Could this be the early flowering of recession's end? Yet another art gallery has just opened for business in Bristol, adding a nail in the coffin of the City's "reputation", which was only partly earned through it being contrasted with the city-state of London.
The new gallery is right in the middle of Clifton Village, which in some ways is Bristol's equivalent to Hampstead Village. It's a small place, and the opening show reflects this - mostly small domestic-sized paintings and prints, in a fairly broad mix of styles and media. The gallery is called after its address: 11 Portland Street; not a bad piece of Bristol for a gallery. I hope it will be joined by others.
The second BPFF got off to a strong start at the Watershed Media Centre, with a large sold-out house showing Leila Sansour's '5 Broken Cameras'. (read the review here)The film, not only a joint Palestinian/israeli production but jointly funded by the protagonists too, was followed by a Q&A session with the director and guest Ken Loach. This tale focuses on the two-way pull artists who are political activists must deal with on some level, sooner or later, but never more viscerally than when the artist is behind a movie camera on the field of battle.
UPDATE: The '5 Broken Cameras' co-director, Imad Burnat, on his way to Hollywood where his film was up for the 'Best Documentary' award, was detained with his family at LA airport and had to call Michael Moore to help establish his credibility. Unfortunately, after the trauma, he didn't get the Oscar.http://journomania.net/culture/38-art-and-culture/806-imad-burnat-the-palestinian-director-of-the-5-broken-cameras-on-the-red-carpet.html
Could this be the early flowering of recession's end? Yet another art gallery has just opened for business in Bristol, adding a nail in the coffin of the City's "reputation", which was only partly earned through it being contrasted with the city-state of London.
