A Tale of Twin Cities
Through Bristol’s Twin Cities links, we had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from Hannover as part of a ‘multiplier trip’ supported by Hannover's Culture Team. This was a brilliant chance to share ideas, energy and experiences across our cultural and creative programmes.
There was lots of enthusiasm, curiosity and common ground. We’re looking forward to keeping the conversations going with the organisations we met and seeing where this can lead in terms of future sharing, programming and collaboration.
Initiated and funded by Hannover’s Culture Team, the project aimed to strengthen democratic values, intercultural exchange, and international cohesion. The visit brought together cultural workers, educators, youth leaders, and civil society groups to foster collaboration and shared learning.
We were happy to meet with Kiriakoula Kremantzouli, head of the Cultural Center Pavillon and Paul Schwendel, sound technician at the Cultural Center Faust - two great places for culture and community in our sister city Hannover. Kiriakoula said:
"It was an inspiring meeting and a great pleasure to get to know the dedicated people from Trinity. We were able to identify many similarities in our cultural work: from excellent international music booking to working with different communities, which make Trinity a safer place for encounters, creativity and participation."
This builds on our recent trip to Bordeaux, where we were met with Le Rocher de Palmer. "That visit felt like the start of something special – with plans in the pipeline for an artist exchange, opportunities to learn from each other’s practice, and a music day festival in 2025 -kicking off in Bristol before heading to Bordeaux, with the same line-up in both cities – watch this space!" - Adam Gallacher, Deputy CEO The Trinity Centre
None of this would have happened without the connection and support from Bristol City Council’s Twinning Team – huge thanks to Zoe for her energy and for helping to make these links a reality.
It feels like the beginning of some really exciting international friendships, and we can’t wait to see how they grow.
The ‘Multiplier’ visit was also supported by Bristol-Hannover Council (BHC). This volunteer led Twinning Association was founded in 1947 as one of the earliest city links with Germany and helps manage a range of initiatives between the two cities. BHC works to facilitate exchanges of citizens, holds cultural and social events, and welcomes and assists groups visiting Bristol from Hannover, with particular emphasis on encouraging exchanges for young people in sport, music and culture. They welcome new members - for more info visit Bristol Hannover Council
