add a pinch of simmering blues harmonica and slowly blend in the finest bluebeat, ska and latin rhythm and you have…The Smokestack Shakers. This was followed by a DJ set by DanW playing a mix of ska, soul, funk and old school reggae.

The night also included a showing of two locally made films made by NIGHT IN EASTON and HERITAGE RESEARCH PROJECT. The films are:

- VOICES: a documentary featuring honest and fascinating and moving migration stories of people living in Easton.
- NIGHT IN EASTON: a gritty piece of community art house film with fictional but typical of the larger than life characters to be found in Easton.

Arab Egyptian Dance – Sunday 21 June, from 2pm

Maria Krajnik-Dachraoui and friends performed a selection of Arab Egyptian Dances, followed by a free taster workshop suitable for all abilities. The performance started at 2pm on Sunday 21 June in the Sunshine Room upstairs at the Easton Community Centre.

Kebele Screen Printing Workshops – All Weekend

Kebele Community Collection on Robertson Road ran free screen printing workshops all weekend.

Baggator Children’s Art Workshops – All Weekend

Baggator at The Pickle Factory on All Hallows Road invited children to help create a giant sculpture for the centre. This workshop was run as a drop in session all weekend.

NEW FOR 2009:
EAT09 Open Space Installations, Performances & Workshops

Following on from the success of last year’s Cycle Path Bursaries, the Easton Arts Trail Steering Group was pleased to announce the creation of 12 new site-specific installations, guided tours, performances and workshops that took place in the open spaces around this year’s trail. They were commissioned to help to create exciting and interesting links between the arts trail venues and to encourage more visitors to complete the whole of the arts trail.

Thanks go to Bristol City Council’s Arts, Festivals & Events Team for the grant funding that has enabled us to provide small bursaries for 10 out of 12 of the Open Space Installations, Performances & Workshops. Special thanks to Evie Wonder for ‘Edge – Performance meets Foraging’ and to Nikki Petch, lead artist for the ‘Summer Solstice Poetry Workshop’ which they are kindly providing for us without any funding.

Live Street Art: Easton Community Centre – Electricity Station, Saturday 20 June (Sunday 21 June if it’s raining)

Well known Bristol Street Artist Silent Hobo worked closely with a group of disadvantaged young people at the Trinity Arts Centre. The group developed a site-specific design for a new graffiti piece for the walls of the Electricity Station beside the Easton Community Centre.

Edge – Performance meets Foraging: Meeting at The Easton Community Centre at 2pm on Saturday 20 June

Evie Wonder provided a guided walk along our celebrated urban greenway and wildlife corridor: the Bristol to Bath Railway Path. Exploring how our lives intersect and exchange with this space on the edge, the walk traverses the Easton section of the path to take you on a journey that connected many of the creative venues of the Easton Arts Trail. The focus on this walk was to collect an edible or useful wild plant. The walk was a collective act; part performance/ part workshop/ part forage/ part exchange of observations and responses. Evie Wonder used performance to share and re-trace some of her and others experiences and memories of this green space.

Mad Hatter’s Tea Party: Easton Community Centre Garden, Saturday 20 June, 3-5pm

The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party took place in the Easton Community Centre Garden on Saturday 20 June from 3pm. Local children dressed in fancy dress outfits took part in this special tea party performance, inviting visitors to join in the fun and share the tea and cakes. Local artist and ceramists Berni Vinton created a special Alice in Wonderland tea service for this installation and took a lead role in the tea party making sure fun was had by all.

Summer Solstice Poetry Workshop & Performance: Easton Community Centre Garden, Sunday 21 June, workshop from 1-3.30pm & performance from 4pm

This workshop was designed to encourage the creation of a group poem during the longest day of the year. Participants helped create and contribute to Easton’s longest ever poem. One sentence was written by each visitor with the workshop leader, Nikki Petch, providing the first line. Budding poets were also invited to come along to write their own-self-directed poem in this glorious space, be still with nature and allow their inner creativity to emerge. This workshop was followed by a performance of the Summer Solstice Group Poem and by an open mic session (first come, first served).

Hemisphere: East Side Roots Community Garden Centre, Stapleton Road Station

The Guardian newspaper recently stated that “15 of the world’s biggest ships may now emit as much pollution as all the world’s 760 million cars.” This installation focuses on the movement of consumer products around the planet. The artists, Tim Floyd and Baljinder Bhopal, mixed together locally sourced sustainable materials with materials that have been shipped around the globe, used and discarded in this unique installation. They avoided the use of fossil fuels in the process of construction. Hand tools were used to build the structure and all the materials were be collected by hand and transported to the site by bicycle.

Sedated By A Brick – Community Ties: Junction 14 of the cycle path from Bruce Road towards the Easton Community Centre, Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 June, 12-3pm

Local performance company, Sedated By A Brick, created a time-based performance and installation along the cycle path entitled ‘Community Ties’. Visitors were encouraged to write a message on the neck ties which were be tied together to create an ever-growing chain along the cycle path between Bruce Road and the Easton Community Centre.

Six Pieces Of Chocolate: Chocolate Factory along Cooperation Road

Six of Bristol’s most prolific street artists were commissioned to create site specific pieces for six blocked up doorways to the Chocolate Factory along Cooperation Road. These pieces were created during the run up to the arts trail and still act as an outdoor art gallery creating an extra draw to this corner of Greenbank. See the work of Silent Hobo, Motorboy, Sepr, Dan, 3dom and The Fly in this semi-permanent outdoor gallery. Special thanks to Squarepeg for their permission and support for this project.

Henry’s Juggling Workshop & Acoustic Music Sessions: Corner of Turley Road and Greenbank Road outside the Greenbank Cemetery gates, Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 June, 12noon – 2pm

Henry’s entertaining juggling demonstration using balls and clubs, followed by a free workshop for the young and old. There was also a live performance of humorous satirical songs followed by an informal acoustic music session.

Flutter: Bloy Street

Textile Artist, Angeline Carroza, got her original inspiration for this installation from the sound that a plastic bag makes when it’s caught in a tree and from time spent watching Monarch butterflies fluttering about. By using recycled and reclaimed materials to create this installation she explored the inter-relation of nature and non-organic materials and how they coexist together in the modern world.

Acrobatic Star Installation: St Marks Baptist Church Terrace

Easton based artist Simon Davis created a free standing three metre high sculpture made from reclaimed car panels. The installation is sited in the front terrace area of St Marks Baptist Church and it represents creative collaboration with each star shaped panel relying on the support of the next to create this structure.

Stencil Street Art Workshop: Kensington Park, Sunday 21 June from 12noon-4pm

Local artist and resident, Kerry Russell, ran a free stencil based street art workshop creating a Caribbean themed mural that helps to brighten up this cut through from the M32 underpass as it connects to Stapleton Road. Special thanks to the owners of Nisa on Stapleton Road for permission to use their wall.

More From The Easton Arts Trail Organisers

The Easton Arts Trail is organised by volunteers from the local community who have created an annual community event that celebrates the quality and diversity of creativity in Easton. We are an artist-led organisation, founded in December 2006 by local artists, with the aim of showcasing the broad range of creative talent in Easton by providing a platform for local artists, makers and performers to promote and develop their work in their community. We are always looking for volunteers to help co-ordinate the event and for more artists and performers to take part, if you are interested in getting involved email info@eastonartstrail.co.uk.

We would like to say a big thank you to Ruth Essex, Easton’s Community Arts Officer and to Bristol City Council’s Arts, Festivals & Events Team for the grant we received from the Community Festival & Event Fund.

We really hope that you enjoyed all that the Easton Arts Trail 2009 had to offer.

love & paint

Sally Reay, Chair
Rebecca Ellis, Treasurer

How to Get Here If You Don’t Live Here Already

We are really keen to encourage visitors from outside Easton, so invite your friends from outside the area and tell them they can jump on the train or the bus or get on their bikes to come and explore Easton during this year’s arts trail.

By bus – get either the No 48 or No 49 from Bristol Town Centre or from Fishponds, both buses run along Stapleton Road, ask the driver to let you off near St Marks Road.

By train – there’s an hourly service from Temple Meads and Clifton Downs to Stapleton Road Railway Station.

By bicycle – you can also get to Easton via the Bristol to Bath cycle path, park up at the Easton Community Centre for best access to the Easton Arts Trail.