November: work continues | News and features

This exhibition is the first event in the Charting Change public art program, a two-year public art commission exploring the industrial histories of the new area. campus In addition to their technological future supported by Contemporary Art Society *Consultancy.

Lead Artist throughout the Commission Ellie Shipman Works with Program Artist Jack Stiling engaging with local people and civic partners to co-develop a range of artworks and events; this will inform Ellie’s design for a permanent textile artwork on the new campus when it opens in 2026.

Ellie said: “Work in Progress Reveals our first discoveries of the field and its history, from Jack’s atmospheric shots of the changing field to a playable digging arm sculpture ground work, 2024, you can use it to scan the world around you.

“The show will feature sculptures as well as patterned fabrics that I developed for public artworks. not working2024 is a metal apron made from construction site waste to illustrate the hidden labor of women shaping East Bristol industry. “Mapping the change of a rapidly evolving region with a complex history is a challenge, but this exhibition is an invitation to join the conversation, reflect on change, connect with the community, and play as we go.”

The exhibition is held in collaboration with the Barton Hill History Group, run by Garry Atterton. Ellie is attending the group’s Memory Cafes to learn more about local history and as part of the exhibition programme, Garry is contributing objects from local industry and will host a gathering of female workers from the Great Western Cotton Mill and the Chappell Allen Corset Mill. Both huge employers in Barton Hill are still remembered.

The exhibition runs at St Anne’s House, St Anne’s Road, Brislington, from Thursday 21 November to Saturday 23 November, from 10am to 4pm, with a late opening on Thursday 21 November from 6pm to 8pm. Attend free community coffee mornings, events for women in research, sew a textile banner, and see interactive sculptures activated! Details of the entire program are available HereIncluding timings of events. Entry is free and participants of all ages are accepted.

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About Work in Progress:

An exhibition from Charting Change, a two-year public art commission led by artist Ellie Shipman for the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.

WORK IN PROGRESS refers to all work in progress, from creatively responding to the evolving construction site of the new campus; to explore ongoing work on how we work and to explore how far we still have to go in recognizing who has shaped local industry historically and who shapes society and research now and in the future.

These themes are reflected through temporary artworks by Charting Change Lead Artist Ellie Shipman and Program Artist Jack Stiling in collaboration with Barton Hill History Group, which contributes historical artifacts and research that shape sculptural responses.

Mapping the change of a rapidly evolving region with a complex history is a challenge, but this exhibition is an invitation to join the conversation, reflect on change, connect with the community, and play as we go.

About Chart Change Lead Artist Ellie Shipman

Ellie Shipman is a visual and participatory artist based in Bristol. Ellie studied a Bachelor of Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, UAL (2008 – 11) and a Master of Sustainable Development at UWE (2015 – 16).

Ellie is interested in what it means to be a woman; the birth experience and new motherhood/motherhood, as well as concepts of community; sustainability and hidden or unsanctioned labor. These themes are explored, shared and reflected through multimedia artworks using found objects, textiles, patterns, collages and installations. Studies are often site-specific, participatory or interactive; This includes people in the research, process and product.

Ellie is the Lead Artist for Charting Change, a two-year public art commission of workshops, events and temporary artworks with University of Bristol’s Program Artist Jack Stiling and visiting artists. The process will inform the design of a major textile public artwork at the university’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, opening in 2026.

Through Graphic Exchange, Ellie explores how womxn shaped the industrial history of Barton Hill, St Philips and The Dings, and invites the public to share their stories and get involved.

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About Graphics Exchange Artist Jack Stiling

Jack’s background as a self-taught inventor and tinkerer led his application to the Undergraduate Contemporary Craft course at Falmouth; here he began making automatons and tactile art, learning more from local artists through friendships and apprenticeships.

By collecting waste and unwanted objects from local streets, she explores how used objects and materials carry silent stories and undertones, and how they can be used to convey real and fictional narratives. His goal is to make art that invites imagination, participation and play to bring a new perspective to everyday life.

An observer of the ever-changing city, he captures recent large-scale demolition and construction, explores the history of old sites and gathers insights into its regeneration from those currently there.

Within the confines of construction sites lurk the cumbersome machines of progress; its operators are hidden by the massive scale of the venue, despite high-visibility clothing. Jack’s sculptures aim to give control of the machines of progress to local residents and workers alike, to see what they can do to change one’s perspective.

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About Work in Progress collaborators Barton Hill History Group

Barton Hill History Group was founded in 1983 at The Swan Pub. Since then they have produced an incredible number of projects, events, exhibitions, books, podcasts and memory cafes that explore, bring together and share the fascinating history of Barton Hill with local residents and the wider public.

For this exhibition, we partnered with BHHG to bring the history of women in the industry to life, and this project coincided with the Women Who Made Barton Hill.

Contact Garry Atterton: [email protected]
facebook.com/bartonhillhistorygroup/bhhg.co.uk