Blog

Preserving wildlife corridors to climate activism

by Natasha Machin, Visitor Assistant at Bristol Museums Despite the roar of the M32 driving into the heart of Bristol, an altogether greener route delivers bird song and the buzz of bees, frogs, badgers and urban foxes. Bristol is home to local acting a…

Being Bristol. Being British. Being Black – by Roger Griffith

by Roger Griffith MBE – Author, Lecture Consultant and recipient of Bristol Lord Mayor’s Medal I first arrived in Bristol with my Mum in 1974, post her divorce from London and lived in a street that still bears the name of a slave-merchant: Co…

Collecting to represent the Climate Movement

by Lee Hutchinson, curator of history Bristol has been the scene of numerous climate protests in recent years. They have become a part of the ongoing Bristol story. Two groups, in particular – Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Youth Strike 4 Climate (YS4…

Re-opening news!

We’re thrilled to announce that M Shed, Bristol Archives and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery will soon be re-opening. We can’t wait to see you! M Shed and Bristol Archives will reopen on Tuesday 8 September. Bristol Museum & Art Gal…

Unlocking Our Sound Heritage: A day in the life of an audio cataloguer

by Philippa Lewis, Project Cataloguer Since October 2018 I’ve been working as an audio cataloguer for the Unlocking our Sound Heritage (UOSH) project team based at Bristol Archives. This has been my first experience of working solely with audio mat…

Call out to artists: Black Lives Matter art commission

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is seeking a new work of art that responds to the Black Lives Matter movement. To support the process of decolonising the museum, we are working to make our collection more representative of the diverse cultures in Bristo…

Conserving M Shed’s cargo cranes

by Andy King, senior curator of history We are launching a public fundraising appeal to support the conservation of the four cargo cranes outside M Shed. Unfortunately time is taking its toll and they are showing significant signs of deterioration. The…

Call out: Mini commissions for digital content for families

by Julia Thomson-Smith, families engagement officer We are looking for artists, designers and creative practitioners to produce some digital content to get families engaging with their well-being. If this sounds like something you could do, read on! Bac…

Protest and survive: New acquisitions by Joy Gerrard and Barbara Walker

by Julia Carver, Modern and Contemporary Art curator Three new works of art acquired by Bristol Museum & Art Gallery strike a chord with recent events. Joy Gerrard Joy Gerrard has been making images of mass protests since the massive anti-Iraq War d…

Hinamatsuri: A closer look at the Japanese dolls in our collection

by Amy Raphael, volunteer Since November 2019, I have been work-shadowing Kate Newnham (senior curator, visual art) at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. Before lockdown, I was working with Kate to curate a small exhibition of Japanese hina dolls for the…