Blog

A farewell to Unlocking Our Sound Heritage

by the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage team The Unlocking Our Sound Heritage (UOSH) team started at Bristol Archives in October 2018. They’ve weathered fun technical issues and a pandemic, but they look back now, in their final week, on what they’ve ac…

A brush with theatrical fame for Bristol Archives

by Harriet Wilson, Bristol Old Vic Heritage Engagement Officer, and Anne Lovejoy, Senior Archivist at Bristol Archives Historical medical records shared top billing* with Mark Rylance recently in the world premiere of Dr Semmelweis at Bristol Old Vic. …

Decolonising Language

by Ray Barnett, head of collections and archives In our efforts to address decolonisation, one major piece of work is around our use of language. In everyday speech, many people are now more aware of terms that may be offensive to different com…

Tony’s drawing by William James Müller

by Martha Robbins, Development Officer On 14 February, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery welcomed friends of the late Tony Merriman for a celebratory tea party. Last year Tony’s wife, Anne launched a fundraiser to acquire a drawing by William Jam…

Welcoming the Year of the Tiger – in real life!

by Karen Garvey, events officer and Chatchamon Phoojaroenchanachai, volunteer and student at the University of Bristol Lunar New Year (also called Chinese New Year or Spring Festival) is traditionally a time for family, reunions and fresh hope. This was…

Schools invited to add Bristol Pound ‘fish’ to public art installation

by Bristol printmaker Mary Collett “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realise that we cannot eat money.” — Native American saying These words are the inspiration behind a new art p…

The story of Saint Blaise

by Kate Iles, curator of archaeology The Blaise Estate is named after Saint Blaise and today (3 February) is his feast day. Saint Blaise was the Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia (modern Turkey) around 1,700 years ago. There are many versions of his life but…

Next steps in our repatriation journeys…

by Lisa Graves, curator of World Cultures Updated April 2023. The good news is we have been able to return the Cree coat to Canada. We first told you about this in early 2020 but on 13 October 2021 it finally left Bristol on its journey home. Read more…

Ho ho ho! Could you add to our Christmas collections?

by Amber Druce, curator of history Happy Christmas! Did you know… one of the most popular carols was first sung in Bristol, at the New Room in Broadmead? Hark! the Herald Angels Sing was written by Charles Wesley and published in 1739. Between…

Funding for creative projects and events

by Lizzie How, Arts Development Officer The Cultural Investment Programme is how Bristol City Council distributes public money to support arts and culture across the city. Our grants help support a wide range of organisations and activities; from larg…