Bristol has never needed a museum to show off its art. The city's walls, bridges and alleyways do the job, thanks to Banksy and a constant churn of murals, stencils and sculptures. Tucked into a spot above Jacob's Wells Road, one small piece has quietly earned a place among them: a hooded figure sitting with their head in their hands, comforted by a teddy bear.
The work, titled Bear With Me, is by the anonymous artist Getting Up To Stuff and first appeared in September 2020. It was installed to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, and its soft, cuddly look carries a hard message: male suicide rates remain disproportionately high, and the piece pushes back against the old idea that men should keep their feelings hidden. The teddy bear nods to the comfort we knew as children, and to the strength it takes to simply say you're not OK.
The public response was immediate. In its first week alone, the sculpture generated more than a quarter of a million social-media interactions, and it quickly became a fixture of the streetscape. So when it vanished from its nook, locals worried it had gone for good. The mystery had a happy ending: the artist had taken it away for repair, replacing the framework and the original bear and fixing it more securely to its perch. It now sits above Jacob's Wells Road again, five years on, carrying the same gentle message it always has — it's OK not to be OK, and talking is often the first step.
For visitors, the sculpture is a good excuse to slow down and explore Bristol's street-art scene beyond the postcard Banksy spots. Jacob's Wells Road sits in the hilly area between Clifton and the city centre, close to the harbourside, so it slots easily into a walking route. The city's art is genuinely everywhere: expect constantly changing murals in Stokes Croft, hidden stencils down alleys, and small interventions like this one that reward anyone looking up (or down) from the main drag.
It's also a reminder of what makes Bristol's approach distinctive. Rather than sanitising or removing unauthorised work, the city largely embraces it, and pieces like Bear With Me become part of daily life for the people who walk past them. That gives street-art hunting here a different feel than in most cities: you're not touring a gallery, you're reading a conversation the city is having with itself.
Go for the big names if you like, but make time for the smaller works too. Bear With Me takes a minute to find and a minute to appreciate — and it's the kind of encounter that tends to stay with travellers longer than another photo of a famous mural.
Story via Atlas Obscura.
