Water dances through Bristol.

The city was built on the confluence of rivers – where the Avon and the Frome meet and begin their rush towards the sea. Smaller streams flow through each neighbourhood, often unseen in channels hidden by concrete.

Bristol is a place of change, with new ideas washing in and through – often very fast.

In a city that is constantly evolving, how do we find a moment to pause and reflect on this place? How do we make a little space for listening, for dreaming? What are the stories we can tell each other of what it’s like to live here, or to have lived here, or to imagine living here in the future?

Confluence is a residency programme, that explores the evolving currents of the city.

Curated and produced by MAYK and commissioned by Ginkgo Projects, we embarked on this journey in late 2023 with four exceptional artists – Asmaa JamaVerity StandenTravis Alabanza, and Ryan Convery-Moroney – who developed new ideas reflecting on Bristol’s rich identity. Their work, spanning film, performance, photography, and installation, was showcased in a weekend event in early December. Myth-making met romance met counter-culture met shopping. Audiences were invited to experience Bristol through personal lenses and contribute to a collective vision of its future.

As Confluence continues to evolve through 2024 and 2025, a new wave of artists and thinkers will join the flow, uncovering fresh perspectives on the unseen and unheard in our changing city. At Mayfest 2024, children ran wild in urban forests, an arch made of ice challenged us to rethink the systems we depend on, and we opened a conversation about how art can help us navigate Bristol’s transformation.

We invite you to join us, both in person and online, as Confluence flows forward, shaping and responding to the future of our city.

Artists

More to be announced…

Sketchbook