The Old Firestation – Bridewell Island – The Island – Whatever you call it, the red windowed beauty of a building on Silver Street in the very heart of town has truly come to life over the past 20-odd months and has provided Bristol with more alternative culture and nights to remember than we could have ever dreamt of.

In the summer of 2008, the fabulous arts initiative that are Artspace Lifespace took over its labyrinth of rooms and the dramatic courtyard. They have travelled across Bristol for years now, inhabiting disused buildings and breathing new life into them, regenerating and reviving through culture and their ability to throw a damn good party and these days, Bridewell Island is always the first port of call when looking for something inspirational and fun to do with your spare evening. Since they took over, we’ve been spoilt with everything that’s gone on there and now we thought it would be a good a time as any to relive some of those moments and look back at nearly 2 years of Artspace Lifespace at Bridewell Island. Long may it continue!

The driving force behind many of Artspace Lifespace’s ambitious projects has been The Invisible Circus and during their time at Bridewell Island they have brought us:
Carny-Ville (Sept 08 & May 09): An anarchic circus and pantomime of degradation and delight.
The Day of The Dead Ball (Nov 09): A masked ball of Latino skulls, with music, dancing and puppetry to match.
The Heavy Metal Acid Panto (Dec 09): Their own twisted take on the Christmas pantomime with leather jackets, mullets and a struggle between good and evil.
The St Valentine’s Day Massaquerade (Feb 10): Their very own shotgun wedding; a night of heart-breaking, soul-shaking and rip-roaring circus, theatre and spectacle.

Also, having been truly reborn as a community arts space, in between The Invisible Circus’ antics, Bridewell Island has brought us:
Of All The People In All The World (May 09): A fascinating performance/art instillation as part of Mayfest, Bristol’s festival of contemporary theatre.
UpFest (June 09): It was just one of the many venues full of graffiti artists and fans for the Urban Paint Festival.
Micro Raves (Throughout 09): A fantastic club night based around a computer game where you can “level-up” and have dance-offs with end-of-level boses.
Bristol Design Festival (June 09): Here was the main venue for the week-long festival, hosting multiple events, exhibits and the entrants of the GrafIkea competition.
Circus 2 Gaza (Nov 09): Another circus and music filled party with all the money made going to charity.
The Skins House Parties (Feb 10): A series of club night’s and gigs jammed with local talent to promote the new series of Bristol’s famous, tearaway teen telly programme.

The building won’t remain in this capacity for ever (there’s currently talk of it being developed into a youth centre and thankfully not another eye-rolling apartment complex) but do not fear, that is the magic that Artspace Lifespace spread; it’s never meant to be permanent. Just as they did with the car showroom on Cheltenham Road, the Pro-Cathedral in Clifton, Horfield Police Station and now Bridewell Island, they will move on, find another disused building and completely revive and reinvent it, throwing in some fantastic parties as they do.

www.artspacelifespace.com

www.invisiblecircus.co.uk

Sophie Collard and Matthew Whittle www.matthewwhittleblog.blogspot.com