Art / News
Artists paint along the luckiest street in Southville
It was hard to miss the smell of spray paint on Lucky Lane in Southville on Saturday afternoon.
Dozens of female and non-binary artists descended to paint and spray designs on walls and shutters across the thoroughfare which is often used by residents as a shortcut to the local Asda.
The artists were there as part of Lucky Lane Paint Fest, a day-long paint festival hosted by the Bristol Mural Collective (BMC), a women-led street art collective.
“The magic of BMC is that it provides a way for artists to be creative and not be constrained by anything,” Amy McHugh, a BMC member and one of the Paint Fest co-organisers, explained.
Bristol Mural Collective is a women-led street art collective
Work for the festival began in July, when BMC members started knocking on doors and asking residents for permission to paint on their property.
“We decided to take over Lucky Lane just to show it some love, brighten it up and make it a fun and arty space for everyone to enjoy,” Nina Raines, the other event organiser, explained.
“This place gets a lot of foot traffic,” Amy added. “Life is hard enough. We wanted to bring some brightness to the space.”
Bristol Mural Collective strive to empower women and non-binary painters through paint jams and workshops
As well as bringing brightness, the event also acted as a fundraiser, with passers-by encouraged to donate to help BMC members cover costs for paint and materials.
“The magic of BMC is that it provides a way for artists to be creative and not be constrained by anything,” Amy said. “So, this event is a way of connecting with others in BMC but also connecting BMC with the community.”
All of the art painted during the festival responded to the theme of luck in some way.
Many artists drew animals, including cats, dogs and magpies.
Amy, with the support of two other artists, painted one of the biggest murals. They said: “My response to the theme of luck was, what if I don’t feel lucky?”
“A lot of my art is about mental health…when you’re depressed, the idea of, ‘you should feel lucky to be alive’, is really hard.
“I wanted to paint something that I would prefer to hear instead. Essentially, it’s: ‘I’m sorry life is tough. It’s ok not to feel ok. Things will always change. Have some love from me to get through the day.”
All photos: Rob Browne
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