Accidental Meetings is a label and party operating between bristol & London in the UK. They push the boundaries of experimental, Dub, Jazz and Techno.

Nyege Nyege is a collective in Kampala, Uganda that promotes outsider music, primarily electronic, by African artists.

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available.

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

They are turning 3, and they are putting on their biggest event yet. BNSC are very excited to bring a huge line up of some of the best northern soul DJs. Everyone is welcome to this event to experience that cool Northern soul vibe, which is unmissable.

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available.

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Their music, performances and entire aesthetic have been immensely influential across nearly the entire genre of industrual music.

19:00: Doors

20:00: Laibach

23:00: Curfew

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available.

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

There is enough nastiness in the world and whilst sometimes it feels like there's not much we can do to combat that, we can still get together in a room, move our body's as freely as they will allow us to and enjoy each others company for a night of dancing and making friends and that feels like something to celebrate.

We want this to be a space where people can feel held, throw their limbs about and enjoy each other. 
We hope this party gives you a twinkle in your eye and a place to forget about the things that may weigh you down on a day to day basis.

Line up to be announced

Expect: Cumbia, Salsa, Highlife, Congotronics, lovers rock, New Orleans jazz, Bhangra, Calypso, Soca, Gospel, Merengue and so much more.

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available

Epilepsy friendly

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Join us for three workshops exploring creative ways to enjoy nature around us.

Take pictures and share thoughts as we create simple films together with Shanti Sherson (Wellspring Settlement) and Jon Aitken (Watershed), our facilitators for these sessions.

We will be working from the beautiful garden at the Lawrence Hill Health Centre, Hassell Drive, BS2.

This will be a chance for us to share time together, enjoy and capture our surroundings.

Dates: Wednesday 4th, 11^th & 18^th September 10am - midday (arrive from 9.45am for refreshments and to meet everyone).

Places are limited. To find out more or to sign up, contact Jen on jen@trinitybristol.org.uk or call 0117 935 1200

Actvitities include:

• music
• activities for children, face painting and bouncy castle
• freshly cooked Jamaican food
• cream teas and cakes
• a visit from a fire engine

All of this is for everyone in the community to enjoy

If you would like to volunteer, please contact newtownlive20@outlook.com. Volunteers will receive a free meal and drink on the day

This street party is a collaboration between Newtown Network and Lou Lou British, Salvation Army, Trinity Tabernacle Church, and Lawrence Hill Health Centre.

St Pauls Carnival Panel Discussion at Glastonbury Festival 2024 - Image Credit: Khali Ackford

Trinity is committed to creating ways in which citizens can take an active role in shaping arts and culture. As part of this commitment we are connecting with leading voices in the cultural sector to ask them to share their thoughts on the different civic and democratic tools that we as citizens can access. In the second in our series of opinion pieces exploring civic participation LaToyah McAllister-Jones, Executive Director of St Pauls Carnival, reflects on her experiences of using various tools to facilitate democratic decision-making.

Opinion: Voices in Decision-Making, LaToyah McAllister-Jones

I have always been attracted to work and play that enables people to have a voice. To be heard. After years of working with marginalised groups, from managing accommodation services for street homeless people to community organising in Hackney, I have developed an interest in the right to influence decisions being made about our lives.

One of the most interesting things about leading a community arts organisation is just how integral the community is to our work. St Pauls Carnival CIC is merely a custodian for the iconic event; we provide a stage and the community fills those spaces. Carnival celebrates African Caribbean talent in St Pauls and beyond as well as our culture and heritage. Our communities continue the traditions of our ancestors using music, dance and storytelling to share lived experiences and connect to our heritage. This is one of the most important things about our event: it allows us to tell our own stories, in our own words, using our voices.

In 2021, I was asked by Involve to facilitate   Bristol City Council's Citizens’ Assembly supporting policy development in housing, health inequalities and transport as the city emerged from Covid. The process was new to me, and I loved the way it cut through many of the challenges that we often come up against when engaging communities:

• Participants are randomly selected, and usually aren’t experts in the central assembly topic. There is a process to ensure that all participants are able to meaningfully contribute to the discussions, and this is critical to the success of an assembly.
• The process seeks to facilitate consensus, rather than debate which tends to have a winner and a loser.
• Participants are encouraged to explore what their real priorities are and what they might be prepared to forego for those priorities.
• Assemblies bring together a diverse range of people who you wouldn’t necessarily find together in a traditional social setting. This creates an opportunity for vastly differing viewpoints to be heard and influence how others participants might think about a topic.

St Pauls Carnival are currently delivering a Citizens’ Assembly for Culture in partnership with Trinity Community Arts, Citizens In Power and West Of England Combined Authority. The idea developed just as we were coming out of the pandemic and thinking about the lessons learnt; particularly the role of community. Together, we were curious about what it would look like to use the assembly process - democratic, person-centred and thinking about strengths of a place, its people and its assets - to reimagine what the cultural offer could look like in the South West region.

Democratic decision-making allows citizens to actively contribute to the discourse that shapes their communities. We also believe culture is experienced by everyone, in many different ways, and everyone should be able to access the culture that represents them. If this is to be the ambition, it is vital that we put people at the centre of that process. This means understanding how people experience culture, what it means to them and, as cultural leaders, asking ‘how can we reflect this in our approach and programming?’

The new Labour Government expressed an interest in the use of Citizens’ Assemblies earlier this year, and the format has been used to unpack challenging issues like abortion in Ireland. The South West region is already embedding this approach into how we speak to our communities, and we are at the forefront of using assemblies to understand how we deliver for everyone, and not just those who can afford it or who have easy access to culture.

Our Citizens’ Assembly for Culture project offers an exciting opportunity to create a new approach to engaging people in the cultural life of a place. The Assembly will take place in Spring 2025 as a central programme within Culture West, funded by the West of England Combined Authority and Arts Council South West. The recommendations coming from this Assembly will become part of the regional approach to delivering a citizen-led cultural offer.

Find out more about the Citizens' Assembly for Culture project:

• Read the first piece in this series about civic participation: Edson Burton’s exploration of why voting matters
• Sign up to an online information session with the Citizens' Assembly team
• Email Imogen@trinitybristol.org.uk to join our Citizens For Culture mailing list
• Read our blogs to find out more about the Citizens' Assembly project

Film by Latent Pictures

In September 2024 we will launch the ‘Cultural Alliance’, a two-year tailored arts-based learning programme delivered in partnership with three inner-city primary schools, Easton CE Primary, St Nicholas of Tolentine and Hannah More Primary. This new programme, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, is a first of its kind in the local area and has been co-designed to meet the needs of each school.

The primary schools in the Alliance are based within a half-mile radius of the Trinity Centre with many of the children who attend facing challenges due to health, learning needs, and socioeconomic factors.

Aligning with Trinity’s long-term commitment to combat inequality through the arts, the Alliance will utilise a tailored arts-based curriculum focused on dance and drama in partnership with locally rooted creative partners ACTA and Movema. By addressing the detrimental effects of limited arts-education, the ambition is to support children's overall development and empower them to thrive in their learning journey. Alongside the programme, teachers will be offered ongoing support in their practice, offering them the creative tools and resources to provide the best opportunities for each student to flourish within their unique situations and learning environments.

“The Cultural Alliance will allow children across our local community to connect and learn through creativity. We are looking forward to working with our partner primary schools to inspire creative thinking and allowing each child who participates to thrive” Jenny Bodnarchuk, Youth Service Manager

The Alliance has been shaped through extensive consultation with primary school pupils, teachers, governors and community organisations, conducted by Trinity since 2021. These consultations highlighted the urgency of embracing alternative measures of academic success - considering their pupils’ diverse linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds - and reported the need for new tools and practices to build trust and foster inclusivity.

The Alliance takes an investigative approach, incorporating tailored collaboration with each school, responsive to their unique needs. By integrating arts-based learning, teacher support, and initiatives addressing inclusion, the Alliance will create a transformative educational experience for educators and pupils, fostering a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.

The Alliance has been developed via initial seed funding from Van Neste Foundation and Nisbet Trust secured in 2023 to test and refine the programme through free-to-access arts-based provision for primary-aged children that included Forest School activities as well as embedding a dance programme, World in a Box, in partner schools.

Building on learning from these pilot activities, the launch of the Cultural Alliance in September 2024 has now been made possible through a two-year grant from Paul Hamlyn Foundation marking a significant step forward in local investment in children's access to arts and culture.

Find out more about our Children and Young People's programme here.

This event is supported and commissioned by Joseph Rowntree Foundation as part of the 100 days of Hope project. Making it possible for Of The Wild to offer this event for free to the community.

Gather for an immersive and participatory performance to embrace the changing seasons. There will be guided meditation, embodied movement, singing and drumming. You are welcome to participate as much or as little as you want in the ritual. Emerging from the ritual we have some beautiful circus and dance performances, featuring the breathtaking performances from some of Bristol's best circus artists. As well as incredible vocal performances from various artists spoken word poetry and live music.

Ritual held by Evva Semenowicz.

What to bring?

• A small offering from the living world, a seed, a leaf etc. to add to the alter
• Water from your local spring, river, stream, ocean to conrtibute to the water bowl ritual
• A cushion, a blanket and wrap up warm so you can be comfortable and cosy throughout the ritual

About Of The Wild

Of The Wild - An Ecological Circus Collective. An innovative collective of acrobats, aerialists, dancers, singers, and musicians, dedicated to exploring the intersection of ritual, performance, and ecology.

Through a unique blend of earth based ritual and performance they tell new stories of wholeness & interconnection. Encouraging a sense of care & custodianship through acts of celebration and gratitude for life upon this planet.

By returning performance to its roots, Of The Wild hope to weave together the metaphorical language of visual art with ecological activism to deepen our connection to the earth and a sense of kinship with all beings.

For more information about the collective and there vision, visit their website here

Doors will close promptly at 2:00. People will not be allowed to enter after this time.

In this interactive session you'll learn how to deliver our Anti-harassment Training for Nightlife Teams, giving you the skills, confidence, and resources to empower your teams to recognise and intervene in instances of harassment in your spaces

This session is suitable for Champions and team leaders who have completed both the Champions and Nightlife Teams sessions.

By the end of this session you will have learned how to:

• Deliver the Bristol Nights Bystander Intervention training
• Brief your nightlife teams in on the Women's Safety Charter commitments.
• Build skills and confidence in delivering in-house training to your teams.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your skills and contribute to the creation of safer night time spaces.

Dates training is available:

• Monday 14 October 2024, 2pm - 4pm
• Wednesday 22 January 2025, 2pm - 4pm
• Thursday 20 February 2025, 2pm - 4pm

This training has been developed by Bristol Nights, Bristol City Council and Bristol City Centre BID, to support the seven commitments of the Women's Safety Charter.

Who is this training for?
Nightlife teams. This training is open to anyone working in the night time economy and hospitality sector, including bar staff, security, artists, promoters, stage crew, taxi drivers, restaurant teams, venue operators, and artist liaisons.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your skills and contribute to the creation of safer night time spaces.

Join Bristol Nights for an interactive workshop designed specifically for Front of House Staff in the night time economy. By the end of this session, you will have learned valuable skills and knowledge to create safer spaces and effectively respond to incidents of harassment in nightlife spaces.

By the end of this session you will have learned how to:

• Recognise, respond, and intervene in instances of harassment
• Create safer spaces in the night time economy
• Properly record incidents to drive improvements in the business
• Foster a Zero Tolerance environment to harassment at night

Dates training is available:

• Wednesday 28 August 2024, 2pm - 5pm
• Wednesday 25 September 2024, 2pm - 5pm
• Wednesday 16 October 2024, 2pm - 5pm
• Monday 20 January 2024, 2pm - 5pm
• Monday 10 February 2024, 2pm - 5pm
• Thursday 20 February 2024, 10am - 1pm
• Tuesday 11 March 2024, 2pm - 5pm

This training has been developed by Bristol Nights, Bristol City Council and Bristol City Centre BID, to support the seven commitments of the Women's Safety Charter.

Who is this training for?
Women's Safety Champions and Managers in the night time economy.

During this interactive workshop, you will:

• Learn methods and tools for a Zero Tolerance policy to harassment
• Discover how to create safer spaces in the night time economy
• Gain insights into how to support vulnerable customers under the influence of alcohol and other substances

This session will provide a supportive space for attendees to build a network of women's safety advocates across Bristol. Together, we can ensure that night time spaces places of joy, where everyone feels comfortable and free from harassment or discrimination.

Bristol Nights will help the Women's Safety Champions in your business make a positive impact for your team and customers, enhancing your skills and contributing to a safer and more inclusive community.

Dates training is available:

• Wednesday 28 August 2024, 10am - 1pm
• Friday 27 September 2024, 2pm - 5pm
• Wednesday 16 October 2024, 10am - 1pm
• Wednesday 22 January 2025, 10am - 1pm
• Thursday 13 February2025, 2pm - 5pm

This training has been developed by Bristol Nights, Bristol City Council and Bristol City Centre BID, to support the seven commitments of the Womens Safety Charter.

At Trinity, families from across our surrounding neighbourhoods come together. Children create paintings reflecting their diverse heritages. They sing nursery rhymes in different languages. The UK I see each day is not the divided one that manifested this weekend. It’s a place where people connect and foster relationships, bridging our diverse pasts within our shared present.

To suggest multiculturalism is something we tried and can simply undo is a particular form of dishonesty. Whether you like it or not, our towns and cities will only become more diverse so we must find ways to rub up against each other in less painful ways.

Multiculturalism isn’t a problem, but it’s also not a Benetton ad. Trinity’s charitable purpose is to promote racial harmony by encouraging equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial and cultural identities, and by facilitating multicultural activities. This isn’t just because it’s great fun, but because cohesion isn’t incidental. It requires work, spaces and resources, which are in short supply as counties, councils and communities go broke.

As the world changes around us in quicker and bolder ways, demographic profiles will continue to shift. Connecting online or in spaces with those who only nod in agreement makes seeing the world through a different lens all the harder.

Anchor hubs, community halls, neighbourhood pubs, historical sites and cultural institutions can offer an antidote; providing a familiar backdrop for existing communities while welcoming new ones. But rapid redevelopment, rising costs and pressures on sustaining statutory services are placing pressures on councils – often the legacy owners of a portfolio of our civic, cultural and heritage assets – to sell off the spaces that underpin our social fabric. Meanwhile, the decline of high streets has slowed growth and depleted local offerings that were once the foundation of an area’s cultural identity. If we no longer have places to drink tea and eat biscuits together, this creates a feeling of loss and defensiveness of 'us' that compounds fears of 'them'.

The sleight of hand being played is, while attention is diverted to small boats, the real threat – unregulated speculative land investment and inadequate community land control – continues to rob us of what’s ours. The response is a growing movement of local and national networks battling to save our spaces. While there are success stories, many of these campaigns struggle due to a lack of resources, experience and long-term support. Cash talks meaning it can be difficult to compete against the pressure on local authorities to dispose of assets at a commercial rate to balance budgets. Unlocking decisions and funding to protect these assets often hinges on political cycles, party policies and slogans that feel beyond our influence. This means, for every success story, we’re still losing more than we’re saving.

If we want to make things better for everyone, we must find a way to value societal well-being and sustainable development as much as, if not more than, the economic value of the ground under our feet. We can call in the army, increase police resources and regulate online spaces. But, if we want to see less of what happened this weekend, we must engage in the national conversation about the systemic issues behind such events and address how we provide vital civic infrastructure for a population that will only continue to grow in density and diversity.

The decisions we make now shape the story we tell about ourselves to future generations. At Trinity, we push the boundaries of a building constructed by people who could never have imagined the ways we use the space today. This space, built without us in mind, requires us to find ways to resource it for the future while accepting that we can’t predict what tomorrow holds or control who gets to be part of that.

Communities, times and places change. Once disparate cultural threads intertwine, shaping the ancestors we become. The fringe becomes the ordinary, the dinosaur, the dust. In a world of polarisation, fear, and uncertainty, these are the spaces (as our Edson says) that allow us to curate a different way of being, resonating with our shared past and shaping a more resilient and culturally vibrant future.

Right now, these spaces are more vital than ever.

#RadicalInclusion

This is an opinion piece by Emma Harvey

There is enough nastiness in the world and whilst sometimes it feels like there's not much we can do to combat that, we can still get together in a room, move our body's as freely as they will allow us to and enjoy each others company for a night of dancing and making friends and that feels like something to celebrate.

We want this to be a space where people can feel held, throw their limbs about and enjoy each other. 
We hope this party gives you a twinkle in your eye and a place to forget about the things that may weigh you down on a day to day basis.

Line up tba

Expect:Cumbia, salsa, highlife, congotronics, lovers rock, New Orleans jazz, Bhangra, calypso, soca, gospel, merengue, baile funk, dancehall, ragga, middle eastern bangers, samba...etc
This is going to be gorgeous.

£5 tickets for people on no/low income (please be honest!)

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available

Epilepsy friendly

Last entry 2 hours before curfew