From riots in 1831 to the Colston statue and Kill the Bill protests, Bristol has long been a city renowned for radical action. Now, as then, radicalism has been accompanied by an outpouring of creative responses - from poetry to illustration to performance.

Now, Stories of Resistance, a new nine-part podcast series has been launched, uncovering some of Bristol’s lesser-known stories of contemporary activism. From the story of how one moment changed the direction of a grassroots boxing club, to a mother’s journey into disability activism, to changing the face of environmentalism and pushing for better gender representation in the music industry, these podcasts explore the stories of ordinary people fighting for change.

"What I noticed was by taking part in this project people discovered that there are so many people battling injustices and fighting against social injustices and yet so often don’t see themselves as an activist." Miranda Rae, Community Journalist

The series was created by Bristol residents during workshops with award winning journalist and broadcaster Miranda Rae (Sound Women SW and Ujima Radio). Over four months Miranda hosted group and 1-2-1 training sessions where participants learned how to produce, research, record and present a podcast.

The podcasts were commissioned as part of Art of Resistance, our two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project that has been exploring, documenting and celebrating the human stories behind activist movements in Bristol.

The podcasts will be distributed on Ujima Radio on Sundays  throughout January at 11am starting on 08 Jan throughout January 2023 and will include interviews with the creators as well as Dr Edson Burton, who is the driving force behind the project. Please note that the episodes may include language and topics that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Listen now on Spotify

St Pauls Carnival

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival and David Jubb of Citizens In Power, Trinity are exploring how Bristol can co-create a cultural strategy for the city and surrounding region.

During this research phase, funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), we invited a range of collaborators from the sector who place participation at the heart of their practice to hear from some of the best speakers working in democratic decision making right now.

These focus groups have been a chance to share ideas, experiences, knowledge and expertise on co-creation, participatory democracy and how we can do things differently in the culture sector.

In a series of blogs we are documenting and sharing what we are uncovering this journey. For our first focus groups we welcomed Brett Henning, co-founder of the Sortition Foundation and Janet Vaughan, designer and co-artistic director of Talking Birds to share their experiences of creating Citizens' Assemblies.

Part 2: Art, for, with, by the people

Janet Vaughan is the co-artistic director of Talking Birds Theatre Company who hosted the UK’s first Citizens’ Assembly on Arts, Culture & Creativity as part of the 2021 Coventry City of Culture. The Assembly took place over six weeks and produced recommendations that were incorporated in the city's Cultural Strategy. We invited Janet to share their experience of using this model and what they learned during the process.

Joining us on Zoom, Janet first shared how their interest in participatory democracy came from the early day of the pandemic where a large proportion of people in the UK suddenly had time 'to do things'. During this time, Janet shared that they took part in online conferences and events by organisations including Civic Square and that this initial engagement was the spark that led to their hosting of a Citizens' Assembly.

The initial barrier to programming the Citizens' Assembly in Coventry was engaging with stakeholders to invest in the process - as Citizens' Assemblies are very expensive. However, Talking Birds, in collaboration with stakeholders, felt it was important for people, outside the cultural sector, to have a voice in creating a cultural offer.

Through David Jubb, Janet connected with the Sortition Foundation and they acted as the independent organisation who would administer, engage and select participants for the Assembly. The Sortition Foundation worked to ‘crunch’ the numbers to ensure participants reflected the demographic data that has been specified.

As with other UK Assemblies, Talking Birds paid for participants to take part and supplied people with the tech they may have needed for engaging in the process during a pandemic. They also offered 1-2-1 tech support to ensure engagement was equitable.

The group were interested in whether the Citizens' Assembly ‘made a difference’ and if the process enabled learnings that were 'surprising or unexpected'. Janet shared that, yes, firstly because conversations were had that otherwise would not have been able to happen and, secondly, because the people who took part would not normally have been able to engage with each other. Then finally, that because the Citizens' Assembly approach is tried and tested, it created real spaces for conversation, questions and ideas.

The group were then interested in how to go about choosing the provocation for discussion during the Assemblies'. Janet shared that Talking Birds set up an oversight committee to explore what their provocation would be. At the time there was a drive to ‘build back better’ and the committee, through discussions, came to an agreement that they wanted to explore the role of art and artists in this.

The final part of Janet’s talk looked at data and numbers. The Coventry project ran over six weeks, 50 people took part in the Assembly itself across six learning sessions with evidence from around 12 expert witnesses. The cost to run and engage participants was around £120k.

Janet reflected that it was brilliant to watch the participants build confidence over the project and felt the approach enabled people to feel autonomy, listened to and that their questions were valid. From these, recommendations were drafted and put to vote at the Assembly and then went through a process of refining the recommendations which where eventually submitted to the Council for consideration.

We will continue to share our findings from the research stage of our project alongside programming further focus groups and action-learning sessions.

Interested in finding out more?

• Read part 1: What is a Citizen's Assembly?
• Keep up-to-date about the project by joining our mailing list
• Read Freddie Wulf's article: Identity Capital
• Watch Trinity's take over of the Radix Big Tent
• Join in the conversation using #67MillionVoices

Community Painting Day. Photo credit: Khali Ackford

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival and David Jubb of Citizens In Power, Trinity are exploring how we can co-create a cultural strategy for the city and surrounding region.

During this research phase funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), we invited a range of collaborators from the sector who place participation at the heart of their practice to hear from some of the best speakers working in democratic decision making right now.

These focus groups have been a chance to share ideas, experiences, knowledge and expertise on co-creation, participatory democracy and how we can do things differently in the culture sector.

In a series of blogs we are documenting and sharing what we are uncovering this journey.

Part 1: What is a Citizens' Assembly?

For the first focus group we welcomed Brett Hennig, co-founder of the Sortition Foundation. The Sortition Foundation is an organisation that believes in representative and participatory politics, with a particular focus on Citizens' Assemblies.

The purpose of these assemblies, Brett outlined, is that they bring people together from all walks of life and give the time and space for people to collectively tackle issues. It is a model, Brett shared, that Bristol itself has delivered as part of its plan for post-Covid recovery.

Citizens' Assemblies work by a three-part process of learning, discussion, and decision-making. In the learning stage, evidence is presented on the topic by ‘expert witnesses’, the group then discuss this evidence and work together to come to a consensus to create recommendations. These recommendations are then put to the vote. The recommendations that are most supported can become the official recommendations of the assembly.

Brett stressed the importance of having representation in a Citizens' Assembly, so the pool must be reflective of demographic data and, in the case of our project, cultural engagement. He shared that, unlike politics, Young People (30 and under) are represented in Citizens' Assemblies because of the nature of the selection process that reflects a city’s demographic data.

Participants of Citizens' Assemblies are selected via an independent third party - these organisations will initially contact citizens directly using a database, such as the Royal Mail’s database of every postal address in the UK. There is then a second selection of the people who respond to the invitation based on the demographic data they provide.

The group were interested in how the experts are selected - as this could be contentious. Using an example of congestion in a city, Brett explained that a Local Authority could commission an external third party to collect the evidence at hand, perhaps from an open call out. An Oversight Group for the assembly will be given the responsibility for ensuring the evidence that is presented to the assembly is balanced. Assembly members can also be part of the process of identifying contributors to the assembly. This would enable a wider pool of opinions, practically from those invested in the topic with expertise and/or lived experience.

The group wanted to understand how large a Citizens' Assembly should be. Brett shared that, in deliberative democracy, it is not a big numbers game. The key is representation. Brett shared that in Ireland, assemblies have seen numbers of up to 100 people, France had 150 in the Climate Assembly, but many local assemblies are around 40 people.

In summarising his talk, the discussion centred around how to ensure that voices are heard and amplified in Citizens' Assemblies, specifically those from Communities who may face barriers to participation. Brett shared that perhaps over-representation could be a consideration so that more communities are attending for specific areas whose voices are historically not amplified. Brett also explained that representation is not only about the citizens in the assembly but also about the voices of those who give evidence.

Interested in finding out more?

We will continue to share our findings from the research stage our project alongside programming further focus groups and action-learning sessions.

• Keep up-to-date about the project by joining our mailing list
• Read Freddie Wulf's article: Identity Capital
• Watch Trinity's take over of the Radix Big Tent
• Join in the conversation using #67MillionVoices

Over the summer we joined forces with Travelling Light to shine a light on how, with the support of the Coutts Foundation, we are both working to create opportunities for some of the youngest members of our communities to take part in creativity and begin their creative journey.

“Its good to have this so close. Have been walking past for ages and I didn’t know they could come in. Would really like to come again because we don’t have anywhere to play outside as we live in a flat” Feedback from the family garden sessions

Travelling Light Theatre Company are based in Barton Hill - just up the road from where Trinity is based. They create theatre for children and families, run a youth theatre and programme free events and activities.

Their work, like ours, is embedded in local communities and they, like us, are committed to creating opportunities for children and families/carers to take part in culture, to play and celebrate together.

At Trinity this includes weekly Forest School sessions for children aged 12 and under and Family Sessions throughout the school holidays. The sessions aim to support children to develop or build upon their skills. In 2021/22, out of the 357 children who took part in Forest School activity, 97% showed increased confidence.

We also work in partnership with organisations to co-create a programme that responds to need. For example, the Creative Play Sessions - delivered with East Bristol Children's Centres - supports families with young children to connect through art. Read more about this project here.

If you are a resident of Barton Hill, Lawrence Hill, Newton or the Dings and would like to find out more about taking part in family arts activities you can sign up to Trinity's mailing list here and Travelling Light's mailing list here.

Fun Palaces in a UK wide organisation that supports volunteers, grassroots communities an organisations to programme events or create projects that celebrate the culture, skills and heritage of communities.

"I would love what I do to make a big difference in the world, I would love to do all kind of things like create wonderful things for people like homes for homeless people, or create wonderful animal sanctuaries. I just want to be happy with myself and make a huge difference." Ruth

We are partnering with Fun Palaces as part of thee-year project that aims to give power to communities so they can re-think, re-claim or re-purpose civic and community spaces.

As part of the project, local Newtown resident, Ruth, has been working with Trinity’s Communities Activities Coordinator to develop the ‘Recycle City Project’. The project aims to use creativity and technology to imagine a sustainable future City and hopes to include workshops across Bristol and an exhibition - most of all, Ruth wants to make a difference in the world around her.

Through the Fun Palaces partnership, we are offering free 1-2-1 support to Ruth, helping flash out ideas, apply for funding and support Ruth by attending meetings alongside her.

Ruth first started taking part in activity in the Community Garden at Trinity and remembers the sessions fondly, particularly baking using the outdoor oven and the other people who took part in the sessions. Recently, Ruth took part in The Wish List – a community arts project co-created by Newton Residents and artist Michelle Roache. She reflects that the lantern parade was ‘magic’ saying “we can all make that magic, I’m sure we can make that magic. I think that’s what I’m trying to create in my life, not just for myself, for the world”.

Fun Palaces aims to elevate everyday creativity, especially for those who may not consider themselves to be artists. Ruth feels this is beneficial and expresses this eloquently in saying "like with Grayson Perry, it’s celebrating everyone's unique, artistic, creative talent”.

The Fun Places project will continue until 2025 - click here to find out more about the project and how Trinity could support you to ignite your ideas.

Ishmael Ensemble - Credit: Khali Ackford

We spoke to Pete Cunningham of Ishmael Ensemble ahead of their headline show at Trinity on 10 Nov as part of our in-house music programme Trinity Presents, to chat about the benefits of collaboration, Bristol's music scene, and what's next for Ishmael Ensemble.

Can you tell us a little about how Ishmael Ensemble formed?

I started the project in 2017 having spent years making more traditional sample based electronic music & feeling uninspired by the process so I started recording & sampling the wealth of musicians & vocalists around me in the Bristol scene. It was so refreshing to take things back to the source as well as push myself as a musician. It soon became a live band & the rest is history…

What have been your highlights of 2022?

Without doubt playing the West Holts stage at Glastonbury, I’ve been going since I was a kid & although I’ve played there before this felt like a real bucket list moment. Everyone brought their A-game & I couldn’t be happier with how the show went.

Aside from Glastonbury, we’ve been playing main stages at other festivals as well, it feels like we can finally present the project as I’ve always imagined it. I’ve definitely found a hunger to really hone the live show and dial everything in performance wise. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to since then.

It’s also been great to get back in the studio & work on new music.

Collaboration is clearly an important part of Ishmael Ensemble's musical identity - what benefits do you think collaborating with a range of artists provides?

It’s just a great way of staying inspired, it’s amazing to witness how different everyone’s approach to music making is. I’ve learnt so much & made some great friends through the process.

The Trinity show is going to be special as we’re able to invite pretty much all the vocalists & musicians I’ve worked with over the years. A real celebration of the project as a whole.

In your opinion, what makes the music scene in Bristol so special?

I think it’s big enough to attract a large amount of creative people but small enough for everyone to get to know each other. You can go to the pub & the rooms full of people doing interesting stuff & chances are you know most of them (& if you don’t yet, you will soon). It’s also a super-supportive community. Everyone goes to each other’s gigs & sings each other’s praises - there’s no room for inflated egos here.

What should the audience expect from your performance at Trinity?

It’s going to be a one off that’s for sure - it’s our largest headline show so we’ll be playing a super special extended set with loads of special guests joining us on stage as well as the amazing Jelly Cleaver on support.

I also feel we’re playing the best we ever have. It’s been great to really focus on the live show this year, upping the production & just getting the overall live sound & visual aesthetic right.

What's next for Ishmael Ensemble?

There’s lots of new music in the pipeline, some of which we’ll be debuting at Trinity. There’s lots of other exciting stuff but you’ll just have to wait and see for now!

Ishmael Ensemble will play Trinity on 10 Nov as part of Trinity Presents, our in-house programme of music and arts. Click here to get your tickets.

As part of our in house programme, Trinity Presents we welcome Gardna (Fr 14 Oct) who will be joining forces legendary reggae and punk veteran Don Letts.

Trinity's history has long been part of the cultural crossover of punk and reggae scenes which emerged in the late 1970s. Letts was instrumental in introducing reggae and dub sounds to the punk scene at the time. Given this rich history that we both share, we wanted to reflect on some of the key moments in Don Letts career.

• Don Letts was deeply inspired by the roots reggae from his parents' homeland in Jamaica, in particular the anti-establishment message of Bob Marley. After seeing Marley play the Odeon in Hammersmith in 1976, Letts snuck into Marley's hotel room and spent the night talking and befriending him.

"By 1977, the white teenage youths in London were looking for a new soundtrack and punk rock exploded on the scene. Problem was, this was so early in the scene, there were no punk records to play. So I'm spinning what I like, heavy dub reggae, and the punks were loving it. They dug the whole anti-establishment rebel vibe" - Don Letts

• During the 1970s, Don Letts rose to prominence as a resident DJ of The Roxy, a nightclub in London's Covent Garden. While The Roxy was known for being a hub for the punk scene that was growing in popularity at the time, Letts' sets at the venue featured mostly dub and reggae records.

• Letts recognised the natural similarities between punk and reggae, particularly in their shared, anti-establishment message, creating a crossover between the two cultures. Bands like The Clash were one of the first groups to incorporate elements of reggae music into their sound, seen most clearly through their cover of Junior Murvin's 1976 classic 'Police and Thieves'.

• Developing close relationships with punk bands such as Sex Pistols and The Clash led Letts onto creating films based around the punk scene at the time. Letts became the unofficial documenter of the scene, creating 'The Punk Rock Movie', mostly compiled from Super 8mm footage shot of live performances at The Roxy.

• Since then, Letts has gone on to direct over 300 music videos for a range of artists including Bob Marley, The Psychedelic Furs, Elvis Costello and long-time collaborators The Clash.

• Don Letts' life story was recently told in a documentary 'Rebel Dread', released earlier in 2022, featuring extensive footage from Lett's personal archive of videos.

Letts has continued to DJ throughout his career, and has been a regular feature on lineups across Bristol and the West. Don Letts will join Gardna at Trinity on 14 Oct for Trinity Presents: Gardna + Friends. Make sure to head down to catch this legend of the UK music scene (and his extensive vinyl collection) in action. Click here to get your tickets.

About Trinity Presents:

Gardna + Friends is part of Trinity Presents - our in-house programme of music, bringing world-class artists and emerging talent to inner-city audiences.

After The Fire - Film by Matt Feurtado

After the Fire was an immersive exhibition programmed part of our free community party in Sep 2022 . Across nine hours, over 1200 people came along to watch performances from some of Bristol and the South West's leading underground musicians, take part in workshops and much more. The exhibition displayed stories and artwork collected as part of the two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project: Art of Resistance.

From women's rights, worker's rights movements to the recent environmental and BLM movements ,Bristol has long been known as an 'activist city'. We sat down with historian and writer Dr Edson Burton, curator of Art of Resistance, to understand the project’s important contribution to social history:

"After The Fire was a vehicle for showing the midway point that we had reached with the research for the project. We had some fantastic audio from the oral histories we’d collected with artists and activists as well as pieces of artwork that had been inspired by protest.

To my mind it was important to escape the gallery aesthetic, the white-wall space which we normally associate with art, which conveys a certain sense of art as separate from life, separate from lived experience and it has an intellectual and class connotation that might leave some people feeling like it’s not part of their world.

We also wanted to bring the space to life, in keeping with the post protest theme, to stir the embers. With this in mind, we commissioned some of Bristol's leading performers to share their work, acoustically, straight after the soundscape.

The title was inspired by James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time written in response to racial tensions and riots in 60s America. I wanted to create a sense of a space that carried the sense of the broken, the unfinished, the space after the revolt.

"Collecting archives, interviewing people, is like gathering priceless treasures. I say priceless because, in a sense, an interview is a capture of a voice that may not exist in years to come."  Dr Edson Burton

I didn’t want it to feel like, ‘here’s one space that says is about that area of protest and here’s another’ because one of the things that is really striking when you interview artists and activists is often their passions intersect. We found people that are concerned with the environment may also be involved with anti-racism, people who are working on LGBTQ+ rights may also see common cause with anti-racism, and so on.

When you create spaces, they are spaces not just for audiences, but for artists to link, to meet and discuss and share, to see and revive work. That’s such a vital part of why these projects are useful. There is a sense too, that we are curating and holding the experiences that might otherwise disappear. Despite the wealth of research that is available, there are still stories that sink, there are not passed on. Collecting archives, interviewing people, is like gathering priceless treasures. I say priceless because, in a sense, an interview is a capture of a voice that may not exist in years to come."

About Art of Resistance

Art of Resistance is a two-year National Lottery Heritage Funded exploring 100 years of social activism, protest and civil disobedience in Bristol and the art that underpinned each movement.

Movema perform on the Trinity curated Bristol Dances stage at Bristol Harbour Festival

We have partnered with award-winning dance charity Movema to deliver a programme of work with local schools and community groups.

The programme, made possible with support from the Coutts foundation, launches in Autumn 2022. Activities are planned throughout 2023 and will focus on children, young people and communities whose opportunity to take part in the arts is limited by background or circumstance.

“Dance is a powerful tool for communicating feelings and messages individually and collectively. Movema will explore dance styles and approaches that evolve from people standing up, pushing back and finding a physical voice in response to inequality and oppression”

Penny Caffrey, Director of Movema

Movema will work with schools local to Trinity (including Hannah More Primary and St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary) and a neighbourhood in Trinity’s immediate catchment.

The first schools-based project – ‘Dances of Resistance’ is inspired by Trinity’s Heritage Lottery project, Art of Resistance. Through a series of dance sessions the company will use their engaging learning tool ‘World In a Box’ –introducing children to places, people, festivals and cultures from around the world, helping to develop a greater understanding of the wonderfully diverse society we live in.

Children taking part in the school workshops will then be invited to weekly dance sessions at Trinity, hosted by Movema. Here they will take part in dance routines, make costumes and build connections - culminating in a Carnival Celebration.

The partnership responds to pledges we made following an in-depth community consultation in 2021 and aims to provide a continued offer of engagement – enabling and building connectivity with creativity and culture.

Gardna - Image Credit: Khali Ackford

Ahead of Gardna's headline show at Trinity on the 14 Oct, we sat down with the man himself to chat humble beginnings, highlights from 2022, and what makes Bristol such a special city to perform in.

Trinity are collaborating with Gardna as part of Trinity Presents, our in-house programme celebrating our diverse city and platforming emerging talent.

Can you tell us a little about the origins of Gardna?

This question immediately took me back to being a young wild and free G Man aged 13, I'd always be blue toothing grime riddims to my mateys on my flip up Sony Ericson phone outside the local skatepark standardly. Then bars became a hobby then it became something more serious, making tracks regularly so on and so forth, then gigs, hundreds of free gigs, and then yeah I haven't really stopped since.

How's 2022 been for you so far? Any particular highlights?

It's been absolutely crazy to be quite honest. The albums done alright, my tune R.A.V.E.A.S.A.P has had over 100 plays on Radio 1, it's even been getting smashed out on the Breakfast Show, my tune is on the Playstation game FIFA 23, I am currently BBC Radio 1 Future Artist of the month this month? Tore up Glastonbury, opened Boomtown and did 30+ festivals. Toured America with Mungo's Hi Fi. Been on one this year mate.

How has your relationship with Trinity developed over the years?

I've been coming here for a while now. Loads of unreal nights here over the years, the venue and it's love for sound system music is unmatched in this city. Jamell has had my back and put me on for a few things at the venue including their legendary Garden Party. He believed in me to put on my headline show at Trinity, it's a big leap of faith, but its happening.

In your opinion, what makes Bristol such a special city to perform in?

Bristol is Bristol innit. We know what we're doing here in this city. No messing about. There's really no place like home.

The lineup for your event at Trinity is quite something - how did you choose who to include?

First and foremost, I'm just a massive fan of everyone playing at this event. I've booked them to be there because they're flippin great and they know how to really work the dancefloor in true Gardna & Friends style and flavour. Whether I've met them this year, or we've known each other our whole teenage lives - this line up is my musical family and it's a representation of emerging artists, long time collaborators, Radio 1 DJs and absolute foundational legends. Everyone on this line up has in some way single-handedly changed the game for me at some point and I owe them ALL a pint. Or just a good gig in October.

What should the audience expect from your night at Trinity?

A celebration of the spectrum of sound system music. My biggest headline Gardna show to date. Amazing guests. Oh, and tears. There will be tears. And rum.

What's next for Gardna?

We have some banging R.A.V.E.A.S.A.P remixes and we're already deeply in the zone writing my next album right now. Can't stop won't stop. See you in October gang.

Gardna + Friends will play Trinity on 14 Oct as part of Trinity Presents, our in-house programme of music and arts. Click here to get your tickets.

Grove - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Kahn ft. Rider Shafique - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

After The Fire - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Rita Lynch - Image Credit: Marley Small

Hip Hop Garden - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Solomon O.B - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Irish Mellow + Cxption - Image Credit: Marley Small

Garden Party: Revolution Sounds was our second free-community event of the year where we said goodbye to the summer with a mix of live music, workshops, performances and an immersive exhibition: After The Fire.

As always we welcomed some of the best artists in Bristol and the South West all playing on The Den stage. From punk to experimental we had the likes of Rita Lynch, Talisman and Kahn. Kept a secret until they came on, headliner Grove closed out proceedings with an epic mosh pit.

"Inspirational people and artwork" Feedback, Garden Party: Revolution Sounds

In the Fyfe Hall, we hosted an immersive exhibition 'After the Fire', a thought-provoking odyssey through the sounds and sights of Bristol’s protest history in recent years. This exhibition allowed us to present a culmination of artwork made as part of the last two years of Art of Resistance - pieces created by participants including pottery and murals, alongside placards made as part of our Visions of Resistance including a mural made by Tanith Gould which was displayed outside People's Republic of Stokes Croft on Jamaica Street.

We also had a number of workshops running throughout the day, including Movema Dance Workshops and Button-Up Badge Making Workshop in the Main Hall, plus Hip-Hop Workshops in the Trinity Garden.

Big thanks once again to everyone that made this event possible - from the artists that performed, the exhibition curators, the workshop facilitators, the lighting and sound team working behind the scenes, the bar staff and Trinity Team, and of course all of you that came down on the day - over 1,200 of you came along, and we raised over £1,000 in donations so that we can put on more events like Garden Party for the local community.

If you'd like to stay in the loop with everything on at Trinity, head to our What's On page for all our upcoming events, or follow our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and sign up to our mailing list to stay updated.

Art of Resistance is a two-year, National Heritage Lottery Funded project charting 100 years of protest in Bristol.

Community Painting Day part of the Wish List. Photo credit Khali Ackford

We have joined forces with St Paul’s Carnival to launch an ambitious project that aims to pilot a new people-led model for culture. Together, we want to support people to take decisions, make change and create culture that matters to them.

St Paul’s Carnival and Trinity are both grassroots, independent organisations based in East Bristol. Alongside delivering citywide events, we both work with local communities to design and deliver creative and cultural provision throughout the year.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) has committed funding for this research and development project, to test a process in which citizens could lead the creation and design of a cultural strategy for Bristol and the surrounding region.

Trinity and St Pauls Carnival will collaborate with the Gulbenkian Foundation, David Jubb of Citizens In Power and others to develop a bottom-up approach within the city that speaks of the collective experiences of diverse communities in order to better shape future decision making.

“We want to explore a different approach - one in which the very people who make and enjoy culture have a voice to express what this means for our city.” LaToyah McAllister-Jones Executive Director of St Pauls Carnival

Over the next year, the pilot will explore tested models such as Citizens’ Assemblies - used in Bristol in 2021 as part of the city’s post-COVID19 recovery planning - to input and shape democratic decision making in Bristol; a city known for its arts and culture.

This research phase will run until Summer 2023 and will involve a series of targeted workshops and open sessions, that will explore different ways of co-creating with communities.

If you would like to get involved, or for more information, please contact esther@trinitybristol.org.uk or sign up to Trinity’s Mailing list.

Photo Credit: Sam Howard

For the last 15 years, Teachings in Dub has been a staple of the Bristol dub scene and has become one of the longest running club nights in Bristol. Formed by Stryda (Dubkasm) and Pinch at Clockwork Nightclub on Stokes Croft until 2008 when Teachings found its new home here at Trinity.

Dub and soundystem cultures have been an integral part of Bristol’s music scene. During the 1970s and 1980's a DIY culture of soundsystems sprung up, particularly around East Bristol, allowing young people in Bristol to participate in the city’s music scene from the ground up.

Teachings in Dub has allowed for a new generation to participate in Bristol’s history of dub music. Teachings co-founder Stryda writes that the event has “always been about bridging the gap between the older generation and the new and ensuring the culture is maintained and respected but the vibes are passed on”.

"We aim to give elders a space to enjoy the music and vibes they grew up on as well as a window for newcomers to enter a music scene they may have otherwise not even known existed” - Stryda, Teachings in Dub co-founder

Stryda attributes Teachings’ long-standing popularity to providing “an authentic space to experience real undiluted soundsystem vibrations. The Bristol music scene is respected worldwide but is built on Reggae and soundsystem. We aim to give elders a space to enjoy the music and vibes they grew up on as well as a window for newcomers to enter a music scene they may have otherwise not even known existed”.

Teachings has hosted some of the biggest names in dub and roots reggae, including Jah Shakka, Iration Steppas, Channel One Soundystem and Aba Shanti-I, and will host celebrations for 50 Years of Jah Tubby this month on 17 Sep, before celebrating 15 Years of Teachings in Dub on 25 Nov.

Creative Community Play - Photo Credit: Sam Prosser

Creative Community Play was a 12-week pilot project that targeted parents and carers of babies and toddlers born in, or significantly impacted by, the isolation caused by Lockdown. The project was created in partnership between Trinity, creativeShift and Central Bristol Children’s Centres as part of a city-wide initiative connecting partners working in arts and health.

“I've had a chance to really connect with my child in a way that I don’t think I really had before and I wanted to before he went to school […] I feel a lot more connected to him and more calm”. Participant Feedback

Central Bristol Children’s Centre identified nine families with children aged from four months to four years who would benefit from taking part. All participants lived in Trinity’s locality with many families living in high-rise flats with little or no access to green spaces.

CreativeShift director, visual artist Barbara Disney and puppeteer and artist Araceli Cabrera Caceres looked at how to use natural objects, crafts and outdoor spaces to support connections between parent/career and children as well as with one another.

As part of the pilot participants watched a puppet show performed by Araceli Cabrera Caceres. For many this was their first experience of live performance.

Participants fed back that this has been the first time they had “really got to know [their] child” and others commented how the sessions really helped improve their wellbeing through connected with each other “there’s something very special about integrating that positive experience from my wellbeing with a positive  experience for his wellbeing. I feel like that has been really holistic and I really  appreciate that”.

During the sessions community health workers were also on hand to offer guidance for families or to signpost to other services.

Due to the success of the pilot project, we have secured funding for further sessions. These will be running from until March 2023. Referrals to Creative Community Play are via Central Bristol Children’s Centres. If you would like to find out how to take part please visit their website.

This project is part of Thriving Communities

Trinity have partnered with Coexist Community Kitchen to deliver a series of community gardening and cooking sessions. The sessions are aimed at bringing people together from a wide range of backgrounds to learn more about gardening, harvesting and cooking in our beautiful garden.

“I’ve loved learning to cook authentic meals from different parts of the world, coming together with people from different backgrounds and learning about their food” - Toby, Participant

Coexist Community Kitchen work with individuals who are accessing support for mental health issues, addiction, loneliness, and anyone who would benefit from taking part in outdoor activities to improve their personal well-being. The group learn about and take part in harvesting fresh produce such as carrots, marrows and radishes, before coming together to cook a meal as a group. In one session, participants made Vietnamese-style vegetable spring rolls and pancakes with vegetables and herbs picked garden.

Over the summer we delivered six weekly sessions, with around 30 people taking part. Participants spoke about how these sessions help with mental well-being, reduced isolation and loneliness, and offered the chance to learn more about cooking and gardening. Being able to offer free, outdoor sessions is something that has become increasingly important, especially post-pandemic when isolation has become more common.

We launch a new series of Community Cooking Sessions on 13 Sep. Click here to find out more.

These events are part of Eastside People and Places, made possible through funding from Bristol Impact Fund.

Eastside People and Places is three-year project delivered by Trinity, Eastside Community Trust and Somali Kitchen (CIC). Together, we are delivering a programme of events and activities aimed at bringing people together; reducing loneliness and isolation and helping people feel included and welcome.

As part of the project, Trinity is offering support, help and guidance to people who have an idea for a community activity. Community Activities Coordinator, Stefan, works closely with community groups/ individuals to help shape ideas, create connections and plan activity.

"I never have have thought I would ever enjoy doing anything like this, but I've absolutely loved it - thank you". Creative coffee morning participant at Rosevear House

Stefan has helped residents of retirement housing Rosevear House establish a regular creative coffee morning following Trinity's Community Arts Project - The Wish List. In these coffee mornings an established artist supports participants to develop their creative ideas. Alongside this, local families whose children attended our Green Shoots After School Club will be launching their community-led regular playgroup for early years in the new term.

Regular groups have also been supported to re-ignite or establish activities, including 'Rhythm of the Night', a club night for people with learning disabilities and their friends, the new community-led LGBTQ+ theatre group, AmQueer, plus a new a relaxed and friendly social for over-55s East Central Mingle.

We are now looking to programme our Autumn/Winter activity and invite Community groups/ Individuals who have an idea for an activity that brings people together to contact stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk for a chat.

Click here to find out more about the Eastside People and Places

Eastside People and Places is supported by The Bristol Impact Fund

Ahead of their day party takeover at Trinity on 27 Aug, we sat down with Club Djembe co-founder Ryan Foster (DJ Stolen) to chat about the label's beginnings, thoughts on the Bristol music scene and what's next for Club Djembe.

Trinity are collaborating with Club Djembe as part of Trinity Presents, our in-house programme celebrating our diverse city and platforming emerging talent, to host a day party in The Den, our new seasonal outdoor venue situated in the historic grounds of Trinity.

How did Club Djembe start?

Ryan: Club Djembe started all through a lack of events within Bristol that were pushing & promoting our music. We were playing UK Funky, Afro House & a lot of percussion led music on radio but never heard/saw of anything happening within the clubs in Bristol, so myself (DJ Stolen) & Jake decided to launch Club Djembe. Luckily for us at the time Josie was working behind the bar at The Love Inn so we managed to throw our first party and it all kicked off from there back in 2017.

What do you think Club Djembe offers to the Bristol music scene?

We know for ourselves and hear from our community that it is hard to find these genres of music in the events scene. Consistency (which is always key), as we guarantee that no night will stray from the vibe and atmosphere that we like to create - we have an open the door attitude and welcome a variety of people/cultures We also want ticket prices and venues to be affordable and accessible for everyone. And mostly, which we are most proud of, is that we love to support and put on new artists, that's something that excites us the most.

What kinds of events do you think are missing from the Bristol club scene?

Bristol has pretty much been the epicentre for Drum & Bass in the UK for as long as I can remember. It’s really refreshing to see a few more nights popping up that are pushing and promoting the same kind of music as us, Amapiano, UK Funky, Afro House like Lockmars for example. However it would be good to see more of these across Bristol, I think a lot of would be promoters get afraid by the prospect of an event not going well, however the best events from our experience are the ones you put on through a love & passion for the music rather than focusing on the monetary side of events.

What's next for Club Djembe?

The remainder of 2022 is looking RAMMED for us can’t lie. We’re throwing our first proper London event in September which is going to be massive, it’s falling inline with the release of our next compilation, Club Djembe Vol. 3 which is also huge! We then have one more release to go for the year which is from one of our favourite Bristol producers and we also have three more Bristol events in the pipeline including a big Christmas knees up with another sick London/Bristol based promoter so keep your eyes firmly planted on Club Djembe socials over the next few months as we have a lot going on.

Club Djembe will be playing at Trinity's outdoor venue The Den on Sat Aug 27. Click here to grab your tickets.

Teachings in Dub regular sound system night @Trinity, ©Khali Ackford

Trinity Community Arts Statement re Trinity Road Police Station Redevelopment (Application Ref. No: 21/04338/F) – Updated August 2022

Trinity welcomes the prospect of increased affordable homes and social housing offered by The Guinness Partnership. As such, since 2019, we have been liaising with Guinness and have worked closely with other community representatives including the Old Market Community Association (OMCA), as part of a shared effort to deliver the best possible outcomes for new residents.

Our main concern stems from the findings of an independent acoustician, who has concluded the noise measurements that underpin the acoustic assessment are not fit for purpose. Specifically, that the metrics adopted in the assessment fail to specifically consider the high potential for disturbance caused by low frequency music noise.

This was accompanied by concerns that proposals for a Deed of Easement - while providing additional protections to the venue - may not be suitable for a social housing development due to lack of social mobility of incoming tenants. Tenants with choice limited by their means will be more likely to accept an offer of unsuitable accommodation and will have less social mobility to relocate in the event that they find the conditions and impact of living in such close proximity to a venue to be unsatisfactory and unable to complain about this due to restrictions in their tenancy.

In addition, solutions such as mechanical ventilation, may offer little comfort to those who are most at risk of the impacts of rising energy costs and the current cost of living crisis.

As with other developments in the city and country, the 1st of 10 principles from the Govt’s National Design Guide, is ‘context’. Too often, the rapid re-imagining of our cities comes at the expense of existing social, cultural and physical landscapes.

Were the development to be permitted, we hope that Guinness will continue in their efforts to address these concerns to ensure every step is taken to mitigate against impact of our existing operations on our new neighbours.

Protections promised byAgent of Change remain largely untested and sadly the responsibility to protect what exists already falls to individual citizens to speak up in defence of the things that matter to them.

So far, there has been a lot of good will expressed by all parties including the Local Authority. We now need to ensure this translates into clear conditions and robust mitigation measures as part of the planning process, to legally safeguard Trinity’s future as a cultural institution for East Bristol and to ensure a duty of care is undertaken for the future tenants of those living 50yd from our front doors.

We recommend anyone with concerns to direct these through the Bristol City Council planning portal (application ref no. 21/04338/F).

A new semi-permanent artwork created in collaboration with Tanith Gould – a local mural artist and member of Bristol Mural Collective - and the local community has been unveiled outside the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft building on Jamaica Street.

The mural is currently on display outside People’s Republic of Stokes Croft on Jamaica Street and will move on to Trinity next month to be displayed as part of Garden Party II on 18 September.

"This project has given people a platform to discuss issues they care about whilst also connecting them more deeply to their own beliefs and morals" - Tanith Gould

The mural, titled ‘Bristol Resists’, was created as part of a month long series of workshops teaching elements of mural design to the immediate community as part of our two-year long project, Art of Resistance, exploring 100 years of protest and activism in Bristol.

The mural was commissioned as piece of community art - made up of ideas from the public and around 50 participants over 3 workshops - featuring placards directly inspired by their submissions - to be displayed publicly across Bristol.

To create the mural, Tanith delivered a series of creative workshops, with the aim to provide a platform in which people were able to come together to discuss areas of social, political and environmental injustice and create a powerful piece of protest art in response.

Visions of Resistance launched at Trinity’s Garden Party back in May with a mural workshop. Participants were encouraged to think of artistic responses to the five research strands of the Art of Resistance project - Reclaiming the Environment, Women’s Equality, Counter Culture, Anti-Racism/Anti-Fascism and Working-Class Equality. These responses were expressed through a mix of mediums including collage, paint and printmaking.

The initial workshop at Garden Party was then followed workshops focusing on printmaking and collaging. These workshops encouraged participants to develop on the themes of protest and activist art with sessions focusing on printing radical imagery, slogans and lettering to make placards that represented social causes that resonated with them personally.

Tanith collated placards created during the workshops as well as illustrations representing significant moments in Bristol’s protest history such as the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston and the Bristol Bus Boycott to produce the final mural which represents a broad range of activism in Bristol over the last 100 years.

About Art of Resistance

Art of Resistance is a two-year National Lottery Heritage Funded exploring 100 years of social activism, protest and civil disobedience in Bristol and the art that underpinned each movement.

Trinity are proud to be the Bristol partners of The World Reimagined, a ground-breaking, national education project transforming how we understand the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.

“If we’re going to make racial justice a reality for all, it calls on us to courageously face our shared history with honesty, empathy and grace" - Michelle Gayle, The World Reimagined Co-founder

The project features 103 unique globes placed across seven cities in the UK, including nine in Bristol, forming an education trail to allow the public to learn more about the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.

Trinity are hosting a globe entitled 'Legacy' created by Alex Grose - a local artist specialising in drawing, painting and printmaking. Since 2011, Grose has focussed upon the human condition and lost generations, layering to obscure, destroy, hide, cover, manipulate, strip and wash away images and materials, using these forms of making to symbolise the passage of time and the way history affects memory and knowledge in contemporary society.

The globe will be on display to the public in Trinity's Garden from 13 August - 31 October 2022.

With more than 2m trail visitors; 200+ schools; 75+ community organisations, The World Reimagined will be one of the largest art education projects for racial justice the UK has ever seen. The coming together of art, education, activism and community will make for a unique moment as we examine our shared history and help us to better understand what it means to be British.

Click here to find out more about The World Reimagined.