Black Bristol artist's barge plan near Colston statue dumping site

The barge, dedicated to black artists, would be moored close to where slave trader Edward Colston's statue was thrown in to Bristol harbour, on Sunday

A boat for black artists may be moored close to where a slave trader's statue was thrown into Bristol harbour.

Bristol African Caribbean Culture Space (BACCS) hopes to raise £600,000 to set up the 57m (187ft) Dutch barge.

Dr Mena Fombo, from BACCs, said the toppling of Edward Colston's statue was "very symbolic of the change in Bristol" that the boat can be part of.

It would be moored at Pero's Bridge, which honours Pero Jones, a slave brought to Bristol in the 1700s.

An online campaign that was launched on Tuesday to raise money for the barge has already attracted more than £6,000.

Dr Fombo and Michael Jenkins, the co-founders of Blak Wave - the only black-owned TV production company in Bristol - launched BACCSs back in December.

They are now hoping to buy and convert the large barge into a floating African and Caribbean space "embedded in arts, creativity, digital innovation and new technology".

Dr Mena Fombo and Michael Jenkins launched the project back in December

"The end goal is to have this brilliant arts creative tech space in the heart of the city that celebrates our history," said Dr Fombo.

"And now is a really good time. The toppling of Colston was very symbolic of a change in Bristol and this, to our knowledge, will be be the first black owned venue boat in Bristol Harbour."

Earlier this year, they secured more than £15,000 from Arts Council England and the city council.

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Dr Fombo said this week's financial support was "amazing", but having venues focussed on "exploring Black Britishness, African or Caribbean arts, music, history or culture" was "long overdue" for Bristol.

"We were both passionate about our city having more dedicated spaces for telling more stories about black history - which is all of our history," Dr Fombo said.

"The city council had concerns about the cost of a vessel that size but we said don't underestimate the power of the people, we can pull this off."

Consultations with the community are due to start next month.