Bristol Radical History Festival, Saturday 22 April 2023, 10:00am to 4:30pm at the M Shed
We have a full programme, which is again based on two main themes: Radical Bristol and the Visual Arts and Bristol Trade Union History Then and Now
This theme explores radical visual artists in Bristol over two centuries. Hazel Gower and Leigh Thomas will discuss Romantic-era painters Rolinda and Ellen Sharples, influential not just for their art, but as founders of Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy (RWA). There will be a talk a speech from designer and political philosopher William Morris, who lectured at the Bristol Museum and Library in 1885. Marie Mulvey-Roberts, co-curator of a highly successful exhibition on Angela Carter and visual art at the RWA will discuss the delights and challenges of curating works reflecting the visual imagination of one of the most important writers of the twentieth century. Members of the Monica Sjöö Curatorial Collective will discuss the relationship between the art and the radical activism of long-term Clifton resident, Monica Sjöö, while Stephen Lisney will consider the modernist work of the feminist-socialist painter, Doris Hatt.
This trade union theme will aim to provide a historical context for the recent burst of trade union activity in Bristol and throughout the U.K. Ralph Darlington, Mike Richardson and Bob Whitfield will focus on trade union disputes in the past and Sheila Caffrey, President of the Bristol Trades Union Council in its centenary year, and Dave Chapple will be bringing the story up to date. Silu Pascoe will be speaking on the ‘Bristol Bus Boycott: Race, Unions and Civil Rights’ and there will also be a screening of ‘100 Years of Struggle’, a film made by BBC Bristol to mark the Council’s centenary.
Its not just talks…
The exhibitions of photos, flyers and posters will include:
Facing up to the Fascists: Confronting the National Front in Bristol in the 1970s
The Anti-Apartheid Movement in Bristol
Visual mapping project – Women’s threads of Bristol
Red Notes will sing
There will be history walks, performance and lots of stalls with books and merchandise from local and national groups.
As always, the festival is a free event with no booking required.
You can download and print a Bristol Radical History Festival flyer (pdf file) or A4 Poster (jpg), featuring Walter Crane’s “Garland for May Day, 1895” and a schedule of the day.
For further information visit: