THE SHOP
MAY DAY
THE FILWOOD TIMES
FILWOOD ON BROADWAY
WRIT LARGE
HOARDINGS PROJECT
We have always wanted a shop. It’s something we’ve talked about on and off for years - a space to meet people and make art on the high street. There’s something about a shop that is less intimidating than an official ‘art space’ like a gallery or a theatre. So when we applied to be Filwood in Motion resident artists having a space like this was a key part of our proposal.
Luckily for us, Matt at Bristol City Council was happy to hand over the keys to number 8 Filwood Broadway, a leaky and tired unit destined for demolition, that had previously been used as an office for the amazing Broadway charity Re:Work. We quickly donned our overalls and got to work transforming the shop into a welcoming and flexible place for making art, and hanging out.
We held a grand opening event on Thursday 3rd April, and opened the shop almost every Thursday between then and August when we had to hand back the keys. Having the shop was everything we had hoped for (fun, popular, comfortable) and more (a youth club! We didn’t expect to start running a youth club!). The kettle was always on, the table (and floor) was always covered in scraps of paper and fabric, the amount of biscuits we consumed may be a world record.
Having this space, and turning up regularly, on the same day each week, allowed us to build strong relationships with the young people who came straight from school to see what we were up to each week. Activities were always drop-in, always optional. Children played between the shop, the street and the park fluidly. 231 people attended our shop drop in sessions.
Thursday clubBlock 1: Decoration (April)
Block 2: Media (May)
Block 3: Filwood on Broadway (July)
Block 4: Hoarding design (October/November)
“it’s been so important to my child to have this space to express himself – it’s something the Broadway had been missing.”