Southfest was special because of the relationships we developed with the artists before, during and after the event. Children had a chance to get to know the artists, contribute their ideas to the art and see the artistic process unfold before their eyes over the course of several weeks.
The diversity of the artists was reflected in the diversity of styles and it made for a rich and inspiring experience for staff and children!
Venessa Scott (Vee): 'Joy and Connection'
Working on one of our Myrtle Street staircases, Vee drew upon our school values to create this stunning piece, full of energy and movement. There was a lot of energy and movement needed too, as Vee had to climb up and down the scaffolding all week to create this huge and striking piece! If you look closely, each of the figures shares something with their neighbour and they grow, leap and fly together. The children loved chatting to Vee while she worked and one pupil was so inspired that on day two she gave Vee a picture she had drawn, which Vee then brilliantly incorporated into the final piece.
Andy Council: 'The South Bristol Crocodile'
The children gave Andy hundreds of suggestions of local landmarks to be incorporated into a creature, however they had no idea what the final creature would be. Due to the spray paints, children were not able to access the area and so peered through the glass in the doors on either floor for a glimpse of the emerging creature, excitedly trying to work out what it would become. It is a truly impressive site, with both of our school buildings and lots of BS3 features brilliantly included in Andy's distinctive style.
Farrah Fortnam: 'Wall of Wonder' / 'Yara the Unicorn'
Farrah created two beautiful pieces for us, one on each of our sites. At Myrtle, she took inspiration from the orchard to create a beautiful, long flowing piece next to the playground. She had a continuous stream of children who made a very excited and vocal audience full of interest and ideas. Not only did Farrah spend time chatting and answering their questions, she brilliantly incorporated several of the suggestions, including the now famous bee! Farrah then moved on to Merrywood where she created a magical two-storey masterpiece!
Tom Hodgkinson: 'The Great Outdoors'
Tom is a collage artist who relished the challenge of working on a larger scale. This stunning piece, which occupies a ten metre stretch of corridor at our Myrtle site, evolved over several days and contains around 200 individual images. Some of the images and words included are actually covered by others, as Tom said a key part of the process was not being afraid to cover something good with something better. The children loved seeing him work and are still finding new details in this wonderful piece every day!
Jemma Bursnell: 'Let's Play Together' / 'The Light Through The Trees'
Jemma (@emotionalwaterfall) brightened up the children's entrance to our Merrywood building with two contrasting murals. The first, 'Let's Play Together', uses our school colours to create an upbeat and exciting welcome to the school in her own distinct style. She worked in a narrow corridor with children at either end excitedly watching her paint and she incorporated their many suggestions into her second piece ('The Light Through The Trees') inspired by our love of forest school.
Ben Van Praag: 'Drippy Lyrics'
Ben incorporated a tagging style to fill our corridor with quotes and song lyrics, all suggested by the children. The area was sealed off while he sprayed the bright background to his piece so the children had to watch from a distance however they loved being alongside him as he tagged the wall with the quotes to see the drips flow down the wall, giving each tag a life of its own! there are hundreds of inspiring messages on there - we see a new one every time we pass!
Edzo: 'Southville Dayz'
Edzo is an extremely talented young street artist who we were delighted agreed to be part of Southfest. He also happened to be one of our Year 6 pupils at the time and he inspired his peers across the school with his fun, detailed style. He cleverly incorporated dozens of aspects of Southville life into his piece and happily chatted to passers by while he worked, inspiring the next generation of street artists in the younger years! He played a starring role in the Points West coverage of Southfest and we are now very proud to have an Edzo original on our wall.
