A new billboard has gone up in St Werburghs in celebration of one of the first Black female DJs in Bristol who 'changed the Bristol music scene'.
The DJ and artist, Angela Francis was heavily involved in the shaping of Bristol’s culture including working with pirate radio stations and Ujima Radio Station.
Sadly, a few weeks before one of her art exhibitions she passed away from cancer in 2017.
Prior to her death three years ago, Grace Kress - the artist behind the billboard - was caring for her intermittently for three to four years.
To help her with the grieving process she decided to create the phenomenal billboard of Angela.
“Her vivacious character”
“She was very outspoken and she had no issue with going out in the street and telling people what’s what,” Grace said.
“She had a way of making you feel, see and even taste music.
“Her home was a display of her creativity, covered in rich peachy tones, gold and leopard print.
“Her incredible painted sculptural artworks took pride of place alongside her record collection and posters that represented her interests in spirituality, musicians such as Peter Tosh and radical activist - Angela Davis.
“Her vivacious character is witnessed in her going out in the streets dressed in costume reminding everyone that although slavery might have ended, Black people continue to suffer,” she added.
After the uprising in St Pauls in 1980, Angela was on the cover of the New Statesman magazine to mark her contribution to such a monumental moment in history.
Grace recalls all the stories Angela would tell her about her involvement in the St Pauls uprising in the 1980s and organising community events such as ‘Freedom 90’ which celebrated the release of Nelson Mandela and a series of events to mark the bicentennial of the ending of the slave trade in 2007.
Grace’s work has always been heavily influenced by activism and politics, but 18 months ago she developed a chronic condition which meant she wasn't able to go out and protest and campaign like she used to.
She would find herself spending a lot of time in bed, but then realised she could begin creating art work from home whilst still making an impact politically.
One of her first pieces was a campaign piece for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Black journalist and political activist who was jailed after being convicted of killing a police officer.
Since then, Grace went on to be part of various campaigns.
Her newest venture includes the You Are Appreciated project by SHELBY x Studios which aims to highlight the contribution of every day community activists.
The Angela Francis billboard - by AdBlock - will be up for the next month-six weeks.
Grace said: “These people put their lives into activism and making changes. This is how I came up with the You Are Appreciated project because I realised that people never celebrated others until they were gone.
“To help me grieve Angela’s death, I decided to create this artwork and also to share a bit of love.”
