Ursa the Bear

Ursa the Bear was a 12 ft (3.7 m) tall wooden sculpture of a standing bear created by Bristol-based British artist Jamie Gillman. Commissioned in 2012 by the Bearpit Improvement Group and partly funded by Arts Council England, the black-and-white figure stood on the roof of the disused men’s lavatories in St James Barton, Bristol, from May 2013 until September 2019. During those six years she^[1] became one of the city’s best-known pieces of contemporary public art. The sculpture was dismantled and stored after Bristol City Council cleared the site due to public-safety concerns and redevelopment of the area. Ursa later inspired Bristol Bears' 2023–24 away kit and remains the subject of periodic campaigns for her reinstatement to public view.^[2][3]

Gillman conceived the work as symbolising the independent spirit of Bristol and nearby Stokes Croft and as an anti-gentrification statement.^[4][5][1] Built from reclaimed construction hoardings, the frame took ten months to assemble and was decorated in alternating painted black-and-white boards.^[1] Volunteers removed four tonnes of earth to create a plinth, and the finished statue was winched into position on 10 May 2013, unveiled by then mayor George Ferguson.^[6]

From its elevated plinth overlooking the A38, Ursa was a recognisable figure and featured on the £B5 Bristol Pound banknote, tourist postcards and merchandising, and in 2018 an online poll for the Naked Guide to Bristol ranked her among the city’s four favourite public sculptures.^[6] The sculpture served as a focal point for markets, performances, and protest art organised by the People's Republic of Stokes Croft and local political parties such as the Bristol Green Party.^[5] A structural engineer inspected the work annually at no cost.^[6]

In October 2018 Bristol City Council terminated PRSC’s licence to occupy the Bearpit and issued legal notices requiring removal of its structures, including Ursa.^[7] A petition to keep the statue exceeded 4,000 signatures and triggered a council debate,^[8] but Deputy Mayor Asher Craig reiterated that all non-council items had to go. Craig had later stated to media that she received death threats due to her support for the statue's removal.^[8][9] On 26 September 2019 Gillman and PRSC volunteers dismantled the work, which they found to be badly rotted.^[10] The remains were moved to the artist’s studio yard for possible restoration.^[4] Floral decorations are now present in the site formerly occupied the statue.

Supporters, including petition organiser Caitlin Telfer, argued that Ursa “represents creativity, alternative thinking and freedom of expression.”^[8] Green MEP Molly Scott Cato called proposed removal “cultural vandalism”, while a council Twitter poll found almost three-quarters of respondents wanted the bear to stay.^[7] Conversely, Labour councillor Mark Brain dismissed the piece as “a pretty mediocre work of art,” and some residents saw the statue as a symbol of the Bearpit’s deteriorating safety.^[8] The Bristol Post later described the city as “divided” over the statue's fate.^[11]

Although no permanent new site has been found, the PRSC continues to look for a home for the statue. Gillman has warned that extensive decay in the timber frame may ultimately prevent it from being re-erected.^[12] A four-year retrospective in 2023 noted that the removal “left a hole in the heart of the city” and that campaigns to “bring her back” still resurface from time to time.^[13]

Merchandise such as graphic prints and mugs of Ursa remain on sale through Gillman’s studio and the PRSC, helping to fund potential restoration efforts.^[4] In September 2023 the artist licensed a stylised version of the figure for Bristol Bears rugby club; the motif dominated the club’s 2023–24 O’Neills away kit and related merchandise, taking the image to a national sports audience.^[2] Media coverage of the launch again prompted calls from supporters and local councillors for the statue to return to public display.^[3]

• The Bearpit, Bristol
• List of public art in Bristol