Art / Wild Place Project
New murals tell conservation story of zoo
The team behind international street art festival Upfest has created a set of murals at a Wild Place Project.
Aspire, Bex Glover, Cheo, Felix Braun, The Hass, Sian Storey, Silent Hobo and Sophie Long have been commissioned to create artworks which reflect Bristol Zoological Society’s global conservation work.
This ranges from saving endangered lemur leaf frogs in Costa Rica and western lowland gorillas in Equatorial Guinea to white-clawed crayfish in UK rivers.
The eight murals look ahead to the future of the new and upcoming Wild Place Project at Cribbs Causeway, which will be called Bristol Zoo Project.
Justin Morris, chief executive of the society said he was “over the moon” to be partnering with Upfest.
Morris said: “Street art is such a huge part of Bristol and we couldn’t be more excited to bring in incredible street artists to create bespoke artworks showcasing the vital work we do to protect endangered species and animal habitats around the world.”
On Saturday and Sunday, visitors to the wildlife conservation park watched artists create the artworks in the park’s Tower Meadow in a live painting session.
Upfest co-founder Stephen Hayles added: “This is a brilliant project and we can’t wait to bring a splash of colour to this amazing organisation. It’s great to be working with Wild Place Project and highlighting all the conservation work they do through art and for visitors to see the installations be created with the live paint takeover.”
The attraction off the M5 is collaborating with Upfest to host SpringFest over the May half-term week.
Equatorial Guinea by Aspire – photo: Bristol Zoological Society
Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project by Sophie Long – photo: Bristol Zoological Society
Main photo of A Zoo of the Future by Sian Storey: Bristol Zoological Society
Read next:
- Upfest 2023 cancelled amid ‘rising costs’
- Controversial plans for almost 200 homes at former Bristol Zoo site approved
- ‘Bristol Zoo scheme will be a showcase development for a long time to come’
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