I learnt two new things about Bristol today:
1. Two legendary magazines, Viz and the Big Issue, were first printed in the city
2. The building where they were printed is now home to 150 artists
That building is BV Studios in Bedminster and we were there to meet Bristol artist Angie Kenber ahead of this weekend’s The Other Art Fair in which she’s talking part.
Working our way through the whitewashed corridors, I asked what the building used to be. It was then that Angie made the Viz revelation.
The magazine didn’t make it to Paris but with a framed image of Desperate Dan on our kitchen wall, I told Nina it was “a bit like the Dandy but much, much more sweary”.
Inside Angie’s perfectly formed little studio, we were immediately greeted by a wave of colour.
Her style is abstract but her love for Cornwall, St Ives in particular, is clear with lots of blues and yellows symbolising the coast and sea.
Angie has recently branched out into cushions but these are no cheap, mass produced products; the artwork looks like it has been individually painted on each one. We think these will go down particularly well at the fair.
Angie is also into a bit of upcycling and on the way to meet her I spotted on her blog a lovely side table she had rescued from a reclamation yard in East Devon.
I was delighted to see it in the studio. It’s called sweet shop and is inspired by childhood memories of boiled coloured sweets in large glass jars.
We were intrigued to hear about working in BV Studios. With so many people it must get pretty hectic, we thought.
But Angie said it’s a brilliant community and the perfect place for bouncing ideas off each other and it also has plenty of space for “being in your own head when you need to be”.
Angie’s enthusiasm and passion for her art is infectious and she recently went full time after several years of a combining a part time job teaching maths to 10 year olds.
Not the skill you usually associate with an artist but on the contrary, Angie said she loved using creativity to help kids struggling with their equations.
It’s clear though that she’s enjoying being able to dedicate all her work time to art. “I’m just going for it”, she told us as we said our goodbyes.
Angie will be among 80 artists selling their wares at the Other Art Fair but we think her super bright and happy pieces will stand out strong. Do pop along to see her and say Lifestyle District sent you 🙂
The Other Art Fair is at the Arnolfini in Bristol from 1-3 September.
