Bristol Bierkeller reopens as the Creative College’s new event and educational space

A new event and education space is opening in the building that used to be a popular music venue in Bristol for students looking to get into the creative industry.

The beer cellar played host to some of the biggest touring rock bands in the world, including The Stone Roses, Arctic Monkeys, and Nirvana, before closing in 2018.

Located in the former Pithay building on All Saints Street in the city center, the building is being revitalized following a £ 4.5m investment from Access Creative College, whose Bristol campus is next door.

The new facilities, which include recording studios, classrooms, and collaboration areas, cover more than 13,000 square feet and enable students training for careers in the creative industry to mix music, create podcasts, and record video and sound.

Speaking to Business Live, Mark Smithers, manager of Access Creative College in Bristol, said, “Bristol has a rich heritage of creativity and is an exciting place to teach the next generation of digital and art professionals.

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“If we break into the former beer cellar location next door, some of the UK’s leading creatives of tomorrow will soon be home to bring it back to life as an educational and state-of-the-art event space.”

Access Creative College, Bristol’s first college devoted exclusively to the creative arts, previously operated from a campus in Hengrove, south of the city.

The independent college has seven locations across the UK, including one for games and media in Manchester.

The esteemed beer cellar saw Nirvana play their first headline show in the UK when they toured their landmark album Nevermind in 1991.

Management announced a sudden closure in February 2018, which resulted in a number of performances being moved to other Bristol venues.

In a statement on Facebook, they accused the building’s owner, Resolution Property, of closing it, claiming the company intended to renovate the entire building, including the beer cellar.

However, Resolution Property denied the claims on the grounds that it has no plans to redevelop the beer cellar space and intends to include the venue in its plans for the building.

Bristol Live reported that the music venue was in arrears with money and hadn’t paid for up to a year and a half.