Ginkgo Projects is a public art producer that connects artists with local communities. For the next 8 months, two artists will be working in our own Bedminster, resulting in two pieces of public art.
We are delighted to announce that Liam Taylor-West and Leeza Awojobi have been selected artists for two new 8-month residencies at Metal Works, funded by Watkin Jones plc as part of the wider regeneration of Bedminster Green in south Bristol.
These residencies are an invitation to think differently about public space — and to imagine new ways of living, making, and being together in the city.
Located within a major new student housing development, Metal Works is a key site in Bedminster Green. The residencies are part of Futureweave — a long-term public art strategy developed by Ginkgo Projects in collaboration with local residents and city-based partners commissioned by Bristol City Council.
Leeza Awojobi
Residency: Common Threads
Common Threads invites a deeper look at the evolving dynamics and diverse cultures that define Bedminster Green and to explore partnership working with Windmill City Farm and other local organisations.
Leeza Awojobi is a Bristol-based restorative poet who writes to explore what it means to be human and understand across differences. A keen learner of culture and theology, she gets excited when she sees threads extend within and across both. She started her professional journey with the Creative Youth Network who commissioned her debut piece, A Meal Around Bristol and in 2021, was awarded £10,000 from Arts Council England to explore poetry and materials. She’s interested in what makes us tick, especially how our different perspectives affect the way we problem solve and interact with our surroundings.
With her community mediation training, she uses her skills to facilitate well-crafted gatherings which get people creatively engaged and eagerly talking about what’s most important to them. She is currently Poet-in-Residence at Bridges for Communities, where she performs at their Peace Feasts and engages their Listening Spaces.
Liam Taylor-West
Residency: A River’s Path
This residency focuses on the green and blue spaces that flow through and around Bedminster Green, exploring natural ecologies, local histories, and social relationships with the landscape.
Liam Taylor-West is a composer and audiovisual artist who works primarily with live musicians and new technology. His compositions and artworks are built around the resulting behaviour of large numbers of active elements, often featuring audience interaction and random events.
Liam is interested in colour, light, rhythm and movement. In 2018, Liam received the Ivors Composer Award in the Community or Educational Project category for The Umbrella, performed by the National Open Youth Orchestra. He holds a doctoral degree in composition from the Royal College of Music, in London, and has worked with several orchestras including regular collaborations with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Liam is an advocate of the use of creative technology in composition and performance, and is a Resident at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol.
We look forward to sharing more about Liam and Leeza’s work as their residencies unfold.
