City of Beacons
Connecting and amplifying voices of marginalised communities in Bristol
Our City of Beacons programme takes inspiration from Bristol Beacon’s diverse heritage, inviting communities to work alongside specially-commissioned artists to co-curate unique pieces of work.
We commissioned the four local artists to each devise work for City of Beacons projects with specific communities in Bristol that they are passionate about.
Together, the artists and participants from across Bristol found creative freedom and a platform to shine their own light.
Sharing with our city
Summer/Autumn 2023
As each project developed, each artist has facilitated a series of collaborative workshops and artistic responses, giving space for creative expression, exploration and reflection.
Supported by the Creative Lead Rachel Adams, all the artists have drawn their community responses together into a community led, creative piece, celebrating their unique perspectives of life in our city through workshops, recordings and films, as a legacy for the project.
Artists and projects
Connecting people with hidden disabilities
Artist lead: Amber-Ruth Watson (she/her)
About the project
Amber-Ruth formed a choir of women and non-binary people with hidden disabilities to co-create a new piece of music composed by Amber-Ruth over a series of workshops. The final track, We Glow, was inspired by the choir’s experiences with hidden disabilities. The lyrics explore a journey from isolation and inner darkness to self-acceptance and healing through the power of community, genuine connection, and the freedom to be one’s true self, emphasizing how shared vulnerability and mutual support can bring growth, resilience, and light.
About the artist
Amber-Ruth is a Bristol born and bred multi-disciplinary artist, producer and writer. Using art as a vital tool to heal, connect and claim space, working mostly with sound, as a musician, radio presenter and audio producer. She’s also exploring expression through visual art forms such as collage, textiles and mixed-media.
As an artist, she brings a gentleness and empathy to spaces, preferring to meet people where they are at. Amber-Ruth believes that some of the best work is created through overcoming difficult situations, creating with honesty and openness that enables others to be themselves.
Developing queer performance artists
Artist lead: Astro-Zenica / James Crawley (they/them)
About the project
James has centred on facilitating workshops on clowning and accessibility for trans/non-binary artists aged 18-30, including providing professional photography and video for their performances. The group will be able to connect, collaborate, train professionally and celebrate themselves as emerging trans-queer artists within Bristol. The project will connect with grassroots trans-queer-femme organisations, including PHAT Welfare and Security and music from T4T.
Performers then reflected on their experiences with further workshops and performances. They hope City of Beacons is the beginning of greater service to and connection with the Bristol queer community who are a huge part of the culture of our city.
We hope Bristol Beacon will continue to do the hard work of engaging in critical self-reflection and improvement so that our community may continue to grow, thrive and flourish”
About the artist
Astro-Zenica is a radical performance artist – combining drag, clown, stand up improvised comedy and immersive theatre.
Mother and Artistic Director of The House of Savalon, Astro’s work explores our culture and what we can become as humans should we learn to cooperate, learning to love both the similarities and differences, moving beyond competition to a more cooperative way of living. They are a creation of the artist James Crawley.
Engaging young people of colour
Artist lead: Montel Brown (he/him)
About the project
Montel worked with his old primary school in Easton, Bannerman Road, to inspire and engage young people of colour, giving them access to music and unlocking their creative potential. He believes that there are many talented young people who may not have access to making music.
With Bannerman Road’s Year 6 class, they created All Of Us, a series of audio tracks and a visual mural reflecting the class’ experiences as young people living in Easton.
About the artist
Montel is a multi-disciplinary sound artist, music producer and sound engineer, with experience in live music and on location sound as well as studio recording and mixing. He hosts a monthly radio show on 1020 Radio, live showcasing emerging artists from across the UK.
Montel has worked in collaboration with creatives across numerous industries to deliver high quality sound and mixing for film, live events and hybrid projects.
Check out an image from his visual mural here.
Everything I do has a little bit of Stevie Wonder in it…”
Female empowerment and personal disovery
Artist lead: Willow Vidal-Hall (she/her)
About the project
With local organisation Bristol Women’s Voice, Willow created The Empowered Voice: An Exhibition of Women’s Voices, which showcased women in Bristol’s thoughts, memories, ideas and stories through recorded voice notes and written quotes. The final project aimed to utilise the collective voice of women to unite in sisterhood and highlight their experiences to create ripples of change.
The final exhibition was displayed in Bristol Beacon’s Sound Lounge and Bristol City Hall.
About the artist
Willow works as an artist, performer and facilitator with a wide range of ages and groups across Bristol. People focused; she believes that at the core of all things is the human being. Years of performance experience has offered her the ability to connect with people in a genuine and compassionate manner.
Willow deeply understands the power and impact of performance as a tool for healing and empowering voices.
She creates spaces where people feel safe, valued and can grow their confidence. Using multiple techniques including, yoga, creative movement and creative writing and speech, Willow intuitively responds to participants, placing their vision at the centre of the co-creation process.
Read more about our work with communities:
Live at The Hive: Sharing music and joy with adults with learning disabilities
- Blog
- Photos
Creating our 18-month long artist mentoring programme
- Blog
- Guest blog
Care-experienced Young People's Album Project recognised at Creative Lives Awards
- Bristol Beacon News