Broad Meadow
A wildflower installation and audio experience by artists Sylvia Rimat and Charli Clark.
Imagine a colourful, tranquil wildflower meadow amidst the hustle and bustle of Bristol’s built-up shopping centre, Broadmead. With their new project Broad Meadow, artists Sylvia Rimat and Charli Clark have been growing that very place.
Passers-by could smell the sweet scent of flowers, hear the buzz of wings and immerse themselves in the lost nature of Bristol city centre. Audiences were invited to take a seat and relax in a wildflower meadow installation that gave them a taste of what life used to be like in Broadmead.
Whilst soaking up the plants and wildlife around them, audiences were able to access an audio piece via their smartphone that told of our intertwined relationship with the plant world. It connected them to Bristol prior to the 1400s, when Broadmead was a wet meadow, regularly flooded by the river Frome. The wildflower installation’s growing conditions and plant species were carefully chosen to mimic the meadow that once may have existed there.
The installation was made up of 55 wildflower boxes that had been planted in 12 workshops with secondary school students across Bristol and with community groups at Knowle West Media Centre. After the project ended, the boxes were distributed to Bristol schools and communities to continue to thrive as mini meadows.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players and Broadmead BID. Further support from Frances and Matthew Lindsey-Clark, Pervasive Media Studio, Mayfest, Knowle West Media Centre, Ashton Scaffolding Services Ltd, Bristol WORKS and Residence.
Photo credit: Paul Blakemore
