News / Arts
32-mile Bristol art project marks city
A 32-mile long artwork, the largest ever commissioned in the UK, will be created over the next two weeks to highlight areas of Bristol at risk of flooding.
Starting yesterday, volunteers hope to be joined by residents to draw the chalk line around the city, marking where major floods could extend to.
As well as providing a practical, visible warning, the artwork also aims to help bring communities together, said Hotwell organiser Anna Wilson.
“We use the chalk-marker as a talking point and a way to connect people across 32 miles of the line. When I mark the line, my neighbours approach me to ask what I’m doing and this starts a conversation,” she said.
HighWaterLine Bristol has been created as part of the global series of HighWaterLine projects, originally created by artist Eve Mosher.
The project uses visual art to publicly demarcate what will be flooded or underwater due to accelerated climate change, and began in New York in 2007. Bristol will be the first UK city to host the event.
Local organiser Isobel Tarr said: “We know that communities come together after a disaster. We want to see if we can do that before a disaster. We are learning more as we chalk the line each day, from the conversations we have in the street.”
For more information, and to get involved, visit: http://bristol.highwaterline.org/
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
