Step into the lost nature of Broadmead.
Imagine a colourful, tranquil wildflower meadow amidst the hustle and bustle of Bristol’s built-up shopping centre, Broadmead. With their new project Broad Meadow, artists Sylvia Rimat and Charli Clark are growing that very place.
Smell the sweet scent of flowers, hear the buzz of wings and submerge yourself in the lost nature of our city centre. You’re invited to take a seat and relax in a wildflower meadow installation that gives you a taste of what life used to be like in Broadmead.
Whilst immersed in the plants and wildlife around you, you’ll be able to access an audio piece via your smartphone. The audio experience addresses our intertwined relationship with the plant world and connects us to Bristol prior to the 1500s, when Broadmead was a wet meadow, regularly flooded by the river Frome. The wildflower installation’s soil structure and plant species have been carefully chosen to mimic the meadow that once may have grown there.
The installation is made up of 55 wildflower boxes that have been planted in workshops with secondary school students across Bristol and with community groups. After the project ends, the boxes will be distributed to Bristol schools and communities to continue to thrive as mini meadows.
Fri 24 May 2024 until Thursday 20 June 24
Open daily 11am – 6pm (Fri 24 May 3pm – 6pm)
Free event
Booking info via Headfirst to reserve a free place or just show up
Location: Broadmead West, Bristol City Centre, BS1 3EA (outside Boots)
Age advice: 11+
Free family fun activities for ages 3-10 with creative, nature inspired arts and crafts activities, playful storytelling and wildflower seed bomb making on:
Saturday 25 May 2024
Wednesday 5 June 2024 (World Environment Day)
Sunday 9 June 2024
Drop-in between 11am – 3pm
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery Players and Broadmead BID. Further support from Frances and Matthew Lindsey-Clark, Pervasive Media Studio, Mayfest, Ashton Scaffolding Services Ltd, Bristol WORKS and Residence.
Cast and production team credits
Lead Artists: Sylvia Rimat and Charli Clark
Wildflower meadow concept and design: Charli Clark
Audio work concept and design: Sylvia Rimat
Audio work sound design: Sam Halmarack
Dramaturg: Gemma Paintin
Marketing consultant: Jo Richardson
Access Consultant: Joe Strickland
Sylvia Rimat creates original performances with a pinch of the surreal. They manifest in various formats, such as studio shows, one-on-one performance, encounters in public space, site-specific work and most recently an App. Characterised by playful audience interaction and strong visual aesthetics, her work deals with processes of the human mind (consciousness, memory and how we experience time), drawing on scientific research, personal experiences and our imagination, to ask big questions. Recent work explores our connectivity with the natural world, i.e. tree communication via fungal networks compared to neuronal communication in the human brain, as well as notions of care beyond the human species and climate action.
Born in Germany, Rimat is based in Bristol. Since 2008 Rimat has presented her performances throughout Britain and internationally, at more than 60 venues and festivals, including British Council Showcase Edinburgh, Barbican London in SPILL Festival, IBT Festival Bristol and at venues in Europe & Australia (Proximity Festival, Perth, 2014; Sydney Festival, 2015). Rimat is a Pervasive Media Studio resident and member of artist collective Residence, Bristol.
Charli Clark is an artist working across disciplines, drawing on her skills and knowledge as gardener and beekeeper to develop work in relation to, for and with the natural world. Through planting installations and community engagement she seeks to form relationships and reconnect with the more-than-human species. She works with a wide range of media including painting, film, performance, installation, socially engaged and living ‘biological’ art. Her most recent work (de)bordering, in collaboration with artist Paul Hurley, Brigstow Institute and Bristol University Royal Fort Gardens, saw the creation of two planted structures with embedded QR code conversations, tackling questions of immigration, politics and the environment.
Born and based in Bristol, Clark trained as a gardener in 2017 after creating an artwork for Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden, Helsinki and becoming fascinated by the world of plants. In 2015, Clark completed her Masters in Environmental Art from Aalto University of Art, Design and Architecture, specialising in Biological Art. Clark has produced work for a number of venues across the UK and internationally, including Arnolifini, Bowes Museum, Harp Art Lab (Sweden), and MUU Gallery (Finland), and has been involved in exhibitions, open studios, workshops and residences across Europe. She is a member of the Bioart Society and has been an Associate Artist with Melliferopolis – Bees in Urban Environments, MUU Gallery and Knowle West Media Centre.
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Residence 