Where to find street art and graffiti in Bristol

When thinking about the best places to see street art and graffiti, Bristol is the sort of place that comes high on the list. For many, it is the undisputed capital of street art and graffiti in the UK. To be fair there are few other places with as much of a connection to the scene as this city.

In places the scene is raw and uncurated though it is all around. In others, some of the best organised art in the country. Bristol is the home of Upfest. Europe’s biggest street art festival, whilst also being considered by many to be the birthplace of the UK’s graffiti scene.

st pauls bristol — This piece from Zase Design from 2016 was in the north of the city on Franklyn Street in the border area between St.Paul’s and St.Werburgh’s.

Street Art in Bristol

Banksy and Bristol
The City Centre
St. Werburgh's
St Pauls
Stokes Croft
Bedminster

Banksy and Bristol

Banksy made his name in Bristol, before going to London, painting edgy stencils and becoming all lonesome. Back in the day he was a grafter with the best of them and he started in that city. Evolving from letters and cartoons. Nowadays the likes of Inkie, Sepr and SPzero76 all continue the legacy. Their works are those amongst many which cover the walls of the city today.

And the graffiti is all around from the north in St. Paul’s and St. Werburgh’s through the city around the area of Nelson Street. Then into the south around Bedminster and North Street where Upfest is focused.

So for this post I thought I’d pick out some of the key spots to see street art and graffiti in the city of Bristol. There are still a few Banksy’s knocking about. But that’s not what Bristol is about anymore. There’s a lot more to see just make sure you give yourself enough time to see it. Incidentally if you want to see more Banksy murals from around the UK have a look here.

Bristol Street Art and Graffiti

The City Centre

In the centre of the city, the area around Nelson Street has some impressive large scale murals from some of the best known artists around. The likes of Conor Harrington, Aryz, Stik, Pixel Pancho, Nick Walker and El Mac can all be seen in a relatively small area. A lot of the works were created as part of the ‘See No Evil‘ festival hosted in 2012 and are survivors from that time.

Close by there are also a few pieces to be seen by heading up to College Green. There, Banksy’s famous ‘Hanging Man’ still survives in a pretty prominent location. Then a little bit further down on the quayside a piece by Inkie covers the place once occupied by Banksy’s ‘Grim Reaper’ on the Thekla boat. That’s best seen from over the river but is moored on ‘The Grove’ on East Mud Dock.

Decorated archways in the old city gate from Andy Council

El Mac mother and child on Nelson Street

Works from Aryz and Stik on Nelson Street

Nick Walker’s bowler hatted man pouring paint on Nelson Street. The paint turns into wispy lines painted by Sheone.

pixel pancho bristol — Pixel Pancho on Nelson Street

hanging man banksy bristol hill street — Banksy’s Hanging Man on College Green

inkie bristol thekla — Inkie piece on the Thekla social boat

St. Werburgh’s

To the north east of the city the area around St. Werburgh’s and St. Paul’s has more of an urban feel to it. Much more graffiti than street art in this part of Bristol. There are some murals but most of the work around here is more akin to graffiti than anything else. The Eaton Way flyover for example as it crosses the M32 has numerous underpasses all of which are covered.

There are other spots too though, the area around St. Werburgh’s city farm reveals a mixture of works with the Farm pub in particular being a good place to visit painted head to toe as it is in farmyard related art and then having pieces from the likes of Rowdy and SPzero76 in the garden.

The Duke of York pub on Conduit Place is another painted building although at the time of my visit most of the works were covered in scaffolding. Nearby the area around Mina Road and Mina Road park has a number of murals dotted around.

st pauls bristol 'welcome to bristol' — Welcome to bristol overlooking the M32 motorway

dones bristol st werburgh — Dones work on Brook Street

spzero76 st werburgh farm — SPzero76 work at The Farm pub on Hopetoun Road next to St. Werburgh’s city farm

rowdy farm st werburgh — Painted rock from Rowdy next to the painted Farm pub in St. Werburgh’s

St Pauls

To the North East of the city, St Pauls has always been at the heart of Bristol’s graffiti scene. For years the area had been one of the most deprived in the city. After the war St Pauls saw a lot of immigration and over the years was the location of conflicts centered around issues race and poverty.

Graffiti in St Pauls has it’s roots in this shared environment and the lack of opportunity given to people living in the area. At it’s heart it’s always been a means of giving a voice to those who had none.

Now, although there is still a lot of graffiti, much of the street art has been curated as part of community projects. The junction of Little Bishop Street and Wilder Street boasts of number of pieces as does the area around St Pauls Learning Centre. Dotted around the area are also murals known as the ‘Seven Saints of St Pauls’. These are a series of works dedicated to black Bristolians who have contributed to the social fabric of the area.

A mural from Silent Hobo on the junction of Wilder Street and Little Bishop Street

Large scale mural from Hazard One on Wilder Street

Mural from Inkie on the corner of William Street and City Road. It celebrates 50 years of the St Pauls Carnival

One of the Seven Saints of St Pauls. This mural shows Dolores Campbell and can be found on Campbell Street

Stokes Croft

The street known as Stokes Croft leads into the city centre from the north. The area of particular note is from where it becomes Cheltenham Road into the roundabout known as the Bearpit.

This is also quite a student area with again a mixture of mural based works and graffiti. Banksy’s famous ‘Mild Mild West’ piece is here on the side of Hamilton House. It depicts a teddy bear throwing a petrol bomb at three riot policemen. It sits just across from Cosmo Sarson’s breakdancing Jesus and just round the corner from impressive works from Phlegm and Stinkfish.

The stretch of road itself isn’t long but there are plenty of side streets so if you ever do go make sure you take enough time to wander round those. The Bearpit right at the end is a roundabout underpass system with a lot of graffiti which has become a bit of a makeshift skateboard hangout. It’s worth walking through at least.

burning candy crew stokes croft bristol — Old work from the Burning Candy Crew on Stokes Croft near the Cheltenham Road end

mild mild west banksy stokes croft — Banksy’s famous Mild Mild West on Hamilton House

cosmo sarson stokes croft — Cosmo Sarson’s breakdancing Jesus was a famous image once found on Hamilton House

Jen Reid mural replaced the breakdancing Jesus in 2021. This image is courtesy of Street Art Atlas

sepr stokes croft — Popular Bristol artist Sepr has a number of pieces in the area

phlegm stokes croft — This piece from Phlegm can be seen on Hillgrove Street

stokes croft stinkfish — Stinkfish on Stokes Croft

clandestinos stokes croft bristol — The road running parellel to Stokes Croft, Wilder Street also has a number of works such as this one from Clandestinos

stokes croft bristol — Old warehouses covered with graffiti on Backfields Lane

Bedminster

The home of Upfest, Europe’s biggest street art festival. The event has only grown in popularity and it attracts artists and art lovers from all around. The event is centered around North Street with murals along it’s length. In the surrounding areas, East Street, West Street, Ashton Gate and Chessel Street all also boast impressive street art.

For the street art calendar visiting Bedminster around the time of Upfest is a unique experience. In between times, the permanent murals are there for all to see. Unlike in other parts of Bristol however they do tend to be rotated a lot. Given the demand for space even the very best murals might find themselves getting painted over.

my dog sighs north street bristol — My Dog Sighs piece a the beginning of North Street at it’s southern end

The Six Sisters Murals on North Street in Bedminster. They were completed in 2021 and you can read more about them here.

Mural of a Kingfisher created by Aspire on North Street in 2021

The Tobacco Factory wall on North Street is a major location for set piece walls. This from Insane51 was created in 2021

On the streets leading off from North Street, art can be seen. This on Exeter Road is from Caryn Koh and was created in 2021

For other posts similar to this looking at the street art of Sheffield, Manchester, Brighton, London, Brick Lane, Shoreditch and Cheltenham click on the links.