Sarah GinnA new venue has opened its doors in Bristol, promising a space for local artists and big touring acts alike.
As work is still ongoing for Bristol’s arena, the Prospect Building in St Phillips hopes to draw in big names with its capacity for nearly 5,000 people.
While other venues are forced to shut due to high costs, the team behind Prospect say it is more important than ever to support culture in Bristol.
Will Harold, director of AMAAD, who operate the venue, said: “It’s a time of crisis for culture. We want to bring people together and celebrate culture.”
The Prospect Building officially opened its doors on 28 September.
The opening night showcased Overmono’s ‘Pure Devotion’ tour, with performances spanning house, drum & bass and techno, in partnership with local promoters Team Love.
Located at 45 Feeder Road in St. Philips, it spans 25,000 sq. ft..
Mr Harold added: “We’ll start off with electronic music, next year we’ll have live shows too.
“Music is a key part of what we do but we’ll also have family days, food events – it’s going to be a cultural hub.
“Venues are closing, it’s a challenge. We are trying a new way to approach it by doing different things in one place.”
He said while it is the same building that used to be Propyard, it is now bigger and will feature a wider range of events.
“We’ll be a platform for artists in Bristol. We’ll also work with visual artists in Bristol.
“Supporting culture at the moment is critical,” Mr Harold said.
Sarah GinnThe opening of the new venue comes as the developers of Bristol Arena are yet to set a date for when building work will begin.
It means YTL Arena Bristol will not be staging concerts until 2027 at the earliest.
Mr Harold said the Prospect Building would have a “different atmosphere” to an arena.
“Bristol has missed out on bigger touring acts in the past. This space is more versatile – and can host emerging artists as well as bigger acts,” he added.
He added that instead of constructing a new building or gentrifying the area, they decided to utilise the space they found.
“Bristol is awash with gentrification,” Mr Harold added. “We don’t want to lose sight of using spaces for cultural uses.
“We leaned into the architecture of the space.”
The venue’s launch kicks off a music series featuring Bonobo, Andy C, Joy Orbison, HAAI and Dax J.