Charting Change workshops, Barton. Photo @ Ellie Shipman
2024
Charting Change, A participatory commission for the University of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC)
Synopsis
A new participatory commission, titled Charting Change, will explore the industrial histories of the site of the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC) alongside its technological futures. It will focus on engagement and dialogue, working with local people and community partners to co-develop a series of artworks and events over two years, which in turn will inform the design of a permanent textile artwork in the main building at the new campus once it opens in 2026.
The commission is part of the TQEC public art programme led by the Contemporary Art Society *Consultancy. Lead Artist Ellie Shipman is particularly interested in urban change, sustainability and womens’ stories explored through textiles, sculpture and social practice. Ellie, a local participatory artist, is now an ‘artist in residence’ on Wednesday mornings in September and October at the Barton Hill Micro-campus, providing the first opportunity to host community conversations and connect researchers into the city.
Ellie is also working with local artist Jack Stiling on an exhibition charting local change, which will take place at St Annes House in Brislington November 21-23
"Through this commission I want to explore what the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus development represents: a global university with local civic ambitions; a changing city with a challenging past; a community with multiple identities and an industrial heartland moving into an unknown future."Lead Artist Ellie Shipman
The commission is being delivered with the expertise and guidance of Contemporary Art Society *Consultancy who wrote the University’s strategy for public art at Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.
Opening in 2026, the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC) will be a thriving new facility for the University and city of Bristol. It will be an innovative, inclusive space for students, staff, industry and civic partners, bringing people together to co-create solutions to global challenges that impact our society. Many spaces have been designed in consultation with the community, and collaborative facilities will expand our collective potential for mutual learning and knowledge exchange. The new campus sits at the heart of the wider redevelopment of Bristol Temple Quarter, one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects.
Charting Change will build on the TQEC artist residencies of 2018-19, and a range of public commissions that have already taken place as part of the TQEC development. This is one of three major new public art commissions that the new campus will be home to, as the University of Bristol works towards the opening of TQEC in 2026.
"We are thrilled to be delivering the first commission in a really exciting programme of public art and cannot wait to see how Ellie and her collaborating artists activate the new public spaces of TQEC to encourage use by all audiences."Megan O’Shea, Senior Art Producer at CAS
"Charting Change is an opportunity for artists and local people to work with us to understand the rich histories of the Temple Quarter site, and to weave those stories into the fabric of the University’s presence in a new part of the city. It will help set the tone for a campus which will be a meeting point for expertise and experiences from across society."Tom Sperlinger, Academic Lead for Engagement at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus
Further Reading:
Ellie Shipman is a visual and participatory artist based in Bristol. Ellie studied BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, UAL (2008 – 11) and MSc Sustainable Development at UWE (2015 – 16).
Ellie is interested in what it is to be a womxn; the experience of birth and new m/otherhood as well as notions of community; sustainability and hidden or unacknowledged labour. These themes are explored, shared and reflected on through multimedia artworks using found objects, textiles, pattern, collage and installation. Works are often site specific, participatory or interactive – including people in research, process and product.
Ellie is the Lead Artist on Charting Change, a two-year public art commission for the University of Bristol consisting of a programme of workshops, events and temporary artworks with Programme Artist Jack Stiling and visiting artists. The process will inform her design of a large textile public artwork in the university’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus opening in 2026.
Through Charting Change Ellie is exploring how womxn have shaped the industrial history of Barton Hill, St Philips and The Dings, inviting the public to share their stories and take part.
