Bohemian Bristol

'Little Red Riding Hood' illustration by Valentina Cavallini.

Montpelier Art Trail 2010 is taking the living rooms, cafes, pubs, streets and other spaces of the Montpelier area and turning them into galleries, exhibition spaces and theatres for one weekend on the 24th and 25th April. The weekend will feature a diverse range of arts, crafts, performances and workshops, set within one walkable area.

Bristol Art Fringe aims to build on the success of last year’s event to establish this Trail as a must-see Bristol event. It is completely grass-roots, having grown out of a desire to provide local artists with a platform to exhibit unconstrained by elitism.

The 2009 event attracted over a thousand visitors into Montpelier, giving several local businesses their best weekend’s trading on record, and opening up Bristol’s own bohemian quarter to the general public.

BAF Chair, Ani Stafford-Townsend, said, “it was fantastic to have this event in an area renowned for it’s creativity. We’re looking forward to even more local artists and creatives joining in with us this year”

Local resident Sarah said, ”I think it was a fantastic way not only to get to know the more secret and intriguing artwork going on in my area, but also to bump into old friends and meet locals in a relaxed and social context. There was a real village fair atmosphere. I was particularly pleased that there seemed to be all ages, sorts and conditions of participants”

Our very own bohemian quater illustrator Valentina Cavallini is one of the exhibiting artists.

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