wild spaces – public art at the university of bristol

The Wild Spaces commission is an exciting opportunity for an artist to work with communities, researchers and partner organisations to deliver a participatory programme and temporary artworks that investigate the natural ecologies around the site of the new University of Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC), next to Bristol Temple Meads Station.

The Brief

Wild Spaces is an eighteen-month commission that will take place alongside the construction of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, which is due for completion in 2026. It will focus on the importance of ecology at the campus and across Bristol, using TQEC’s access to the waterfront as a platform for examining the bigger picture of ecologies and wild spaces across the city.

We are looking for an artist who will find imaginative ways to create a dialogue between the communities and the ecology of the site, providing new perspectives on the site’s relationship with water and the natural landscape. This artist will explore the waterfront of the Enterprise Campus in collaboration with local communities – partner organisations, residents, academics, students, businesses, and visitors. Through research and participatory events, the artist will develop a programme of enquiry to understand the area’s natural landscape and the relationship between people and place. The artist, together with communities, will create temporary interventions that vividly animate themes of ecology and share this very special aspect of the site with wider audiences.

Process and Temporary Interventions

Considering the relationship between people and nature will inform the temporary interventions. The process could create or utilise temporary environments for learning about habitats and areas of ecological interest, or possibly take the form of discovery trails, audio, digital or outdoor exhibitions. Interventions or activities could highlight and draw attention to the biodiversity around the future campus and the natural ecologies and wild spaces around the city.

During a period of research and development, the artist will work closely with delivery teams to identify suitable partners, opportunities, sites or applications for the interventions or the outcomes. It will be important to consider the sustainability of activities or temporary interventions – both in terms of materials that minimise extraction and future maintenance or degradation of artworks.

Opportunities and Support

The artist will be supported in their process by a project team: the University of Bristol Public Art Coordinator and the Contemporary Art Society *Consultancy, who manage the University's public art programme. It is also expected that the artist will work with Cabot Institute for the Environment.

The artist will be supported to make connections and collaborate with:

• University researchers from relevant disciplinary backgrounds
• Community organisations and networks engaged with environmental concerns in the local and wider context
• Local communities who may be potential future users of the TQEC