How can culture drive a city’s transformation? Bristol’s new toolkit shows the way

16 October 2025

Bristol is setting out an ambitious plan for putting culture and creativity at the centre of locally engaged placeshaping and regeneration. In collaboration with Bristol City Council, its partners and local communities, We Made That and Field Art Projects have developed a toolkit to facilitate this through public art and cultural activation in major regeneration areas in central Bristol across the next decade.

The Public Art and Cultural Activation Toolkit calls on developers, cultural organisations, artists and communities to collaborate in shaping the future of the city’s regeneration areas. By embedding creativity into change, this plan lays the foundation for inclusive growth, new opportunities and a vibrant city for generations to come.

Bristol is leading the way in demonstrating how culture can power regeneration. The Public Art and Cultural Activation Toolkit is a call to action to ‘transform Bristol’s City Centre and Frome Gateway neighbourhoods to be filled with public life and creative activity for everyone. Celebrating what’s already here, welcoming communities and visitors of the present and future, nurturing nature and growing skills and opportunities’.

It lays out an ambitious, collaborative ‘growth through culture’ approach bringing together developers, cultural organisations, artists and local stakeholders to deliver creative projects for positive change.

The toolkit sets out a clear approach for public art and cultural activity in Bristol, aligned with the city’s regeneration ambitions. It identifies opportunities shaped through local engagement, offers practical guidance for developers, and highlights ways cultural projects can bring social, environmental and economic value. By encouraging collaboration across partners and inspiring delivery on the ground, it seeks to place culture at the heart of growth and renewal.

Key features of the toolkit include:

Opportunities shaped by local voices: Ideas and priorities come from residents, artists and community groups through ongoing engagement, ensuring projects feel authentic and relevant.
Practical advice for developers: Clear guidance is provided on how cultural initiatives can be woven into regeneration projects, helping developers meet planning expectations while adding long-term value.
Ideas for immediate impact and long-term ambitions: The toolkit balances quick, visible cultural activations that energise spaces now, alongside more significant, lasting projects that evolve over time.
Encouragement of wider partnerships and co-investment: By promoting collaboration between the council, developers, funders and cultural organisations, the toolkit ensures cultural investment is well-coordinated and delivers citywide benefits for the decade ahead.

‘‘This Toolkit will enable us as a council to work collaboratively with developers and wider stakeholders to embed cultural heritage, local voices and creativity into new spaces and neighbourhoods that are not only resilient to climate challenges but also equitable, accessible, inspiring and rooted in the communities they serve.’’

Councillor Ani Townsend,
Co-Chair of the Bristol One City Culture Board

The toolkit includes smaller, quicker to achieve ideas alongside broader ambitions with the aim of encouraging wider strategic partnerships and co-investment in the future. Developers, strategic partners, local organisations, artists and creatives have informed the content of the toolkit and can get involved in projects.

Watch this space and catch up with us as we switch to delivery steps.

Access the toolkit here.

Image credits: Paul Blakemore, Camilla Adams