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Bristol's 'Six Sisters' to be UK's largest female-led street art project

Upfest Bristol female street artist EjitsUpfest
Bristol street artist Ejits will paint one of the final two murals

A row of street murals is to be extended to become the largest street art project in the UK designed and created by women.

The 'Six Sisters' project, painted on shops in Bedminster, Bristol, is to be completed with two final artworks.

Local artists Lucas Antics and Ejits will create the pieces, which will be finished to mark the reopening of shops in April.

The idea has been inspired by the famous Painted Ladies of San Francisco.

The Six Sisters is a partnership between Upfest, Europe's largest street art festival based in Bedminster, and the local Business Improvement District (BID).

Work on the last two murals will start in late March, and be completed in April, ready for the reopening of non-essential shops and hairdressers.

Ejits work is inspired by American animation and Japanese character design, while Lucas Antics' graphic novel-style work is a familiar sight in other parts of the city such as Stokes Croft and Montpelier.

Upfest Bristol street artist Ejit's on North Street in BedminsterUpfest
Bristol street artist Ejit's will paint one of the two final murals which will create a row of artwork

The Six Sisters series began at Upfest in 2016 when the first mural was created by Bristol-based artist Gemma Compton.

Upfest founder Stephen Hayles decided to continue the series with works by Zoe Power, Bex Glover and Sophie Long.

'Inspiring women and girls'

Ejits, real name Emily J Taylor, said it was "so exciting" to be involved.

"There are already some super-talented artists that have taken part and I'm honoured to be involved," she said.

"I really hope having such prominent pieces by female artists can inspire other women and girls to get involved in art."

Mr Hayles said it was "really special" to announce, on International Women's Day, that the Six Sisters would be completed.

"The Six Sisters is a truly unique opportunity to promote the strength of the female urban art scene in Bristol and inspire a future generation of female artists worldwide," he said.

"This will be the largest series of permanent street art by female artists in the UK, maybe even the world, which goes to show how lucky we are in Bristol to have these incredible artists and to have a scene that supports female artists."