Bristol in 2020: Culture

In a year where streaming theatre became the norm and comedy shows were to be enjoyed only while seated two metres from others, it’s strange the think of a time when bands would play in a sweat-soaked basement of the Exchange and club nights were the standard for a Friday night.

But it was, and it will be again.

2020 has been a topsy-turvy year, a year of struggle and overcoming, of closures and of small seeds of hope.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK, Bristol has recently welcomed the likes of The Big Moon and Caravan Palace to its stages, and had just announced that Nile Rogers and CHIC and Belle & Sebastian would play in the summer.

With these events swiftly postponed until summer 2021 and gigs across the city cancelled, musicians moved online. From livestreamed gigs and albums raising money for charities, DJing from rooftops and supporting the Music Venue Trust’s #SaveOurVenues campaign, Bristol’s artists adapted quickly.

However, the impact of cancelled and postponed gigs has been devastating for the city’s economy. While some venues secured funding through the Culture Recovery Fund, others slipped through the net.

The financial fallout from the cancellation of live music events has been laid bare in a national report by events specialists Eventopedia, which estimates the annual loss from cancelled shows at just three of Bristol’s music venues, the Fleece, Bristol Beacon and the O2 Academy, to be more than £2m.

In Totterdown, the Thunderbolt continues to fight for survival, while Bristol’s newest venue, Strange Brew, which has been ineligible for any government support since it is so new, has had to launch a Crowdfunder to stay afloat.

Strange Brew fights to stay open. Photo: Strange Brew

As musicians and artists continue to struggle alongside the city’s venues, there have been glimmers of hope.

In summer, St George’s held concerts in its garden, venues including the Lanes and the Crofters Rights held socially distanced events and the Bristol Beacon finally changed its name following years of deliberation.

As well as continuing music lessons in schools, launching the project A New Song for Bristol and inviting 4,000 people from across the world to celebrate the centenary of The Lark Ascending, the venue was also recently awarded £6.2m to support its continued restoration.

But for each glimpse of positivity, there was another closure: Blue Mountain closed its doors after almost 30 years in August and planning permission was granted in April for Lakota to be turned into flats and office space, although it the owners say “it’s very much business as usual for the next few years”.

……….

Read more: World famous Bristol nightclub to be turned into flats and offices

……….

The comedy scene has also quietened over the year. With the exceptions of shows at Breaking Bread and Russell Howard’s stint at Lakota, comedy went online.

Mark Olver hosted Belly Laughs At Home, which raised more than £35,000 for good causes in May, Henbury’s Abi Clarke went viral on TikTok and Slapstick Festival held an online comedy series in August.

Similarly to comedy, the world of theatre also went predominantly virtual. Bristol’s theatres closed their physical doors in mid-March, from the Wardrobe Theatre in Old Market to Tobacco Factory Theatres in Southville.

Almost as soon as the physical doors were shut, the virtual ones were opened. The Bristol Improv Theatre started streaming shows on March 20, before the first lockdown was even announced, and the Bristol Old Vic launched its digital theatre in April.

The Bristol Improv Theatre quickly adapted to lockdown. Image: Bristol Improv Theatre

Interactive shows from Pins and Needles and Sharp Teeth, such as Sherlock in Homes and Select A Quest, hit screens during the first and second lockdown.

Bricks and mortar theatres continued to struggle through the year, despite many receiving support from the Culture Recovery Fund: the Bristol Old Vic announced they may have to cut a third of its workforce while the Tobacco Factory Theatre said they may have to make three-quarters of staff redundant.

The summer did see a return of some live, in-person theatre, with the Cambridge Arms in Redland hosting outdoor Shakespeare, the Bristol Old Vic reopening for performances in its foyer and the Improv Theatre holding classes outside.

With the advent of the second lockdown and the uncertain festive period, Zoom performances have once again become the norm: Streaming Beauty will show from the Bristol Old Vic as part of its second season of virtual shows, Monkey Trousers Theatre invites Mr Gotalot to the online stage and the Tobacco Factory Theatre will stream Father Christmas.

Meanwhile, Bristol’s cinemas have been coping with the ever-changing restrictions surrounding opening. Watershed, the Orpheus and Everyman have been open between lockdowns, as have many of the big chain cinemas.

Watershed has hosted online events and screenings while being closed, and Afrika Eye and Encounters film festivals went completely virtual for 2020.

In the book and art world, work produced blurred the line of personal and political. Hachette UK announced they were opening a new Bristol office at the same time Black authors called on the book industry to diversify publishing.

Southville-based author Sharmaine Lovegrove was among the Black authors calling on the book industry to change. Photo: Christoffer Åhlén

Independent and small publishing became more prominent, from remembering the history of Barton Hill, the debut release of Emerson’s Green author James Vigor to a Knowle West teacher publishing a children’s book and non-fiction released on building a better world post-pandemic.

The hidden corners of our city were also the stars of the show in 111 Places in Bristol That You Shouldn’t Miss, the debut book by Bristol24/7 Editor, Martin Booth.

With more time at home, came more chances to produce creative work. There was art from Banksy on the London Underground and burgeoning artist Ruth Wormington created portraits of womxn’s bodies.

Bristolians recreated Bristol Museum artworks using Playmobil, led global artistic responses to the coronavirus, created art pieces showing connection directly outside the Brislington temporary morgue and covered the city in work by young people at Rising Arts Agency.

Billboards were taken over by political art, from depictions of the fall of the Colston statue to stark reminders of the climate crisis, a mural painted to celebrate Hannah More, Black voices were amplified through street art and illustrations of soul foods decorated St Paul’s.

As a black person in the UK took over outdoor spaces across Bristol. Photo: As a black person in the UK

From a sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid appearing on the Colston plinth to fighting transphobia using photography, 2020 was a year when hatred and abuse would no longer be stood for.

The culture world has been acutely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, a period of time that will no doubt affect the creative industries for years to come.

But, among the difficulty and struggle, Bristol has proved its resilience in the face of hardship, and its people’s passion to keep the city proudly creative.

Main photo: Lakota Giulia Spadafora Soul Media

Read more: Bristol in 2020: the LGBTQ+ community