Metal Works Artist Residency: A River’s Song, Liam Taylor-West
Artist(s): Liam Taylor-West
Dates: 2025
Partners: Bristol City Council, Windmill City Farm
Client: Watkin Jones plc
The River Malago runs quietly beneath the streets of Bedminster — often overlooked yet deeply rooted in the area’s history and ecology. From July to October 2025, composer Liam Taylor-West collaborated with the local community to bring the Malago to life in sound.
A River’s Song is a collaborative composition celebrating the stories, rhythms, and connections of the river. Created and performed with the people who live along its course, the piece brings together local singers, music-makers, and residents with a deep connection to the Malago.
A RIVER’S SONG SESSIONS
From cello and violin to clarinet, flute, piano, guitars, bass, percussion, voices, choir, and spoken word, the river’s sounds weare reimagined through a rich and varied ensemble. The results were shared in a series of public events that invited everyone to listen, take part, and experience the Malago in a new way.
RIVER WALKS
A River’s Song walks along Bedminster’s hidden river, listening while tracing the Malago’s presence through the city. These walks later inspired the A River’s Song audio walk, launched at the Art on the Hill Festival, Bedminster.
PUBLIC RECORDING SESSION
The first full performance of A River’s Song. The event included audience participation: a mass choir to help create unique ‘river wash’ sound effects that feature in the final recording.
Installation at the chapel
At Philip Street Chapel, an immersive installation of light and sound, where Taylor-West’s finished composition was presented alongside a new light artwork, created in collaboration with Bristol-based artist Zoe Broome.
PAST Events
Listening Exhibition
Thursday 2 and Friday 3 October, 5–8pm
Saturday 4 October, 12–6pm
Philip Street Chapel, Bedminster
Step inside an immersive installation of light and sound, where Taylor-West’s finished composition is presented alongside a new light artwork by Bristol-based artist Zoe Broome.
Audio Walk Experience
Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 October - launching at ‘Art on the Hill’ arts trail
Public Recording Session
Saturday 27 September, 2–4pm
Philip Street Chapel, Philip St., Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 4EA
The first full performance of A River’s Song, with audience participation: a mass choir helped to create unique ‘river wash’ sound effects that will feature in the final recording.
BBC News: Hidden river celebrated with immersive artwork
A hidden river which runs through South Bristol is being celebrated by the local community.
Bedminster residents came together to record the sounds of the river Malago for a piece of music created by composer Liam Taylor-West.
About THE RESIDENCY
Liam Taylor-West and Leeza Awojobi are the artists selected for new 8-month residencies at Metal Works, funded by Watkin Jones plc as part of the wider regeneration of Bedminster Green in south Bristol. These residencies are an invitation to think differently about public space — and to imagine new ways of living, making, and being together in the city. Located within a major new student housing development, Metal Works is a key site in Bedminster Green. The residencies are part of Futureweave — a long-term public art strategy developed by Ginkgo Projects in collaboration with local residents and city-based partners commissioned by Bristol City Council.
Stay Connected
Follow @ginkgoprojects and @LiamTaylorWest on social media, and sign-up Ginkgo Projects' newsletter to be the first to hear about upcoming activities and events.
Metal Works Artist Residency: Common Threads, Leeza Awojobi
Bristol-based restorative poet Leeza Awojobi is undertaking an eight-month artist residency exploring the evolving identity of Bedminster Green, as part of the area's wider regeneration.
Titled Common Threads, the project invites local residents and partners to reflect on what makes this part of Bristol unique — and what connects its diverse communities.