CITY REGENERATION PROJECT

Hamilton House

PhotoBook /The streets of Bristol Regeneration. A.Warlikowski (2014). London.

As I was walking down the streets of Bristol I loook at building with a painting of dancing Jesus on the side with some other pictures covered the entrance. Just outside front door was a big sign “Hamilton House” Marius told me that this place was created for all sorts of artists starting from painters, designers, writers, dancers, even actors. Not thinking twice I asked at the reception if I could talked to someone about it... I was offered a tour around the building with one of the project founder, Jamie Pike. He told me that the Hamilton House was neglected block of old office for years and in 2008 the owner decided to get together with a group of friends and create something creative for the community. The idea was to set up a place where the community could grow, share, collaborate, and learn what it is to live in coexistence with each other. They start of setting available spaces where self-employed artists and visionaries could get together and set up their businesses. It all started on a low budget and one space/room available at the time but slowly it turned into something big and amazing. Currently they host over 200 tenants. You can meet there painters, designers, illustrators, textile designers, environmental groups, charities, music agencies, festival organisers, radio stations, animators, film and music producers, community groups, social enterprises, upholsterers, weavers, costumiers, record labels, dance groups, alternative therapists, career advisors, consultants, architects, fashion and accessory designers, street artists, writers, puppeteers, jewelers, photographers, clown troupes and all sorts of arts and health activists. Each group/company/organisation/person has allocated place in the building. The Idea was to set a structure of the house in the image of a human body. At the bottom you have car park andbike project as a resemblance of legs as you move higher you have the canteen and community kitchen which supposed to be stomach of the building. The heart is all artistic departments and in the head of the building you have offices, meeting rooms as well as therapy rooms. On the roof you have garden as hairy part of the building.

It is an amazing place, which have extraordinary impact on the community and the city. The idea of turning an old grey building into something so creative opens many doors to move city into brighter and more colourful future.

Marius Kielczewski & Alexandra Lucas - Bristol Artists

Preparing material for the project, I spent the many weeks very actively, the most positive aspect of my work was a visit to Bristol where I met many nice people/artist and I visited interesting places associated with the development and regeneration of the city.

I photographed the districts, which do not have a good reputation, but considering the fact of artistic development in these regions of the cities they became very popular. Artists whom I met in Bristol told me that their main goal is adoption of uncultivated space by changing their destiny. Thanks to this in many neighbourhoods arise new clubs and associations; art shops and cafes, where everyone can take part in workshops acting or just learn the easy steps Charleston dance.

About all these changes that are happening in Bristol I found out from Marius and Alex, they agreed to give me an interview. Alex invited me to her shop and home, she told me about how she started her career, Alex was telling also about how important it is that the art was available for the whole society, – the visibility of art on the streets gives you the opportunity to reach out to the larger amount of people than in galleries. Marius turned out to be an excellent guide to the artistic network in Bristol, he told me how this city helped him get back to acting.

I talked with many other people, but I decided that Alex and Marius would be my main artists for the interviewed. Their stories are very different but have a common denominator -city of Bristol; I chose them because they are an example of how the city affects the development of artists who have a positive impact on the regeneration of the city.