1985 Oct 25 International Time Off for Women

March 8 marks International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

The origins of International Women’s Day can be traced to the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910. Delegates approved a motion calling for a celebration of women every year in every country. Today International Women’s Day is a month-long celebration and the struggle for equal access and opportunity, are as relevant today as it was in 1910.

Throughout the month of March, we have a programme of activities to celebrate, to take part in and to learn more about women’s history.

Associate Artist Roxanna Vilk has teamed up with charity Bristol Women’s Voice to offer a free Lullabies workshop (Mar 10). The Workshop is open to families and carers and is an opportunity to learn Iranian, Slovenian and Cuban Lullabies. Sign up here.

As part of Art of Resistance we will be exploring the ways that women have creatively responded to the struggle for equality across the world. Our outdoor gallery, Snapshots of Resistance, will have a selection of photographs documenting women protestors & pioneering artists – with a wider selection of photographs from our archive will be accessible online. We will also be releasing an inspirational interview with Bristol treasure singer songwriter Rita Lynch. We are also calling out for stories and art to be part of the project. Submit yours online here.

There are more activities planned, keep an eye out on our website, sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep-up-to-date and to #GetInvolved.

Deborah Baddoo MBE is the Producer for Bristol Dance Future’s Moving Bristol project. The project focuses on developing dance practice for new and existing audiences and developing an ecology of dance across Bristol.

Drawn to the opportunity by a desire to galvanise action and create a legacy for Dance in the city, Deborah brings her extensive experience in the dance sector to the role.

Passionate about her long-term vision to raise the profile and support the development of Black choreographers nationally and internationally,she was awarded an MBE for service to dance in 2010. In 1986 in partnership with musician Steve Marshall, she set up arts production company State of Emergency. The company produces shows, projects and events and works with world-class artists and creates opportunities for emerging artists. The charitable arm, State of Trust works to use the arts to promote social cohesion.

Deborah has also worked as an Arts Council Agent for Change with Bristol Old Vic and Sailsbury Playhouse, was Diversity Consultant for Bristol Museums and has worked with many renowned dance and arts organisations across the UK including Rich Mix, DanceXchange, Stratford Circus, Swindon Dance and East London Dance.

As well as a planned programme of industry events - such as the upcoming Dance and Health Conference 2021 - Deborah has collaborated with the Dance Futures Steering Group, independent artists and organisations to select the Dance Connect residencies. The residencies are an opportunity for practitioners, organisations and communities to collaboratively develop a programme of dance activity. Artists will explore and develop ways that dance can be enjoyed and experienced by new and existing audiences and participants across the city.

Deborah has also supported the creation of three Dance Hubs across the city to focus on the development of Dance for Health, Young People and Audiences. Organisations on board are Arnolfini, Creative Youth Network and Trinity. Trinity will be working with dance practitioners Lerato Dunn and Rachel James to programme activity in our role as the Arts & Health Dance Hub for the project.

Find out more about Moving Bristol here.

About Bristol Dance Futures

Bristol Dance Futures, is a consortium of Bristol organisations and independent artists, that nurtures talents and provides professional development opportunities for dancers, with an aim to create a vibrant dance ecology, so people of all ages can engage with high-quality dance.

Dance Connect is supported by funding from Arts Council England

Tell us about Art of Resistance

The Art of Resistance is a two-year programme of research, activities and events charting looking at creative responses to resistance movements in Bristol. We will focus on five key movements over the last 100 years:

• Women’s Equality Suffragette to the #MeToo Movement
• Anti-Racism/Anti-Fascism – Black Shirts to Black Lives Matters
• Workers' Rights - Hunger Marches to unionising the gig economy
• Counter Culture – Rastafari, Squatters, Travellers & the free party scene
• Reclaiming the Environment – CND, Extinction Rebellion, graffiti to street art

Each strand will be explored through research and activities including talks, workshops and reminiscence sessions.

Tells us a little about what's been going on with the project?

As with many across the cultural and heritage sectors, we've had to navigate the impact of COVID-19. Online platforms have become our best friend; we've hosted two project ‘Intro' sessions, giving members of the public a chance to find out more and how they can contribute either by sharing their 'resistance art', or by volunteering with one of our research teams to help uncover Bristol's stories of resistance and that art that helped drive forward some of the City's key movements over the last few decades.

What have you uncovered so far?

We've started off by talking to and interviewing some of the leading lights in active Bristol movements and are looking forward to sharing over the coming weeks interviews including activist & Councillor Cleo Lake, photographer & Black Lives Matter activist Khali Ackford, the inimitable wordsmith/producer Rider Shafique, the legendary Rita Lynch and the force behind the internationally loved Watershed cinema, curator Mark Cosgrove.

We've also been sent some truly impactful images of protests by locally based photographers Tara Klein, Colin Moody, Daniel Durrans - plus Bristol stalwart Eugene Byrne has given us use of their archival pictures. We'll be bringing you these‘snapshots of resistance' across upcoming online and physical exhibitions.

What are you looking forward to?

In readiness for our next stage of research, we've been setting up the delivery team to all the help run the project and are happy to welcome new project assistant Esther to the team. So, we're really looking forward to a return to our first installment of socially-distanced events and activities.

How do people get involved?

If you're interested in getting involved or would like to know more, come along to our next online event: Meet the Researchers, Monday 22 Feb 2021. Each researcher will share their interests and experiences giving you the chance to decide which strand you wish to follow.

We'll be bringing you more activities and events over the coming months so keep an eye on our website and social media channels or sign up to our e-newsletter.

If you've got a story or artwork you'd like to share as part of the project, please get in touch or upload content using our Art Of Resistance Submission form.

Keep up-to-date with the project, including how you can take part, by signing up to our mailing list here.

Art of Resistance is a 2-year project exploring 100 years of social activism, protest, and civil disobedience in Bristol, and the art that underpinned each movement.

This event is an opportunity for anyone interested in getting involved to meat the project's lead researchers:

Community Worker and socially engaged visual artist, Jude Hutchen (Women's Equality); writer, arts producer, and Director of City Chameleon, Bertel Martin (Anti-Racism/Anti-Fascism); historian, writer, and programme creator, Dr Edson Burton (Workers' Rights); publisher, Richard Jones (Counter Culture); and activist, Yaz Brien (Reclaiming the Environment).

Click here to read more about the #Resist Researchers.

Through research, activities, talks, workshops, reminiscence sessions and the development of an online ‘Resistance Archive’, together we will explore:

• Women’s Equality: Suffragettes to the #MeToo movement - Jude Hutchen
• Anti-Racism/Anti-Fascism: Black Shirts to Black Lives Matter - Bertel Martin
• Workers' Rights: Hunger marches to unionising the gig economy - Dr Edson Burton
• Counter Culture: Rastafari, Squatters, Travellers, and the free party scene - Richard Jones
• Reclaiming the Environment:  CND, Extinction Rebellion, graffiti to street art -Yaz Brien

Meet the Researchers is a chance to find out more about the project themes, how to get involved as a volunteer researcher or to find out ways to share your own stories and artifacts. Click here to resister for the event.

If you are unable to attend the session but would like to take part in the project, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk.

Click here for more information about the project or to contribute content.

The project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Image: Rider Shafique interviewed as part of the Art of Resistance project. Photo Khali Ackford

Trinity has been awarded £45k from Architectural Heritage Fund to carry out an updated feasibility study as part of ongoing phased renovation and conservation works. This grant will cover associated specialist professional fees to adapt capital works plans in light of the impact of COVID19 on trading activity.

Trinity will commission a professional team of architects and specialists to update their 2012 study. This will be informed by the impact of the pandemic on the charity’s stakeholders and the music sector, which has traditionally generated revenue for the centre to subsidise a broad community programme.

Trinity will undertake an in-depth community consultation process so that the revised options appraisal can be informed by all relevant stakeholders, including local residents, artists and promoters, as well as heritage specialists.

The final feasibility study will lead to further redevelopment of the Trinity Centre so that it can continue to be a secure environment for a diverse range of cultural activities and events, which communities will need more than ever post-pandemic.

Matthew Mckeague, CEO, Architectural Heritage Fund, said:

“The COVID-19 crisis has brought unparalleled uncertainty to the heritage sector, with organisations that rely on visitor income or community group usage shuttered for most of the past year. However, these grants will support organisations in becoming more resilient as they emerge from the crisis.

“For forty-five years, the Architectural Heritage Fund has been committed to supporting communities to develop sustainable new uses for their much-loved historic buildings. We are pleased to have been able to offer this additional support at a time of extraordinary need and are very grateful to DCMS for funding these vital grants.”

If you are interested in being involved in stakeholder consultation, please sign up to our mailing list to be kept informed about the programme.

#HereForCulture

Thanks to the flexibility of funders and emergency grant support, we have been able to continue to dedicate resources towards delivery of planned renovation and conservation works.

We have made some much needed access improvements to our well-used Community Garden, installing a ramp and pathway around the garden, so that everyone is able to visit and enjoy the space.

Emma Harvey, CEO said: "The Trinity Garden is an invaluable green space within the locality, particularly right now when getting outside is one of the only things people are able to do. Making it accessible was a key priority for us to make sure physical access is not a barrier to enjoying nature."

Prior to the November 2020 lockdown, Trinity were hosting socially distanced family garden sessions for local people, to encourage people to get outside and learn about gardening and permaculture. The access works will mean that future workshops and sessions will be able to better cater for all needs and will also include the installation of raised beds for people with mobility issues.

“We live on the 7th floor in our flat. I was scared to come as I don t like bees but I love it here now, I can't wait to come back!’”Abdir, age 7 garden workshop participant Summer 2020

Glyn Everett, Trinity Chair of Trustees said; "Making every part of Trinity as accessible as possible to all our community groups and other users has always been a top priority, and I was so pleased and proud of the Trinity team to have achieved this work during Lockdown."

The live capital works phase includes internal renovation works to the Graffiti Room, which was started just prior to the escalation of the global crisis.

The room has been transformed - removing a blocking wall and installing a glass balustrade to reveal the stained glass window and restoring original features. We have installed more suitable flooring and acoustic panels and - most importantly - fixed the heaters in the space so that we will be able to warmly welcome the community back into the space once restrictions begin to ease.

As well as access and restoration, we have also given our downstairs WCs a much needed facelift to make them Covid-Secure for when activities are able to resume.

Our Digs Project to install container units on site has been paused pending the outcome of a revised feasibility study, to inform the capital works programme in response to COVID19. We are liaising with match funder Power to Change as well as the architect team regarding revised timescales.

This latest phase in our capital works programme is being supported with funds secured prior to the pandemic from Power to Change, Nisbet Trust, Derbyshire Environmental Trust, Bristol City Council, private donors and other match funders and emergency funds.

Uchenna Dance deliver a dance workshop at Trinity in 2018. Photo @Khali Ackford

Trinity is pleased to announce that, as part of the Bristol Dance Futures ‘Dance Connect’ programme, five Bristol-based dance practitioners will be funded to undertake year-long residencies in organisations across the city.

The residencies are an opportunity for practitioners, organisations and communities to collaboratively develop a programme of dance activity. Artists will explore and develop ways that dance can be enjoyed and experienced by new and existing audiences and participants across the city.

'It was great to see such high-quality applications and be part of the selection process with a different perspective from the health sector'

Karen Lloyd, Active Ageing Bristol

To ensure a wide range of voices and perspectives helped select the Dance Connect Residencies, the project's Producer Deborah Baddoo invited Karen Lloyd from Active Ageing Bristol and Zannah Chisolm, Artistic Director and CEO Pavilion Dance South West to sit on the selection panels, alongside members of the Dance Futures steering group including independent artist Deepraj Singh.

With the COVID-19 pandemic likely to exacerbate impacts of pre-existing health conditions, two projects will look at the importance of using dance to improve and support good emotional wellbeing and health:

Lerato Dunn will work will work with Southmead Development Trust and Sirona Care to explore how dance can contribute to the physical and emotional health, with the aim to develop a ‘Dance on Prescription’ model that can support vulnerable people.

Rachel James, who leads Dance For Parkinson's at Trinity, will be working with Fresh Arts to create a high-quality dance programme supporting the recovery of elderly and frail patients, designed to help them to get home quicker.

Trinity will be working with both Lerato and Rachel to programme activity in our role as the Arts & Health Dance Hub for the project.

The following collaborations will see artists connecting with new communities strengthening dance participation beyond the city centre:

Penny Caffrey and Helen Wilson will be collaborating with Filwood Community Centre to create a number of different ‘dance happenings’ to promote a positive sense of place within communities.

Katy Noakes will be working with Knowle West Media Centre explore ways to bridge the gap between street and contemporary dance in Bristol.

Dance Connect is an initiative by Bristol Dance Futures - a consortia of Bristol arts organisations and independent artists, that aims to create a vibrant dance ecology across the city, so people of all ages can engage with high-quality dance.

Dance Connect is supported by funding from Arts Council England

Applications are now open for a brand-new £6,000 Research and Development commission

Thanks to the Cultural Recovery Fund we are inviting Bristol based organisations or artists to apply for a new commission  to support a Young Audiences Research and Development project. The successful company/artist will work toward creating a live performance or experience made for Young Audiences aged 3-10 years. We welcome artists of any practice and working in any art-form to apply.

Trinity is a cultural-hub for the city, where people of all ages and backgrounds come together. As well as hosting 600 capacity live music performances we also programme theatre and dance in our flexible studio space.

Our building sits at the meeting point of three distinctive and diverse Bristol wards - Easton, Ashley (St Pauls) and Lawrence Hill - whose residents make up Trinity’s local community. In these difficult times, we believe that the arts can bring together communities and we want to commission a piece of work that will do just that.

We’re looking for a Bristol based (within a 20 mile radius of Trinity Centre) artist or organisation, who will Research and Develop/ Create an experience for young audiences that is welcoming and accessible to people from all walks of life including young audiences who may not speak English as a first language and young audiences with disabilities.

The Research and Development period must take place before 12th March 2021.

This commission is for R&D but we expect that the results of the R&D will be shared or showcased in some form.

We will provide:

-£6,000 commission fee (Please note that you must have a bank account in your organisation’s name or be registered as self-employed)

-Opportunity to use our Trinity building space as in-kind support to develop the project

-Advice and guidance from relevant members of staff at Trinity and relevant partners

-Opportunity to share progress of the project with community members, industry professionals and other artists. We particularly welcome applications from artists whose experiences are less visible in 'mainstream' arts programming.

Please note.

All work carried out as part of the commission must adhere to current Covid-19 regulations and guidelines.

We will be hosting a Zoom call on 8th December at 4pm for an informal Q&A session around the commission.

This opportunity is now closed

The first Steering Group meeting was held on Thursday 15th October. The Steering Group gives Making Tracks participants a chance to share their opinions to help shape the programme and opportunities to connect with others on the programme.

The meeting was led by Steering Group Producer, Amber Watsonn, who is on a work placement through BE IT - a radical leadership programme run by Rising Arts Agency.

Amber is dedicated to improving representation in thearts sector and is bringing her passion for empowering and championing young people's voices into the steering group.

With the help of project intern, Thomas Meadley, Amber invited four young people to take part in this meeting that aimed to be an accessible space and allow for all voices to be heard.

The first part of the session focused on understanding the purpose and aims of the steering group. The session was briefly joined by Dave Thomas, Trinity’s Youth Activities Manager. His contagious enthusiasm for Making Tracks and Youth Music helped spark young people to share their love for the programme.

Young people shared their thoughts on how the Making Tracks project is accessible to them; how it caters to everyone no matter their skill, home life or musical interests. The group shared how much taking part in the project helps support mental health and confidence building. They also commented on the supportive staff that show how much they want to be there and help in any way they can.

Amber then supported the group to share how they may want to shape the project in the future. This included:

- an online forum for young people to network, share their music, and see news and project updates

- more studio access to record music

- more online resources

- how they can help support the project

The meeting ended, as all good meetings should do, with pizza and an opportunity to discuss the next meeting's agenda.

Want to get Involved?

The steering group is always open to new members. Please email amber@trinitybristol.org.uk if you would like more information or have any questions.

Making Tracks is supported by Youth Music and using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, as well as support from match funders.

Trinity's Dave Thomas and Noods Radio's Leon Patrick and Jack Machin take a socially distanced delivery of the new equipment

Noods Radio, the independent radio station broadcasting from Bristol's Stokes Croft, have raised money for new equipment for Trinity’s life-changing music making programme, Making Tracks.

The release of the 11 track Hypha compilation CD, earlier this year, saw all profits being donated to the youth music project; with South West cider Thatchers providing match funding for the purchase of mic stands, mics and other technical equipment.

The new equipment means the young people who take part in the project have access to professional equipment to gain skills and confidence through music making.

We are really grateful to Leon Patrick and Jack Machin, owners of Noods Radio, who contacted us to offer their support to the project.

Making Tracks is supported by Youth Music, using funds from the National Lottery

Do you want to learn how heritage events are planned and delivered?

Would you like to find out more about the history of Women’s Rights,  Anti-Racism/Anti-Fascism Workers Rights, Counter Culture movements?

Sign up to this online event to find out more about getting involved. At this meeting the project curator Historian Dr Edson Burton and the wider team will take you through the story of the project, the wider programme and give you a chance to decide how you may want to get involved.

Art of Resistance is a two year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Project charting 100 years of creative responses to the resistance movements above.

We are looking for volunteers to help us deliver this exciting project. There are a number of ways in which you could get involved.

We need help with the following

Research: archives, media, books, online & online, and private

Interview: Conducting audio/and or film interviews with activists and creatives.

Transcription: Writing up interviews (see above Editing: Video, & audio content as described above. Events: Planning, facilitating, stewarding a range of activities.

Volunteers will receive: Training in research methods The opportunity to work with experienced researchers, Expenses allowance. Free entry to ticketed project events

The project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We are pleased and relieved to announce that Trinity has been awarded £329,363 through public funds from the Government's Culture Recovery Fund.

Trinity’s mission is to empower communities through the arts.The grant enables us to invest in the organisation and continue to support over 70 arts and VCS organisations each year, as well as the many communities who use the centre at this critical time.

Over 80% of Trinity's core costs are covered by income generated by our trading-arm. Following the ceasing of trading in March 2020, due to lockdown measures, we faced a substantial financial loss. The grant provides a critical investment for Trinity, providing stability for the next six months helping us remain financially viable beyond March 2021.

As well as covering core costs, such as staff and infrastructure, we will create a programme of Covid secure cultural activities and invest in the freelance cultural taskforce who have been acutely affected by the restrictions.

Working with local musicians and promoters we will create a programme of subsidised socially distanced events. The grant will enable Trinity to offer artists/companies paid opportunities in performance, residencies and micro-commissions. We will continue our online programme, launched during Lockdown, with live stream events.

We will announce our programme of activities online, through our newsletter and on our social media.

Tink applied along with 38 other artists to our joint commissioning opportunity delivering in partnership with Cambridge Junction, made possible using Arts Council England’s Covid-19 Emergency Respond Fund.

“I am delighted to be the recipient of the Trinity and Cambridge Junction commission for my project Bed Blogger: Bed Blocker is a person who occupies a hospital bed long-term, the suggestion being they might be overstaying their welcome, blocking the bed from being used by other patients. I am particularly interested in working with neurodivergent artists and engaging neurodivergent audiences, those with long term health conditions and those who experience disability.” Tink Flaherty

Tink will be working with Efi Ntoumouzi, a multimedia artist to design and curate a brand new online experience /exhibition space and artist Katy Baird, who will work alongside Tink to devise and develop the performance element of the work.

The panel that had the tough decision on which artist to award the £3,000 commission to included community partners and participants from both Trinity and Cambridge Junction. Panel member Sam Ross said “Tink’s project is a worthy commission, and promises to fully exploit the creative demands and possibilities of digital performance, in order to rewrite the social narrative around chronic invisible illnesses and the act of being bedbound.” Other panels members included TV scriptwriter and playwright Jane Carter Woodrow, MAYK Co-Director Kate Yedigaroff, Troop member and Performer Sam Ross, Total Arts participant Mary Ellen and Director and facilitator Gavin Dent.

You’ll be able to check out Tink’s project by following us on our social media channels and keeping an eye on our news page. To find out more about Trinity’s Arts programme head here

*Neurodivergent is a person whose brain does not work as generally expected or accepted by society (Oliver, 2019:3)