The Trinity Centre is an important Grade II* listed building, which retains significant townscape value in the context of Old Market Conservation Area, defined as "an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance."

Since forming in 2003, TCA have been carrying out a phased programme of capital repair and redevelopment works, in order to renovate the historic asset and conserve it for future generations. We are approximately 1/3 of the way through the capital works programme and have invested over £1m with support from public funding.

The development and improvement of the premises, to maximise community benefit and potential revenue to ensure sustainability for any group running the space, has been a vision for many since as early as 1976.

The space has had several periods of significant investment, including the construction of an intermediate concrete floor and replacement of several windows by Bristol City Council between 1987-1991.

Ambitions to conserve the building and develop the space as a hub for community, arts, youth and education activities can be seen in Bristol City Council's business plan for the Centre from 1989, which related to the installation of the existing second floor and proposals to install a mezzanine to create additional training spaces.

Due to the complicated nature of the 1987 church conversion, the severity of dereliction and subsequent degradation, the building still remained in need of renovation and development.

TCA's board and management have worked in line with some of these past visions for the Centre and have also embarked on several consultation exercises to explore how Trinity could best meet local needs and desires.

Previous works included introducing a lift, training rooms and accessible WCs to help improve access to community training resources on the first floor. Our facilities team have also worked to carry out maintenance and repair works supported by small grants funding from groups such as landfill trusts and our own income generation.

Recently completed phases, 2013-2014, include a repair works scheme to the South Aisle lead roof funded by Historic England (formerly English Heritage) and match funders and a development works programme to bring the upstairs hall space into use, funded by Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities Buildings and match funders.

With building of Trinity's size and importance, there is still much investment needed to realise the full extent of this facility.

In 2016 we commenced a year-long development phase funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, to carry out a scheme of repair and conservation works at the Trinity Centre in 2017.

Click here to read more information about the Trinity Centre Conservation Project.

More about the Trinity Centre

The Trinity Centre is a deconsecrated Georgian church, now a community centre, brought back into to use by the current management Trinity Community Arts (TCA) in 2004.

The space was deconsecrated in 1976 and has been run by community groups for the past four decades. Protected by a covenant that says it is only to be used for community purposes, it was a base for the African-Caribbean Community and is still strongly connected with the constantly evolving ethnic landscape of the local area.

Since 1992, the building has been a prominent music venue. It has played host to a spectacular role-call of acts, becoming an important landmark in the globally exported 'Bristol Sound'.

The Trinity Centre is a significant iconic space. Built in the Gothic-revival between 1829-1832 it is a Waterloo Church and considered to be one of the finest examples of the work of architects Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson.

The building is situated within one of the most culturally diverse, economically deprived areas of the South West. Race, migration and the changing ethnic landscape have played an important role in the history of Trinity and the surrounding area. East Bristol remains a focal point for migration to the city both domestically and internationally.

Cultural diversity has shaped our community and made it the vibrant and exciting area that it is today. Central and East Bristol is at the heart of the city’s diversity, helping to create a unique cultural and creative environment for everyone to enjoy and benefit from. By renovating and conserving the Trinity Centre, we want to provide an affordable community arts hub for inner-city Bristol in order to make sure everyone has the opportunity to shape arts and culture in Bristol.

Text ROOF31 £5

to 70070 to   donate to the

Trinity Centre Conservation Project

The Scott Arms in Dorset hosted The Strummerjam ‘Jerk Shak’ Garden Party in celebration of the birthday of Joe Strummer - British musician co-founder and lead vocalist of the Clash - and to raise a glass to the late DJ Derek, who sadly passed just over one year ago.

Donations for the raffle came from the Scott Arms, Wilkswood Farm Butchers Shop and Worth Matravers Tearooms. The Hattie Brown Brewery donated a barrel of 'Sweet Memory Ale' and Charlie Newman at the Square and Compass donation of a barrel of 'Johnny Appleseed Cider'. The event raised funds for Sweet Memory Sounds - the legacy set up in memory of DJ Derek by his family and friends, to support good causes that would have been close to his heart.

Funds raised will support Trinity's Youth Music Programme, working with young people who have become disengaged or excluded from mainstream education. Using music, we help young people increase their confidence, skills and abilities and help them to re-engage and get back into learning.

A big thank you to DJ Jack and his family for selling an amazing amount of raffle tickets and for supporting Trinity's youth music programme.

Read more about our work with young people here.

Due to successfully being awarded Arts Council support through the Grants for the Arts funding we are now recruiting for two great Freelance Posts to join our Trinity Team.

We are seeking a freelance Marketing Officer who can work with us to implement our Marketing Strategy, to help raise the profile of the Ignite project, encourage participation and engage audiences in our developing in-house programme.

We are also seeking a freelance Producer who can work with us to implement our Programme Strategy, to help programme and deliver a diverse range of activities and events that reflect our values and respond to our communities and centre users.

We are looking to engage with consultants who are confident, resourceful and creative, who can operate in a busy, changing environment.

Ignite is a year-long project 2016/2017 during which we will implement our Programme Strategy through a series of residencies, workshops and live-performance, featuring up-and-coming artists reflective of Bristol’s diverse communities.

Through an enhanced in-house programme, targeted residencies, commissioning opportunities and bridging activities that foster connectivity between resident creatives and centre users, we will help affect real change in the diversification of arts in Bristol.

Click here to visit the Job Vacancies section of our website for more info.

The partnership between The Island (an Artspace Lifespace project) and Trinity to maintain and promote Arts West Side & SPACE as an affordable, accessible community arts space began in April 2016.

SPACE & Arts West Side have secured an extended lease from the City Council as a Community Asset Transfer and will continue as a hub for community arts and events until the end of March 2018...so let's get inspired!

Are you looking to participate, host or deliver an exhibition, creative collective, art project, community based activity? Regardless of your age, profession, ethnic, cultural, or educational background; whether you consider yourself an established/emerging artist or not at all, we want to hear your ideas for SPACE.

Standing for ‘Sound, Performance, Art, Community, Engagement’, SPACE has hosted public events, art shows, residencies, meetings, workshops, pop-up shops since April...and SPACE could be yours next!

SPACE aims to provide an opportunity for all to present a range of sound, performance, art and community based activities in our welcoming and accessible creative spaces, suitable for use as: a gallery, pop-up shop, performances, short film screening, rehearsals, meetings and much more.

Proposals are accepted all year round and should include:

• 500 words maximum, outlining your idea or project, including time-scale, tech requirements and space preference (Gallery or Art Room on 1st floor)

• For exhibitions: images representative of your work

• A website address to your work or group (if available)

• Budget (if available)

Selection of proposals will be based on quality, feasibility and the connection to the overall theme of SPACE.

Please send your proposal to SPACE

6 West street

Old Market

BS2 0BH

Website:  http://theislandbristol.com/spaces/space/

FaceBook: SPACE.TheIsland

Twitter: SPACE_theisland

Instagram: @theislandbristol #theislandbristol

@spaceoldmarket #spaceoldmarket #space #oldmarket #bristol

- an affordable in-house programme of theatre, dance and music, that represents and engages diverse communities and user groups
- a targeted artist residency programme, supporting artists based within the Centre to develop new work
workshops, talks and social events, and activities, that help to build links between resident artists and other and community centre users.

We will be offering commissioning opportunities for local artists to enhance our existing programme as well as providing improved technical capabilities for community arts delivery, thanks to £15K already secured from the Garfield Weston Weston Foundation.

There will be a number of new part-time posts and contract opportunities created to help us deliver these exciting new projects. Please keep an eye on the Recruitment area of our website for more information.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager said; "This is a fantastic opportunity for Trinity to realise some of our ambitions to become a more sustainable organisation and help support the development and delivery of arts at a grassroots level"

To register your interest in the Ignite Programme, contact rhiannon@3ca.org.uk to sign up to our mailing list.

Two Key Arts Providers for the City - Trinity Community Arts & Artspace Lifespace - launched the petition to Save SPACE! & Arts West Side, following a decision taken in June to lease the premises commercially.

The petition gained well over 1,000 signatures in the space of two weeks and the groups received testimonies of support from local residents, artists and community groups, as well as from major arts institutions in the city. One petition support commented; “The arts is important to people's lives and well-being as well as the local economy. I believe creative spaces and places that the local and artistic community can express themselves deserve to be supported.”

After a series of discussions with Deputy Mayor, Councillor Estella Tincknell an agreement was made to keep SPACE & Arts West Side as a community asset and a hub for community arts and events until the end of March 2018.

Dina Ntziora, Project Manager for Artspace Lifespace said; "We are so grateful to everyone who supported our petition and believed in the value of our project SPACE. We would also like to thank the Arts Development team of Bristol City Council for their support throughout this process. It is a victory for community arts and the importance of projects like SPACE in making Bristol the city it is today. We believe that temporary use and re-use of empty premises and buildings can help create dynamic and resilient places in and around our towns and cities.”

The partnership between Artspace Lifespace and Trinity Community Arts to maintain and promote Arts West Side & SPACE as an affordable, accessible community arts space began in April 2016. Standing for ‘sound, performance, art, community, engagement’, SPACE has hosted public events, art shows, artist residencies, community meetings, pop-up shops, as well as providing opportunities for volunteers.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager for Trinity said; "The support we've received from the public has been amazing. Following consultation and knowing the depth of support from the community, Bristol City Council have generously decided to extend our lease. It's great to have a listening, responsive council that reacts quickly and effectively for the needs of the people. A big thanks to those involved who have helped us to achieve this fantastic outcome for Old Market. We look forward to developing an ongoing positive relationship with the Council."

Looking forward, SPACE has a vibrant programme of events lined-up, including taking part in the Doing Things Differently festival, organised by Diverse City and Bristol City Council’s Culture Team, which aims to support creativity across the city and help reflect diversity on stage and in performance.

Talking about what the future brings at SPACE, Dina explained; “The decision to keep SPACE and Arts West Side for community arts use shows us that partnership between two Key Arts Providers are important and hold great potential for our city, both economically and socially. Real ‘ownership’ comes from making a private space into a public space. SPACE is your space. SPACE is open to your ideas, proposals and projects. Let’s get inspired!”

To keep up to date about what’s on at SPACE visit the Island's website.

A big THANK YOU to all who supported and believed in us!

The health and safety of the people using our Centre is our top priority you can find out what we are doing to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak here.

Want to drum and dance? It’s easy!

Ilu Axe has three groups or learning and performance levels, Beginner, Intermediate and Stage Group, with people moving from one level to the next as and when the pieces taught in the particular level (both the music and the choreography) reach the required standard.

Drums and sticks etc all provided. With our incredible, loveable teachers you’ll straight away begin learning the rhythms and the choreography and all the drum and stick technique stuff.

So if you’d like to get involved, please email courses.iluaxe@gmail.com

Please note: Trinity operates a 24hr Pay & Display Car Park and all Visitors are required to Pay & Display.

Ilu Axe has three groups or learning and performance levels, Beginner, Intermediate and Stage Group, with people moving from one level to the next as and when the pieces taught in the particular level (both the music and the choreography) reach the required standard.

Drums and sticks etc all provided. With our incredible, loveable teachers you’ll straight away begin learning the rhythms and the choreography and all the drum and stick technique stuff.

So if you’d like to get involved, please email courses.iluaxe@gmail.com or use the joining form here.

Please note: Trinity operates a 24hr Pay & Display Car Park and all Visitors are required to Pay & Display.

The aim of KAP is to give Bristol people access to high quality arts in the city and at the same time support the council’s own specific criteria: to contribute to work with young people; to promote better neighbourhoods and to promote equality of opportunity.

Artspace Lifespace CIC The Island’s main vision when submitting our proposal for SPACE was to create a welcoming and open space for the local community and support creativity in Bristol with a new hub where they can showcase work and share ideas.

Since 8th April 2016 when we launched SPACE on the ground floor of Arts West Side, we've hosted 12 art show and 1 artist residency. We've worked with 6 local community groups, engaged 10 volunteers and hosted one 1 University placement. We've delivered workshops and facilitated community discussion groups, plus we have a full programme of events planned for the coming season.

The response and interest from the local community and the wider creative community in Bristol and beyond we had since we've launched the partnership project has been overwhelming.

The Island have so far invested a fair amount of capital and time to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for the public-facing space, on the ground floor of Arts West Side. Dina, Project Manager for SPACE said;

"We have enjoyed every minute of working with the local community and the way the local community has embraced the project allows me to believe that the feeling has been mutual.

An initiative such as SPACE created from the work of two community arts organisations with limited resources, shows that the city can grow in important ways without always relying on large capital expenditures or a major construction.

A strong community place-based project can encourage the emergence of a new space for participation, diversity, and experimentation in the arts and community engagement in Bristol and help build resilient communities where they are most needed."

Show your support via the Save SPACE campaign.

Click here to show your support!

Two Key Arts Providers for the City - Trinity Community Arts & Artspace Lifespace - have launched a petition Save Space & Arts West Side, located at 6 West Street. They are urging Bristol City Council to keep it as a space for community arts, Old Market.

The groups joining together and asking people to add their signature to the online petition to keep the building open for community use. If the petition receive 3,500 signatures, the Council have to discuss the decision at a full cabinet meeting.

The two groups recently applied to the Council to keep Arts West Side for community arts use, but the Council have decided to let the premises commercially; which they estimate will generate £15,000 rental value. While this will be a drop in the ocean of an estimated £60m budget deficit forecast for 2019/2020, this decision will have a huge impact on the grass-roots community art work taking place along the once troubled high street.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager for Trinity said; “We’re surprised by this decision, given the lack of commercial value of the premises; also how it seems to conflict with the city’s vision of Bristol as an inclusive city of culture. We opened Arts West Side to support regeneration of the area. At a time when communities in Bristol are concerned that they are being left behind as other parts of the city prospers, it is sadly ironic that the Council themselves are acting as an agent of gentrification.”

Historically, there have been negative perceptions of the Old Market area. The area also has a diverse and complex identity, including a thriving night time economy and an established LGBT scene.

Trinity have been running the 6 West Street - known as ‘Arts West Side’ - since August 2011 through Bristol City Council’s Community Asset Transfer Policy, also known as ‘CAT’. The policy seeks to make publicly owned spaces across the city available for community use.

Trinity are also tenants of another well-known Bristol landmark - The Trinity Centre, a thriving community arts centre and live music venue, based in a converted former church at the top of Old Market high-street - also owned by Bristol City Council.

Emma continued; “Trinity and Artspace Lifespace have launched this petition in the hope that we can keep SPACE & Arts West Side. Together, we want to make sure that everyone in Bristol has an opportunity to shape arts and culture in our city.”

Artspace Lifespace - the community interest company behind ‘The Island’, based in the Old Bridewell Police Station - have been running a series of public and community arts activities and events at Arts West Side, under the title ‘SPACE’.

Standing for ‘sound, performance, art, community, engagement’, since April 2016 they have hosted public events, art shows, artist residencies, community meetings, as well as providing opportunities for volunteers.

Dina Ntziora, Project Manager for SPACE said; “Our work transforms neighbourhoods and also brings something fresh and diverse to commercial centres. Making SPACE accessible to a wide variety of creative influences helps to enrich and develop the multi-cultural identity of this diverse community. We’re really disappointed the Council do not wish us to continue this important work.”

Talking about the joint-venture, Dina explained; “The opportunity to work in partnership with Trinity Community Arts has been an invaluable experience for us as an organisation and has been a perfect example of how two Key Art Providers in the city can come together and work in partnership to develop a new project.”

A programme of events is already scheduled until the end of September, as part of PRIDE Festival, Open Doors Day as well as the ‘Doing Things Differently’ Festival about diversity and equality in the arts organised by Bristol City Council and Diverse City UK. The City’s art team were themselves unaware of the decision to change use and also took part in the recent selection panel to award Trinity a further five-year lease, alongside representatives from neighbourhoods and properties.

Paul Bradburn, Chair of the Old Market Community Association said; “Old Market has long suffered from a lack of community facilities and so when I was asked to support Trinity's proposal for the future of the building I was most happy to do so. As the chairman of the OMCA and as a local resident, I would implore the Council to consider their duty to the community and offer the lease to Trinity and the Island.”

The OMCA’s Neighbourhood Plan was recently adopted at a Full Council Meeting in March this year. Among other measures, the plan details a need for 'better local facilities to contribute to a balanced and independent economy' and that they will ‘seek to protect existing community facilities such as Trinity Arts...and encourage new facilities to service the needs of a diverse community’.

It goes on to explain the need for ‘creation of community facilities’, to balance the growing shift towards a night-time economy and unaffordable private housing emerging in the area.

The groups have until 31 July to show that the community are behind them and to continue with the current programme.

Click here to show your support!

The petition is currently hosted on Change.org however if you do not wish to use this platform, you can add your signature to the Council's e-petition by clicking here. Please only add your signature to one platform.

Images courtesy of Sidz Photography

Bristol City Council are also asking people to inform a new Vacant Buildings Plan; complete their online survey, here.

Utley, one third of 'Bristol Sound' founders Portishead will work with world-renowned musician and long-term collaborator of PJ Harvey, Parish, to create a new tract to help Trinity raise funds towards £0.5m essential repairs.

Speaking to Dave Thomas, Training Coordinator for Trinity’s youth music programme, John said; “Trinity’s been on the Bristol scene long as I’ve been living in Bristol...I remember from when I first went gigs around about the end of the 1970s, not long after it became a venue...now my daughters are coming to shows here.”

John continued; “It feels like it’s part of the fabric of the Bristol music scene...It’s also the the work you do, the community work, which is amazing.”

When asked why he was getting involved to support Trinity’s appeal, John said; “If I can help then I’d like to - a place like this is really worth hanging onto.

“You can see the way is city is being, as a lot of cities are, being redeveloped - sometimes for better...sometimes for worse...for instance, a studio where I’ve been doing a lot of work’s just been sold, being developed into apartments, which is happening to a lot of central city spaces.

“I feel it’s vital that we hang onto artistic and cultural spaces, because that’s what makes a city valuable...without those, the heart of the city will die.”

Adrian continued; “We really do need all our venues - whether they’re big ones like this or tiny clubs that people start in. In Bristol we tend to forge ahead in spite of what is happening to our studios and our spaces – which is a good thing; there’s a lot of energy for making music.

“I’ve been coming for years, seeing bands here. I’ve played here quite a few times.”

This is the first time the pair will work together on a musical project of this nature, and they are both looking forward to working together and supporting the Trinity Centre. Adrian said; “We’ve worked together but we’ve never actually written music together.”

The Trinity Anthem will be a unique piece of music to celebrate venue’s rich forty year musical heritage and will be the impetus to drive donations toward the charity’s Notes for Notes appeal.

Each £5 raised represents one virtual musical note. When the charity reaches 4,000 notes, Utley & Parish’s track will be released for download, under a ‘pay what you can’ music model; a model used by several artists including Radiohead, to give people the freedom to pay what they can afford towards the track, in support of Trinity’s ongoing capital works programme.

Talking about their favourite Trinity memories, Adrian spoke of when he performed at the converted church in the mid 1990s; “Playing here with Portishead, very early days...it was quite a different space...it was completely wicked and it was great to do it.”

John said; “I remember the first show I ever saw here, which was Magazine in 1980...astonishing gig. Astonishing atmosphere. Quite violent...but it was an amazing gig.”

If you would like to keep the Trinity Centre’s musical heritage alive, you can support with a donation to the Notes for Notes appeal via Just Giving.

Click here to read more about the Trinity Centre Conservation Project.

Images courtesy of Khali Photography