Bearpit Cube

An exercise in amplifying community voice in a city centre environment flooded with corporate messaging. Installed by PRSC in 2013, The Bearpit Cube was torn down by Bristol Waste in 2018.

Voice:change:voice


The QR code is a route from the real and physical to the World of the virtual.

The Cube in the heart of Bristol is about Voice: It is seen by all who pass through.

Where public space is continually eroded, the relative freedom of the Bearpit, which is hard-won, offers hope.

Fundamental system change must be our goal: new ways of thinking must come to the fore.

Do we want advertising in our parks? – January 2018

Bristol City Council asks Do we want advertising in our parks? PRSC Cube painting by object... Jan 2018 for Adblock Bristol

As if there weren’t enough billboard concerns now Bristol City Council have raised the possibility of billboards and signs in our parks and green spaces to make a bit of money to compensate for the cuts. Read more here.

 Protect Our NHS – December 2017

Protect our nhs bearpit cube december 2017 object000 end austerity

 

Bristol End Austerity March – September 2017

end austerity march bristol chomsky privatisation

 

Imagine a city free of corporate advertising – August 2017

See its sister mural on Gatton Road here. For more information on this topic, read about creating a city free of corporate outdoor advertising, and why our city is well placed to become an example of best practice.

 

Electoral Reform – July 2017

Call for democracy: electoral reform But not only the car-crash direction of the Tories needs to be addressed. Our current electoral system is fraught with inconsistencies and problems. You can only vote for one person per party. If you don’t like this person, you have to either vote for them anyway, or vote for another party; Tactical voting is useful to keep a party out, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect what you want and believe in. Without tactical voting, smaller parties would have done much better in Bristol and elsewhere; Seats in Parliament don’t match how we vote, because it doesn’t take into account the overall number of votes. In 2015 the Scottish SNP won just under half of the votes, but got 95% of the seats. For the 2017 election, this is particularly striking when you look at the votes compared to the seats from the DUP and the Green Party. With a total of 292,316 votes, the DUP gained 10 seats in Parliament, and got invited to govern alongside the Conservatives. Compare that to the Green Party, who gained a total of 525,435 votes and has one single seat in Parliament. This is so far off what people vote for and the reason is firmly rooted in the current ‘first past the post’ system, which allows a small party like the DUP to rise to power. This voting system means that we get governments we didn’t vote for. Our voting system urgently needs to be addressed if we want to call this democracy. Because everyone deserves to be heard, and this issue needs awareness. Check out the Electoral Reform Society for information, petitions and campaigns. Meanwhile our Cube on the Bearpit (photos below) raises these issues for passers-by. Go and have a look, and enjoy the sun!

Read more about electoral reform here.

 

NHS protest – February 2017

 

Resiste – October 2016

 

Read more about the Resiste exhibition from Asaro here.

 

QR code – April 2016


Artwork: Tom Sledmore, Final year Student UWE.