A new billboard has been painted in St Werburgh’s calling on Bristol City Council to end aeronautical advertising in the city.
The mural, which features a bright orange traffic light in the background and two boarding passes in the foreground, reads ‘Bristol Airport is big enough’ and ‘Stop the adverts fueling the climate crisis’ .
The billboard was designed by Soofiya (@SoofiyaC), a designer and illustrator, who has also worked with the magazine and zine, gal-dem.
The volunteer-led group Adblock Bristol, owners of the Community Arts Notice Board on Mina Road in St Werburgh, are behind the new notice board.
The painting began on the billboard at 2 p.m. on Thursday, September 16 and ended at 7 p.m. the same day.
Adblock Bristol is calling on Bristol City Council to ban advertising for high carbon products such as airlines, airports, petrol and diesel cars and fossil fuel companies.
After publishing an open letter to the council on the morning of Wednesday September 14, volunteers came together to paint by numbers on the public notice board during a week of action against the airline and publicity which began Saturday, September 10 and ends Saturday, September 17.
Activists hope that giving away brushes and paint cans to the public will increase community engagement and allow for more discussion and debate around the issue of aviation advertising and fossil fuels.
Adblock Bristol is also keen to celebrate activism through local artists and practitioners to highlight the connection between the two forms.
Adblock Bristol joins organizations across the UK and overseas, in cities such as Norwich and Lambeth, to mark an international week of action against high carbon advertising.
Previous paintings in the same location include a ‘Not enough trees’ billboard and a billboard highlighting Barclays’ investment in fossil fuels, with the words ‘Betting on our future extinction’.
Main photo: Mia Vines Kiosk
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