Brislington: Art and football

Words: Dave Harry

Images: Dave Harry

On the outskirts of BS4, lies Ironmould Lane. A very good Level 9 English ground and home to Brislington FC, or ‘Briz’ as locals refer to this part of the city, since 1956.

And it’s had its own Artists In Residence since 2024.

Yes, you read that right. Brislington FC, ‘The Foxes’, has its own Artists In Residence, Ken Borg and Jonathan Kelham. Both creative people in their own right; Ken a graphic designer and Jon an artist, and both have had galleries exhibit their work.

I live in BS4 and have watched Brislington many times. When I heard of the project, I was pleased my nearest senior football team was doing something so bold; in a city with such a strong creative streak running through it as Bristol.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Brislington FC.

The residency will last for three years and will conclude as the club marks its 70th anniversary in the 2026/27 season. The project is multifaceted but the most obvious illustration of it – yes, I know - is the work they are undertaking at the ground.

Their bold graphic design and use of colour, is giving Ironmould a real sense of character, homeliness and boldly yelling out this is Brislington FC’s stadium, not just another identikit ground.

Similarly, their work on the club merchandise which with its nods to the BS4 post code, the ‘Foxes’ nickname and of course, the red and black colours is just that little bit different.

The designs aren’t archetypal football ones and to me, draw parallels with the design work of Paula Scher and Peter Saville; its savvy.

They also raise local awareness at events you wouldn’t normally expect to find a football presence.

At an artists open art event in BS4, they both blend in and stand out; the creative element is perfect for a community institution such as a football club.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Ken Borg and Jonathan Kelham.

I know from experience with my own exhibitions that artist communities can sometimes be a little belligerent toward football related projects but there’s no sense of that here, Ken and Jonathan are very much part of this art community as well as the football one.

The club’s stand they’ve created is laid out beautifully – it’s a gallery in its own right and the photos of the club, the ground and the work on the project compleiment the merchandise stand.

There’s a ‘design your own season ticket’ stall where you can indeed, design your own using a variety of templates they’ve created for you. I buy one, it’s my local club after all.

Two weeks later I meet them again at the more conventional setting of the ground on a glorious mid-summer day.

It’s an odd feeling walking into the ground between seasons, there’s no goalposts nor pitch markings and only the stands themselves provide any kind of indication of its purpose.

But Ken and Jon are there, working away, doing what club volunteers do, and using the in-between seasons time to carry out improvements and helping to make the ground ready for the new season.

This time they are working on fencing but a look around the ground and you can see how much else they have done, the main stand (the Colin Arnold stand) looks superb and the terraced areas now all have colourful bannered backdrops – red and black and yellow and white, the nicknames, the post codes, the history, it’s all there and it looks terrific: Ironmould Lane. The home of Brislington FC, BS4’s football club. Be a part of it.

We talk future plans. More ground improvements, social media identity and raising the club profile dominate but there’s leftfield ideas as well; Ken is trying to find clubs in Europe that share the club colours and nickname (The Foxes) with thoughts of twinning the club.

It’s a fascinating and bold project and they are creating some identity for both the club and BS4. And I say identity deliberately, it isn’t about ‘branding’ - I don’t like the term ‘branding’, it’s not a term that should sit well with anything football related, it wreaks of money and fan exploitation and that isn’t what Brislington FC, nor Ken, nor Jon, are about.

Linking in with your community, representing it, becoming one of BS4’s most potent symbols, up there with the street art Bristol is famed for, and in parallel, helping it continue to be one of Bristol’s strongest non-league clubs with a style that will stand tall, long after this unique residency project has concluded.