Sustainability creativity hub opens within former M&S
Pulling a net full of plastic behind them, a deep sea diver wearing a metal diving helmet walked through Sparks as if they were midway through an underwater exploration.
For landlubbers exploring above ground, a meander without the need for a diving helmet was just as exhilarating and also didn’t lead to accidentally taking an orange octopus home with you.
For anyone who has been to anything associated with the Invisible Circus, some of the surreal goings-on in Sparks such as this diver from Feel Younger Entertainment are both surreal and also comfortingly familiar.
Within the former Marks & Spencers – which had been in Broadmead for more than 70 years before closing in January 2022 – Sparks is described as “a hub of sustainability, creativity and education”.
The space has been co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace, and designed by Invisible Circus to be “a vibrant, positive venue where visitors can explore what a greener, fairer and more creative future looks like”.
Where there used to be aisles containing Percy Pig sweets, sensible shoes and blouses there are now departments of discovery, nature and more.
There is food and drink from Mila, preloved and reworked clothing from the Sustainable Fashion Week team, and even a bus to drive – close to a model of a tram built in 1906 where you could imagine what public transport in Bristol could have looked like.
Open from Wednesday to Sunday, Sparks is far from being the finished article. Look up the stairs and see a sign for the department of imagination. The exploring has only just begun.
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I’m a diversity consultant and a design and communications consultant. I help people and organisations develop vision, communicate and deliver cultural change.