The sun shone down on South Bristol as we gathered to celebrate the arrival of Shaun C Badham’s travelling neon artwork at Knowle West Media Centre on Wednesday 3 June 2015.
I’M STAYING addresses ideas of place and change, permanence and transition. Viewers are invited to vote for its new location every three months. The project began life at the Arnolfini in May 2014. It then moved to the Bristol Folk House , then the Redgrave Theatre at Clifton College before it made its first journey south of the river and arrived in Knowle West.
The arrival of I’M STAYING coincided with the announcement that Eagle House Pop up Furniture Factory now has a permanent home in a business unit at Filwood Green Business Park. Visitors were able to have a closer look at the sustainable furniture that was made at the Factory, which was on display along with films of the production process.
Local young people from our Young People’s Programme provided the delicious food for the evening with some help from Steen the chef, and music from DJ Charlie Grier added to the celebratory mood.
Visitors arrived from all corners of Bristol, and even further afield. Some even took part in ‘Getting to KWMC: It’s better by bike’, a cycle trail that started at MShed and followed the Malago Greenway up to Knowle West.
Upon arrival visitors were invited to share their reasons for staying on the display which decorated the exterior of KWMC, and to vote for the next location of the artwork.
As the sun set over Leinster Avenue, KWMC director Carolyn Hassan explained the importance of the statement ‘I’m Staying’ as KWMC approaches its 20th year, still with Knowle West at the heart of everything we do. The previous hosts came from Redgrave Theatre to switch on the neon artwork in its new home, where it will stay until September 2015.
I’M STAYING is produced by Bristol Biennial in partnership with Blink Giant Media and sponsored by Nationwide Platforms, Badger Electrical, Simmons & Simmons and Jeremy Lewison Ltd.
