Stokes Croft is an iconic place within the heart of Bristol. It has a troubled past but in these years it is the home for hundreds of artists, musicians, dancers, writers and all sort of creative people. Since the gentrification started some years ago, like in other big cities, it is changing rapidly.
The creative scene settled in this area not far from the city center, after the WWII, and still lives today but facing many challenges. You can see derelict housing and squatters, homeless people and artists, musicians, street art on the walls and alternative clubbing places. And some new restaurants and shops which will take over the old places.
Yeah, it looks a bit dodgy.But once you have been there, you will love it. The whole place has an atmosphere. The creative energy is in the air. A bit like Christiania in Coppenhagen.
Here you can find the iconic Banksy mural, Mild mild West from the 1990's. It was renovated some times already but it is an iconic landscape of Bristol and Stokes Croft.
In the last two years developers started to invest into this part of the city and slowly changing the landscape. Now you can see new restaurants, shops but these mean higher prices for sure. The iconic Hamilton House, the center of arts and 200 community projects, is in trouble.
Change will make artists to move somewhere else and I think within ten years the old Stokes Croft will be gone. Maybe it all started in 2011 when the first Tesco opened and locals were protesting against it for weeks and the graffiti still can be seen
Think local, No Tesco
It is a place of tolerance and creative minds.
I haven't made photos of the new places, I am not used to them yet. They are posh, trying to be cool.
Visit this lovely artistic district, while you can!!!
I will show you more about Bristol and street art in this city, so follow me!
