Our IGNiTE residencies are an opportunity for artists or companies to develop  a new piece of work at Trinity. In the 2018 / 2019 cohort we welcomed Ania Varez (you can read two blog posts about her project here and here); Roxana Vilk, Viki Hearne and Viki Browne. All artists receive space, resources and support to develop their project.

Viki Brown during her Hyper Fem sharing (photo credit @ Khali Ackford)

Viki shared her work: Hyper Fem in early January 2019 at Trinity. Hyper Fem asks whether the performance of femininity through Drag can be as powerful, political or subversive when performed on a female identifying body. It is strongly inspired by some of her recent previous projects which involved epic wigs and performing as a ‘make up girl in a tiny dress’.

Many people came along to Viki's sharing, including Trinity staff (photo @Khali Ackford)

The IGNiTE team attended alongside Trinity staff, industry professionals and members of Many Minds the Bristol based arts and mental health charity that Viki is a co-director of. A sharing is the opportunity for an artist to receive feedback on their work in progress and to develop the piece further. For audiences it is an opportunity to 'contextualize the artist’s vision'.

“I work alongside resident artists helping with admin and logistics. Often we talk about road blocks they are facing and their '’break though moments'’. Because of this when I'm given the opportunity to see sharing's I jump at the chance. It gives me the opportunity to push my boundaries and offer perspective that may not come from the artist’s typical audience. ” - Ripley, Admin Assistant

Viki interacts with the audience after her sharing of 'Hyper Fem' (photo @Khali Ackford)

Looking back on her residency Viki says: "Developing ‘Hyper Fem’ at Trinity has been an incredible opportunity for me. I find the building, its history and its placement in the city truly inspiring. It's political past and its dedication to the multiple communities who use the space have challenged me to think and dream bigger than ever before. I felt safe, supported and welcome in the building which after two weeks of working there started to feel like a second home. We are now excited to begin the next phase of the project: finding partners and commissioners to work with on the show!”

In March and April welcome Roxana Vilk whose residency will focus on the lullabies families cross Bristol sing to their children.

Our Spring 2019 season of theatre and dance presents innovative artists who speak from the heart and ask: How do we strip away the layers of expectation placed on us by society to find the truest version of ourselves?

Celebrate flab, double chins and getting semi-naked in Scottee’s Fat Blokes (22 Feb). Laugh at the hilarious Confessions of a Cockney Temple Dancer, Shane Shambhu's biographical story of cultural fusion and clashes in an East London playground (10 March). Join Darren Pritchard Dance, their artist friends – dancers, singers, musicians and poets in the 1920’s Harlem Renaissance Inspired: Rent Party (16 Mar). Then, explore issues around migration in Toussaint To Move’s autobiographically sourced Windows of Displacement (23 March) where the shifting (and increasingly urgent) politics surrounding the movement of people takes centre-stage.

Explore issues around migration in Toussaint To Move’s autobiographically sourced Windows of Displacement (23 March)

Rent Party (16 Mar): a kaleidoscopic picture of what it means today to be young, gifted, and black – and poor, and gay.

From post-show talk backs (Fat Blokes 22 Feb, Windows of Displacement 23 March) to workshops (Making Stuff About Stuff, Scottee; Creative Dance with Akeim Toussaint Buck; Contemporary Dance workshop with Shane Shambu) there are plenty of ways to stand up and get involved in the season.

Sign up to: Contemporary Dance workshop with Shane Shambu, 10 March, £5

All IGNiTE tickets are £11 / £9 concs (including booking fee) and workshops of £5 (including booking fee). Communities who use Trinity regularly could benefit from subsided tickets, please email marketing officer sarahb@3ca.org.uk to find out more.

Get involved with IGNiTE

Volunteering - from stewarding to photography there are many ways to get involved in IGNiTE. Find out more about the opportunities on offer here.

Test audiences - help shape the work artists and companies create by signing up to be part of an IGNiTE test audience.

Residencies - find out more about our IGNiTE artists in residence here.

Xyzelle, Sealvia and Chantaleaze - students from project partners ACE perform at Trinity's Festival of Light. Photo Khali Ackford

1. Playing at the Unity stage at St Pauls Carnival

"The Carnival Stage provided an excellent opportunity for young people to perform at one of the City's most significant and historic cultural events. It was great to have staff and  young people across the Making Tracks programme there on the day." Darren Alexander, ACE.

Josh Carter practices singing in one of our recording studios during the Summer Sessions at Trinity (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

2. Summer Sessions at Trinity

"Trinity's in house annual summer workshop and live performance event. Held over two days in August. Working in partnership with Access Creative College Bristol, who delivered bespoke DJ and Film sound workshops." Dave Thomas, Trinity Community Arts

Making Tracks showcase at Trinity's Festival of Light (photo @ Khali Ackford)

3. Youth Music Showcase at Festival of Light

"The Festival of Light provided our young people with the biggest audience of their music journeys so far. The sound quality was amazing and the experience provided a taste of what a professional performance feels like." Darren Alexander, ACE.

Area of Effect play on the main stage at Trinity's annual Garden Party (photo @ Jesscia Bartolini)

4. Youth Music Stage, Trinity Garden Party

"Area of Effect rock band opening on main stage. Seeing these three 15 year-olds rise to the amazing opportunity of performing their set with hi spec stage and PA  and at such a public event was so exciting. It really upped their expectations and motivation in terms of performance, and it also opened them up to 1:2:1: music development and support." Troy Tanska, Basement Studios

5. End of Year Showcase Party, Trinity

"I was really proud of the range of performances - from those who'd never made music in front of others, to performances good enough to charge for. They were really respectful and supportive of each other - even though there were such varied genres and skills. It was a massive highlight seeing a young person who had such a difficult time in the past, but who turned their life around since being part of Making Tracks in the summer and is now at music college, absolutely smash it centre-stage. Such an honour to see the power of music in action." Troy Tanska, Basement Studios

Josh has been attending 121 sessions at Trinity as well as workshops and other events delivered as part of Making Tracks (photo Alastair Brookes - KoLAB Studios).

"I had heard Trinity provided people who have had difficult pasts with good opportunities to develop skills with performing and recording music"

Hi, I am Josh I'm 21 and I come to Trinity weekly to attend 121 music sessions that are part of the Making Tracks Project .

As well as the recording sessions I attend I also have been learning skills in songwriting workshops and other music related events at Trinity.

I came to trinity because music is something that I’ve always been passionate about and I had heard Trinity provided people who have had difficult pasts with good opportunities to develop skills with performing and recording music, I mainly work with Al in the studio and greatly enjoy it.

I’ve struggled with mental health problems all my life and being able to record at Trinity has been a massive help with keeping myself positive and active. Taking part in Trinity has benefited me in more ways than I ever would have imagined, it’s enabled me to be able to write and record my own songs and has helped me develop my skills and confidence as a musician. When I first started attending trinity I was very shy and struggled with depression a lot and the friendly atmosphere provided at trinity has really brought me out of my shell and helped me become the strong confident person I am today.

Without trinity I would never have gotten the chance to make my own music or improve my skills as a musician.

If I had to describe my experience at trinity in three words I’d use “truly amazing experiences".

You helped secure Trinity's past, now play your part in Trinity's future

Ania sharing her work in progress at Trinity (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

A few thoughts about sharing Guayabo at SPILL Festival of performance 2018

"I just didn’t know how it would go until I had this experience"

Ania Varez is one of four Bristol based artists who are developing exciting new work in collaboration with communities at Trinity over six months as part of our IGNiTE theatre and dance programme.

During her residency Ania is developing ‘Guayabo’ a participatory work that invites people to gather around their pain and the pain of others and is heavily influenced by Ania’s move from Venezuela to leave her country’s violent dictatorship. The crisis is rarely mentioned in mainstream media and Ania has been using her art to share her and her family’s experiences with others.

Ania recently took ‘Guaybo’ to Spill Festival, an international festival of contemporary arts and activism in Ipswich. We asked her to tell us the four things she learnt while she was there.

Maybe not all works are meant for art festivals (or maybe they need a bit more help)

Guayabo is a very challenging piece to share for different reasons. Mostly, because it requires placing myself in a very vulnerable state, my family is also exposed through the videos and texts I read, and the topic is extremely painful and difficult on its own.

I was concerned that those who came to experience the work might not have the capacity to offer the mental and emotional investment this piece requires due to the festival environment which is overwhelming with people quickly moving from one performance to another. I also felt the audience needed more time to process the difficult information that Guayabo conveys, whilst in a safe environment, before leaving the room and returning to a conventional social mode.

Towards the end of the work, I invite people to stay in the room for as long as they need and to chat with me if they wish, but since people had to rush to another show, most of them could not have that time, which felt important in terms of caring for themselves and for me. To know this for future sharings is really positive!

I will think about what needs to change inside the work to ensure people receive the care they need. However, the context is also important. I’m sure SPILL would have made a bigger effort to ensure these things happened if I had spoken about them beforehand, but I just didn’t know how it would go until I had this experience. Maybe arts festivals are not the right context for Guayabo, or maybe it just needs some programming adjustments (have more time altogether, organising a meal to share right after, for example) would really help to overcome these difficulties.

Guayabo connects people in the UK with Ania's family in Venezuela

It’s nicer to meet people outside of performance settings

Whilst being at SPILL I slightly regretted not having the time to see other works and meet many people. Sharing this piece took all of my time and energy and I didn’t have the space to experience much more. In hindsight, I notice that I naturally felt more inclined to encounter people outside of the performance settings (at breakfast, or in the artists green room) in a more relaxed and meaningful way, and most of the time we didn’t even talk about our work which I enjoyed much more.

Before arriving to SPILL, I was quite worried that everyone around me would be trying to constantly pitch their work at each other, but I was glad to discover that most people seemed to agree that having a good time and laughing together was more important.

Self care and support kept everything together

I had severe technical difficulties during my first show and right until the beginning of my second show. This uncertainty added pressure to sharing such personal work, which massively compromised my mental health during the performance days.

Having my producer, Katherine Hall, with me during the first two days really kept me safe and capable of getting through the difficulties, as she took care of many things and allowed me to concentrate on the work. Sadly, she could not stay for the last two days and that would have really affected me if it wasn’t for Shabnam Shabazi (the Wellbeing Liaison of the festival) and Manon Santi (part of the SPILL team) who were there to support me. They gave such gentle and caring attention to me and to the work: this meant I could present the work without having a breakdown or feeling like I was delivering it on my own.

It’s not the end of the line

SPILL felt like an incredible opportunity for me as an artist and a person. It’s the biggest platform I have ever shared work on. But I didn’t want it to feel like the ultimate platform, or the culmination of this long process. I wanted it to feel like another island I stumble upon in the middle of this long trip. A place to pass by, gather things that felt valuable, meet great people and then continue on the journey. Almost one month after the festival, I see this opportunity has brought a few open doors, some new friends and a lot of learning. I enjoy holding on to this feeling of continuation, this long process that exists independently of the platforms that I visit, but continues to be nourished by them. I am looking forward to continuing my research at Trinity Centre next year.

Read more about our IGNiTE programme and artist in residence just here.

IGNiTE Artist Ania Varez is developing the performance piece “Guayabo” as part of her residency (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

Ania Varez is a young Venezuelan artist who left her country’s violent dictatorship and moved to the UK. The crisis she escaped is rarely mentioned in mainstream media but Ania has been using art to share her and her family’s experiences with others.

She joined Trinity as an IGNiTE resident artist in September to develop her new show “Guayabo”, or “heartbreak” in Venezuelan slang. In late October, she invited people to join a sharing session in which she presented her work.

Ania's homeland, Venezuela is experiencing a silent humanitarian crisis (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

All the elements that formed part of Ania’s performance painted a sharp nightmarish picture of her city, a place that has lost all of its warmth and safety. It was brilliant to not just watch but to actually actively take part in the interactive performance Ania created as part of her residency with Trinity.

Prior to entering the performance space, we were greeted by Ania and added to a WhatsApp group by her assistant to receive messages and media during the performance. We were then invited to walk into the space – a dark room with two rows of seats lined up to face one other. At one end of the rows; a TV, at the other end; a large lamp, switched off. The only other light source in the room was dim, the atmosphere was heavy.

Only a few minutes in, Ania invited us to lie down on the floor while she told the story of a murdered corpse being found in a park while she and her lover were peacefully laying down on the grass. This was a tipping point in the performance; by involving our bodies in the story-telling, it felt like we were brought incredibly close to Caracas, her home city, and to the terror that reigns there.

People wrote who they loved on apples as part of Ania's grief party (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

From writing the name of our loved ones on an apple, a mundane fruit that is now impossible to find in Venezuela, to joining efforts to smash a piñata, we were all made part of her grief party. The poems she wrote and read and the ongoing TV screening of the footage she gathered during a rare visit to her family were striking and raw. “In this city, laughter feels like a miracle”, “The last second of panic before you close the front door”, “Until there’s a bullet in the back of everyone you know”.

During the Q&A that followed the performance, we were asked if the stories that involved violence were too descriptive and shocking, but were all positive that they gave the show strength and impact.

Guayabo is about creating connections between places where the connections have been broken. (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

One thing felt very clear: “Guayabo” is not a teary-eyed drama seeking the audience’s compassion. It’s an invitation to connect Ania’s isolated family in Caracas and England. An attempt to create a positive link between two places that have been completely disconnected, if only for an hour. The large lamp that stood unlit in the room was set up to switch on if Ania’s mother replied to her WhatsApp message: “Are you safe today?”. We all sat waiting for the lamp to turn on for a solid minute, but it didn’t. Instead, Ania recorded a voice message of all of us clapping and cheering for her mother as a gesture of acknowledgement and support.

The 31st of October marked the 2 year anniversary of Ania hugging her sister for the last time before leaving. She marked the day by performing “Guayabo” at SPILL Festival in Ipswich.

About IGNiTE

IGNiTE is Trinity's in house programme of world-class, innovative theatre and dance about issues that matter to people now, starting conversations and sparking debate. IGNiTE is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and buy Bristol City Council

We asked the Trinity team what their favourite moments on this heritage project were, and this is what they came up with.

Workers hand carved new stone - even during the snow! Photo@Khali Ackford

#1 Emma Harvey, Centre Director

“It has to be when we did some researching into the last wedding that happened on the 26th March 1976 at Trinity. We managed to find someone whose name matched the couples on social media and decided to direct message them. It was moment of high anxiety to see the icon that they where messaging us back!

Thankfully it was to say that they where still happily married and that they were super happy we had contacted them. Cheers from us to them for 42 years together!”

Our Heart & Soul project took place alongside major repairs to Trinity. Here a participant creates woodcuts, inspired by Trinity's history. Photo@Khali Ackford

#2 Fidel Meraz, Trinity Board Member

“Sharing pizza and drinks during an afternoon with the staff and the stonemasons who were doing most of the the material work on the building, is such a wonderful memory.”

#3&4 Karina Castro, Project Manager

“ I am going to choose two .. if that is allowed … first up has to be 'A Waltz Down Memory Lane' (20 April) - a great afternoon of dancing, cakes and memory sharing attended by over 40 people over 55. This was made even more amazing by having Norma's Groovers back at Trinity entertaining our friends.

Dr McClymont's talk looked at how we repurpose old buildings. Photo@Khali Ackford

Then, Dr Katie McClymont's 'and the spirit lingered on' (19 June) - a really engaging talk that got everybody involved (inc Khali, the photographer!) about how historic buildings, particularly former churches, are now used as sites of secular worship and as community hubs."

Centre Director Emma Harvey shares the floor with TCA founder Matthew Hewitt and long standing DM and former Centre Manager Derreck Sterling. Photo@Khali Ackford

#5 Glyn Everett, Chair of Trustees
“I really enjoyed the talk 'Reconstructing Trinity from Disrepair to Glory' (31 July) - A wonderful conversation around the different moments of history that the Trinity has seen, and all the heartfelt effort that has gone into keeping the building open, safe and working for the communities that surround it."

About Heart & Soul

From January to October 2018 we celebrated Trinity's place at the heart of the community through a programme of accessible heritage activities, workshops and events. The activities took place alongside our most recent capital works to conserve and renovate the building and where funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic England, Bristol City Council and other charitable Trusts & Foundations.

Sunkern Circus perform to crowds to open up our Festival of Light photo @ Khali Ackford

Young people from our Making Tracks project performed at our Annual Festival of Light and, they were great.

Making Tracks is our collaborative music making project with ACE and Basement– giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills in music creation. Trinity offers 121 and small group music sessions alongside industry workshops and opportunities to perform at Trinity events.

Xyzelle, Sealvia and Chantaleaze - students from project partners ACE performed first to a packed room. Photo Khali Ackford

Xyzelle, Sealvia and Chantaleaze from project partners ACE (Aspiration, Creation, Elevation) performed two songs, followed by Trinity student Louis Stone who performed his original songs using both his acoustic and electric guitars.

Great to welcome Trinity student Louis Stone who played tracks he is working on as part of Making Tracks. Photo Khali Ackford

Playing to an energetic and supportive crowd the students performed cracking sets and roused the crowds ready for local dub DJ Dutchie and the ever fantastic Bristol Reggae Orchestra – well done to them.

Dub DJ Dutchie gets the crowd ready for Bristol Reggae Orchestra photo @Khali Ackford

Bit of a squeeze for Bristol Reggae Orchestra on the stage in the main hall! @Khali Ackford

Onj's firework display was a treat for all the family. Photo @ Khali Ackford

This year we welcome over 800 people through the gates who came to watch the aerial performances, the fantastic firework display from Onj, a very warm bonfire from Woodsy, and the live music in our main hall.

Thanks to everyone that makes the event happen, from staff; to volunteers; to artists; to traders and of course all of you who attended.

The Festival of Light is a free event supported in part by public donations. This year we raised over £1100 in donations meaning that we can continue to run events like The Festival of Light so everyone can enjoy.

Vicki Hearne is part of this years cohort of  IGNiTE artists in residence (photo @Megan Ashton)

Alexa Ledecky, our very awesome project assistant on our IGNiTE programme, went along to IGNiTE resident artist Vicki Hearne's sharing of the work she is developing here at Trinity - sharing's are an opportunity for artists to receive feedback about their work.

Read on to find out Alexa's thoughts about 'Practically Perfect'.

Last month, Vicki Hearne and her Untold Dance Theatre fellow female performers brought their work in progress to Trinity for a sharing session. Audience members were invited to attend the performance for free and encouraged to share their feeling and impressions about the ideas that have been developed so far. Vicki has been working on “Practically Perfect” as part of her IGNiTE residency with Trinity since early September.

"Unity definitely shone through the dancers and musicians during the performance."

The show uses dance and theatre to explore how most women are often pushed to mould their body into an idea of perfection that society dictates. As the performance began, the lights dimmed and two musicians sat by the side of the scene set the atmosphere with an acoustic guitar and synth live soundtrack. The dancers entered, carried by the ethereal melody and began to tell us their story. A recurring theme became apparent: the female body being objectified with harsh humour and sarcasm.

Vicki had several solid scenes to present to the audience. To mention a few without giving too much away; robotic Barbie dolls, a restaurant serving perfect female bodies on a platter, a “cooking” class on how to make a flawless woman. All those scenes involved folding, crushing bodies and treating them like objects, quite literally making them submit to society’s vision of perfection. The audience was also very receptive to the challenging subjects tackled and invited Untold Dance Theatre to go deeper and make them feel even more uncomfortable. The exploration of a serious subject did not cut out artistic creativity. Each scene was different and the audience stated it will be interesting to see how the “chaos binds with the more flowy parts” in the final performance. Discussing the overall tone of the show, a viewer pointed out: “There are kitsch moments, but those were so precise and clean. The comedy helps with the more earthy parts”.

Vicki and the cast listened to the audience with poise, eager to use this sharing session to develop “Practically Prefect” further. Some open expectations were expressed: “The rhythm was building into something that was establishing. I would like to see everyone go completely wild at some point”. The viewers repeatedly showed excitement about finding out the answers in the finished piece: “What happens the the reject; are they ‘put right’ or are they ‘celebrated for being imperfect’?”.

A woman concluded the discussion by encouraging to celebrate our imperfections rather than to condemn them: “We don’t have to be whole as an individual, we’re whole as a group”. One thing is for certain - unity definitely shone through the dancers and musicians during the performance.

The sharing of the work took place in Trinity's Ffye Hall (photo @Megan Ashton)

Stay tuned for updates on Vicki Hearne and our three other artist residents here on our website.

IGNiTE is supported using public funding by Bristol City Council and by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

IGNiTE resident Ania Varez describes her practice as 'community-engaging'

I want to give people in England a point of contact with a crisis that is largely undocumented in the UK. Ania Varez

Ania Varez is a Venezuelan artist who trained in classical dance and moved to Bristol in 2015 having graduated from the London Contemporary Dance School, before moved away from performing dance towards more participatory projects that explore issues of migration and loss.

We supported Ania during our 2018 IGNiTE Artists residency programme to develop her project Guayabo (Venezuelan slang for heartbreak). This was a participatory work that invited people to gather around their pain and the pain of others, challenging our ways of acting and caring for one another through geographical distance or cultural differences, as a medium of survival, transformation and belonging.

We really liked Ania's reasons for applying for an IGNiTE residency:

"The experience of leaving my home in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis and facing the challenges of being an immigrant in the UK, as well as witnessing the current migration crisis worldwide, has strengthened my urgency to develop a practice for these issues to be addressed collectively and creatively, here in England."

Women Wise - photo credit Richard Worts

I have so far created work which has women’s mental health as its core theme.  This is such an important subject to me and I believe I can raise further awareness and add to the debate through the dance theatre Untold creates.

Vicki Hearne

Vicki Hearne is a the creative director of Untold Dance Theatre, an all female intergenerational company based in Bristol. Untold strive to create entertaining, emotive, visceral and accessible dance theatre for all audiences.

As one of four IGNiTE 2018 Artists in Residence, Wicki worked with experienced and novice female dancers with an age range spanning 23 to 72 to explore the variables, similarities and differences in how the idea of perfection manifests itself at different stages of ones life.

As part of her residency Vicki created a new piece (working title) Practically Perfect. The project focsued on the idea of perfectionism, the journey to strive for this unattainable goal and how this affects women in particular.

Alongside this, Vicki continued to develop her outreach project: The Confidence Project, delivering movement and arts workshops to women.

We really liked her desire to explore the idea of perfection in an intergenerational dance project.

'Christenings, weddings, civil partnerships, wakes, parties’...whether as a church or community arts venue, Trinity has always been a space of unique celebration and commemoration. Writes Dr Edson Burton in his introduction to our newest heritage publication 'A Centre For Celebration'. The booklet is part of our Heart &Soul heritage project and is a collection of conversations with the many people who have celebrated in one way or another at Trinity over the years.

Abi & Jack's Wedding at Trinity Centre

"Everybody wanted to get married there at that Trinity Church. My Auntie Marge and Auntie Iris got married there, I was bridesmaid there. What I do remember is where the vicar used to stand, it was a lovely eagle that he had the Bible on that he used to read the service from." Gloria, recorded on 22nd August 2018

Designed by our awesome intern Tess Sieling (who alongside her archive work has spent the year blogging about the Heart & Soul project) the booklet presents a sample of weddings, wakes and parties spanning the life of Trinity. View the booklet in its full glory here, or you can pick up one of the limited printed copies from Trinity. Previous heritage projects include What's Your Trinity Story and Vice & Virtue.

We welcomed Wilbert Smith from Heritage Lottery Fund to the celebration

Andy Council's Trinity Fox finds a home in the main hall

We opened up Trinity so all could have a look around - here participants from The Democratic Set check out The Visible Girls exhibition

Heart & Soul intern Tess chats with attendees at the celebration

Trinity member Stacey from Up Our Street places her vote

Trinity Centre Director Emma Harvey talks about the Heart & Soul project

Simi from Awaz, a weekly community group held at Trinity takes a moment to say thank you

Volunteer Rob's History of Trinity music set awed us all

Love this album? Then check out our Facebook for more photos.

Viki Browne during her residency at the University of Gloucester

I tend to work from what feels like the most difficult or sticky area of my thinking and whenever I’m like: ‘No, I’m not going there’, I’m like: ‘Oh, here we go! Viki Browne

Viki Browne is a performance artist who creates work about topics that are uncomfortable, risky or taboo.

As part of her 2018 IGNiTE artist residency, Viki focused on developing a new project Hyper Fem which considers whether the performance of femininity through drag can be as powerful, political or subversive when performed on a female identifying body.

The new piece was strongly inspired by some of her recent previous projects which involved wigs, Drag and performing as a "make up girl in a tiny dress".

Hyper Fem challenges restrictive gender norms dictated and commodified by the patriarchy.

How Viki describes her work:
“I thought: ‘I like that, I want that, I don’t know why it feels really naughty and forbidden. This is really difficult and feels very against my personal feminism. So I started making work about that. That’s what I’m bringing to IGNiTE – furthering my thinking about the performance of femininity and wether that can be a political and subversive performance, particularly if femininity is positioned on a female body”

IGNiTE resident Roxana Vilk shares her project during the induction day Sep 2018 photo @ Alexa Ledecky

“My hopes for the residency are that the idea will grow in a very collaborative, beautiful way into a piece that reflects the incredible diverse communities around us here and the heartfelt stories that bind us together as humans.” IGNiTE resident

We’re delighted to introduce the 2018 cohort of IGNiTE artists in residence. Over the next six months, these four Bristol based artists will develop exciting new work in collaboration with communities at Trinity.

Roxana Vilk will invite people to collectively celebrate heritage though lullabies sung at night in her project ‘Across Our City At Night’.

Ania Varez's invites people to experience emotional pain as a collective and across borders in her project ‘Guayabo’ (or, Grief Party).

Vicki Hearne’s ‘Practically Perfect’ is an intergenerational project exploring the common pressures felt by generations of women.

Viki Browne’s ‘Hyper Fem’ explores gender empowerment and the performance of femininity in a male dominated drag world.

Photographer Anita Corbin shares some thoughts with the 2018 cohort during their induction day photo @ Alexa Ledecky

Each artist has been chosen because their practice puts co-creation with communities at its core, aiming to connect to new audiences and sparking debate. Their projects tackle big issues to do with identity and our place in the world, exploring themes such as migration and gender empowerment.

Our  residency programme is now in its third year and aims to increase the diversity and representation of art, artists and audiences, whilst offering artists an opportunity to test out new ideas, reflect on their practice and make new connections.

Julia Thornycroft is a member of the IGNiTE programming forum, who collaboratively help select this years residents. Photo @ Alexa Ledecky

Whether artists are at the very beginning of an idea or taking a project they have already developed in a new direction, we encourage artists to use their time with us to take risks and experiment – all within a supportive environment.  All four artists will receive professional support, the use of Trinity’s performance space the Fyfe Hall, and a bursary. You can find out more about the featured artists and their projects by visiting their profile pages here.

Roxana, Ania and Vicky in the studio listening to music tutor Dave as he explained more about our Youth Music project, Making Tracks. Photo @ Alexa Ledecky

Through the year we will be blogging about Roxana, Ania, Vicki and Viki’s journeys and letting you know about sharing any opportunities for the public to take part. Sign up to our mailing list to keep updated.

We wish the artists all the luck and cannot wait to see their projects take shape, find out more about IGNiTE here, including our Autumn Season of shows.

About IGNiTE

IGNiTE is Trinity's in house programme of world-class, innovative theatre and dance about issues that matter to people now, starting conversations and sparking debate. IGNiTE is supported using public funding by Bristol City Council and by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Jackie Hagan's This Is Not A Safe Space celebrates the weird, the wonky, the unruly, and the resilient (Oct 19)

Our Autumn 2018 season of our in house theatre and dance programme, IGNiTE , presents four shows whose themes ask: How far have we actually come?

"Politics, race, gender, sexuality, poverty, crime, austerity, pay gaps, #metoo our society seems deeply polarised. IGNiTE presents four shows that are in different ways providing a snapshot of our divided times and ask: how far have we come?” Rhiannon Jones Programme Manager

Launching on October 19 with award winning comedian and writer, Jackie Hagan’s This Is Not A Safe Space. Commissioned by Unlimited, Jackie conducted interviews with people from all over the country living on the fringes and the spaces in between. These are not sob stories - they are well rounded lives full of the spiky humor and the complicated weirdness of being human. Jackie weaves these narratives together with poetry and anecdotes, in a performance celebrating the weird, the wonky, the unruly, and the resilient.

An all female cast feature in The Forecast, by Limbik Theatre (Oct 20). Based on George Saunders’ short story The Semplica Girl Diaries. Set in the not too distant future, the latest must-have consumer craze and status symbol are Human Garden Ornaments; women, from developing countries, hoisted up in affluent backyards, thin wires through their brains connecting them to news, travel, weather. In The Forecast, we hear what life is like for the four of them in this dystopian theatre piece. It could never happen...could it?

Rachael Young and badass band of super-humans embrace Afrofuturism and the cult of Grace Jones in: Nightclubbing (Nov 2)

Next up, join award winning Rachael Young and her badass band of super-humans as they embrace Afrofuturism, the cult of Grace Jones and intergalactic visions to start a revolution in Nightclubbing (Nov 2). This explosive dance performance traces the connections between Grace Jones’ 1981 landmark album ‘Nightclubbing’ and a London club's refusal to admit three Black women on the grounds of race in 2015?

'It is more than OK to be this way' in Sardoville's For Only An Hour (Nov 24)

Tackling the continuing oppression of LGBTQ++ community, Sardoville’s one man romp For Only An Hour (Nov 24) is a queer manifesto told through dance, song, spoken word and performance art. Created in response to the 2017 persecution of the LGBTQ++ community in Chechnya, this show is about celebrating who we are, and offering support to a new generation by saying: it’s more than OK 'to be this way'.

Get involved

IGNiTE resident artist Vicki Browne will develop a new piece of work 'Hyper Fem'

Throughout the season there are opportunities for public to take part and get more involved. From joining in the conversation in one of our post show talk backs, dancing the night away at our post show club night following Nightclubbing’s to signing up to one of our Artist led workshops. Keep an eye on our website for updates.

As part of the IGNiTE programme Trinity will be supporting four resident artists across the year who will receiving professional support and developing work in Trinity’s performance space – Fyfe Hall. Bristol based artists Ania Varez, Roxana Vilk, Vicki Hearne and Viki Browne will all receive professional help and support, rehearsal space and a bursary to develop new work at Trinity.

Previous IGNITE residents include performance artist Caroline Williams, dance practitioners Ella Mesma,  Sara Dos Santos and Latisha Cesar, theatre makers Uninvited Guests and Back in 5 Minutes Squad who joined up with disability led arts organisation Art in Motion.

Tickets to all IGNiTE shows are priced at £11 standard and £9 for concessions and can be purchased online at trinitybristol.org.uk

IGNiTE is Trinity's in house programme of world-class, innovative theatre and dance about issues that matter to people now, starting conversations and sparking debate. IGNiTE is supported using public funding by Bristol City Council and by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Clare and Sam's wedding Aug 5 2017

'We got together around New Year and just clicked and ended up living together.' His wake was actually held at the Trinity. It's where we went back to..It was a strange circularness - saying hello and goodbye at Trinity.' (anonymous)

Celebratory, poignant, both weddings, christenings, wakes, funerals, parties - as part of our Heritage Project Heart & Soul we are looking for stories of your big event at Trinity to include in our online archive and celebration event.

It might be that you met a life long friend, a partner, here at an event. If you have a story and pictures to share with us contact Edson@3ca.org.uk or call Trinity on 0117 9351200 and ask to speak to either Edson or Karina.

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Silent Hobo and Mr Riks paint Trinity's reception in 2015

As part of our Heart & Soul project we are looking to commission artists to produce creative responses to key moments in Trinity’s history. The works created will be on semi permanent display in the building and become part of the indoor visual history trail that will be completed in Oct 2018.

Trinity already has a DJ Derek Stencil by artist Stewy, painted in celebration of a generous donation to our Youth Music project by Sweet Memory Sounds - a trust set up by Derek’s family and friends to keep Derek’s musical legacy going. We also have a mural painted by Bristol artists Silent Hobo and Mr Riks in our reception area, painted in 2015 during our last major capital works.

We imagine that the artwork could be a stencil or mural, painted, or sprayed, directly onto the walls:

- inspired by the history of the building

- appropriate to our audiences

- celebrating Trinity’s history

- Tells a story of Trinity

- Celebrates Trinity as the centre of community activity

We will work with artists to decide where the artworks will be and suggest artists come to the the site visit 21st Aug to have a tour of the building.  The total budget for all commissions is £2500 and could be spread across a few artists, or on a larger commission.

Artists can have full access to our archive – an extensive collection of images, flyers, posters, newspaper articles & oral interviews from the 1832 to the current day.

Download the full brief here

Deadline for submissions is Friday 31st August 2018, 12:00pm

Site visit Tuesday 21st August from 12:00pm - 7:00pm

The art work needs to be completed by Sunday 30th September 2018

The total commissioning budget is £2500 to include artists time and materials.

Have any questions? Then click here to send us an email

Fyfe Hall filled up for the penultimate talk in the series @Khali Ackford

There was a lot of excitement within the team about this event as we knew the panel members would be really interesting and bring good insight to Bristol’s current art scene. There was a last minute change so Daniel Balla from Coexist joined us in place of Greg Bond who was unable to attend. Michele Curtis and Doug Francis joined us as planned, and our own Dr Edson Burton chaired the evening.

Coexist’s Daniel started by explaining their approach to serving the community. He spoke about the way that cultural ecology is not fixed, it is constantly recreated. A central concern of gentrification has and always will be the displacement of people from the community that used to occupy that space, physically or spiritually, in society. Some art installations at Hamilton House have expressed this by communicating the unpredictable nature of the facade and behind by having volunteers speak about their lives behind a screen for attendees to listen to. He mentioned that national newspapers such as The Guardian site Stokes Croft as the epitome of gentrification, so Coexist have a big responsibility to critique their own actions and what other organisations do to serve their community.

"Should we be calling this gentrification at all or rather redevelopment? What defines gentrification could simply be the monetisation of the social world."

One of the main subjects of conversation throughout the evening was the need to conform with capitalist needs while making art, in order to succeed. These organisations have rent to pay and therefore have had to learn how to generate capital through a variety of means. In the case of Coexist, they have hosted activist groups such as the Bristol Drugs Project as well as commercial income from artist studios, dance studios, and desk space. The model has to be reactive to the community, for example after engaging with the community to see where the need was, they set up a Somali kitchen.

On the panel from left to right, Coexit's Daniel Balla, Trinity'sDr Edson Burton, ASLS's Doug Francis and visual artist Michele Curtis @Khali Ackford

There were also questions raised about the use of language- should we be calling this gentrification at all or rather redevelopment? What defines gentrification could simply be the monetisation of the social world. In terms of where Coexist sits- the future is uncertain. The organisation always assumed it would be able to buy the building when the time was right, however this year their landlords have quadrupled the rent, throwing all future plans into the air. This has motivated the team to think about Coexist’s future. They critiqued the system and they now want to make a network between arts organisations so that they can support and stand up for one another like a union.

Michele Curtis’s career in visual art began in 2015 in St Paul’s with a mural and walking tour project. She wanted to communicate the local history visually by painting large murals, and proposed this idea to somebody, who strongly advised to act immediately. Michele described how at the time she did not consider why, but that with hindsight she believes he gave this advice because he could see the area was changing and in the near future, people living there would not want massive murals of black people’s portraits. She projected to the audience a feeling of motivation, encouraging artists to act on their ideas and make art happen.

"...the power lies with artists, therefore we must continue to make art, and fight for arts organisations."

Doug Francis comes from a long art background, originally doing events in the Portobello Road area of London before moving to Bristol where there was still opportunity. In this instance, Doug talks about opportunity in terms of buildings that can still be used to hold raves, parties and art events cheaply or for free. He said that he did not look forward to anticipate what would be happening now. With friends, he occupied garages up Cheltenham Road, and what they did differently from other groups of artists was they opened up their squat to invite the local community in. Doug is also the ringmaster of The Invisible Circus, with outrageous costumes, props and staging. When Artspace Lifespace took The Island over from Urban Splash, with enormous pride he described it as the clowns taking over the police station, the lunatics taking over the asylum. Other venues they have around Bristol include the Loco Club under Temple Meads, the Vestibules at the Council House on College Green, and most recently acquired, Ashton Court.

He has made art in many ways and in lots of different places and media. Recently he even had a job in the Somerset council, trying to re-purpose the Tropicana Centre after Banksy’s Dismaland residency. The feeling we were left with was that the power lies with artists, therefore we must continue to make art, and fight for arts organisations.

Questions from the floor created lively debate about gentrification in Bristol. Photo @Khali Ackford

After each panellist had spoken about their work individually, the floor was open to questions. There was a good mixture of debate, and a sense that the audience was in it together, fighting for the same side. The amount of knowledge sharing was inspiring, for example an audience member made us all aware about the Living in Vehicles consultation which is happening at Bristol City Council.

The panel made it a richly interesting, energetic evening of discussion, for which we thank them.  Catch the last talk in our series on the 31st July at 7pm, ‘Reconstructing Trinity: From Disrepair to Glory’. It will be another panel discussion featuring Trinity members past and present, don’t miss out.

These notes are written by Tess Sieling, who is the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. Read more of her notes on our Tuesday talk series - Father Paul, Fidel Meraz, A Million Bricks of Love, and Same Building, Different Meaning. Our talk series explores the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and is programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).