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Bristol800

Bristol800
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Bristol800 was a partnership programme that developed, delivered and promoted activities in 2016 that celebrated significant Bristol anniversaries along with other commemorative and special events that raised awareness and encouraged debate about different aspects of the city.

The core of the work was in two areas:

1/ City-wide learning about Bristol through small-scale projects linked to many of the historical anniversaries that took place through the year, along with the free distribution of a specially produced book of walks exploring different aspects of Bristol’s heritage and present-day life.

2/ The Bristol Weekenders: Weekends of arts events from a wide range of artistic disciplines and organisations at venues around the city. The weekends were produced by a variety of partners as part of a programme celebrating Bristol’s history, present-day cultural achievements and plans for the future. Further details below.

Bristol800, therefore, was a celebration of the city that followed in the tradition of  projects that in the past celebrated Isambard Kingdom Brunel (2006) and the aviation industry (2010), and commemorated Bristol’s connections to the First World War (2014).

It also built on Bristol being European Green Capital in 2015 and initial discussions around submitting a bid to be European Capital of Culture 2023.

Projects Within Bristol800

The Weekender Programme

23-24 January 2016
Centre Stage: Celebrating Theatre in Bristol
Led by the Royal West of England Academy

14 February 2016
Chains of Love
Led by Love the Future

18-20 March 2016
The End of Everything and the Start of Something New
Led by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership/ Festival of Ideas

22-24 April 2016
Frankenstein
Led by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership/ Festival of Ideas

29 April-2 May 2016
Spike Island Open Studios
Led by Spike Print Studio, Spike Associates and Spike Design

30 April-2 May 2016
800 Years of the Mayoralty of Bristol
Led by the Lord Mayor’s Chapel

20-22 May 2016
Utopias
Led by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership/ Festival of Ideas with the Cabot Institute, University of Bristol

28-30 May 2016
Bristol Old Vic 250
Led by Bristol Old Vic

11-12 June 2016
Festival of Nature
Led by Festival of Nature/ Bristol Natural History Consortium

18 June 2016
The Centenary of the Arab Revolt
Led by Bristol Festival of Ideas in association with Shared Spaces Festival and Salaam Shalom

18 September 2016
My Bristol, Our Future
Led by Ujima Radio as part of Make Sunday Special

23-25 September 2016
Place, Time and Architecture
Led by the Architecture Centre

15 October 2016
Civic Bristol
Led by the Lord Mayor’s Office, Bristol City Council in partnership with Bristol’s Guild of Guardians

10-12 November 2016
Universities Showcase
Led by the University of Bristol and University of West of England

17-20 November 2016
Feel It Festival
Led by the Elizabeth Backwell Institute for Health Research at the University of Bristol

25-27 November 2016
The Art of Flight
Led by St George’s Bristol

10-11 December 2016
Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter
Led by the Royal West of England Academy
(see the UWE student posters for the exhibition on the blog: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, The Winner).

Funding Partners in Bristol 800

The BRistol800 Promotional image was by Alys Jones.

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