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.

Everybody Dance Now - Dance Connect Residency at Filwood Community Centre

Moving Bristol (2020 – 2021) was a partnership project with leading Dance Producer, Deborah Baddoo, supporting the development of dance across Bristol.

Over two years, Trinity supported four paid artist residencies, embedding practitioners in a range of grassroots sevices and community arts and health settings, to explore new ways of collaborative working.

We welcomed a total of 2756 participants across 61 workshops, focus groups, meetings and performances, both online and in-person. Alongside this, the project supported 69 artists paid work opportunities. The learnings from the project were embedded into Thriving Communities a year-long cross-sector partner project. Read more about Thriving Communities here.

“It was really meaningful for people who did get involved, it was transformational for some of the young people who participated in workshops.” residency host venue, KWMC

Artist Residencies

Artist Lerato Dunn worked with Southmead Development Trust to develop Wellbeing Moves a project that explored a dance on prescription model.

Dance organisation The Original Spinners worked with Fresh Arts supporting the recovery of elderly and frail patients through working on dementia wards.

These residencies explored different ways in which dance can be used in health settings to improve wellbeing. This included targeted work with those experiencing life-limiting illnesses. Activities were co-designed by artists, service users and delivery staff.

Penny Caffrey and Helen Wilson collaborated with Filwood Community Centre to create Everybody Dance Now to promote a positive sense of place within communities.

Artist and Producer Katy Noakes collaborated with Knowle West Media Centre to develop a new contemporary dance piece 'Shuffle'.

These residencies explored ways that dance can be used to create a sense of place, community and belonging.

Dance Hubs

Producer Deborah Baddoo worked with participatory dance artists Helen Wilson, Julia Thorneycroft, Gather Up and Raquel Meseguer to develop cross-sector collaborations with target community, health and education services.

Connecting with venues The Trinity Centre, Creative Youth Network and Arnolfini, the artists established an active youth-dance network, produced and delivered a citywide Dance and Health Conference in November collaborated with venues to explore and understand how to break down barriers for people taking part in dance activities.

Read more about the background to Moving Bristol project and the Bristol Dance Futures partnership.

Trinity are hosting a new series of Music Masterclasses for young people aged 16 to 25 interested in learning more about performing and working in the music and events industries.

Trinity have invited top industry professionals from Bristol and beyond to come and share their knowledge and insights in a series of exclusive workshops and classes. This series will feature a diverse range of guests whose jobs include performing ,producing and mixing music, as well as assisting musicians in roles such as programming, label management, radio, and much more.

Music Masterclasses form part of Trinity’s ongoing commitment to providing vocational training for young people in Bristol who may otherwise experience barriers to accessing the arts and music industries.

This series will provide young people with industry advice ,guidance and practical learning, as well as opportunities to connect and collaborate with other young people in the city.

Click the title of the event that you'd like to attend to register your interest:

Batu + Saffron Records (10 Aug)

Bristol-based DJ, Producer and Record Label

Laurence Walker (14 Sep)

Bookings and Promotions at Lost Horizon

Young Echo (12 Oct)

Music collective based in Bristol

t l k (02 Nov)

Improvisation Workshop

NSL (23 Nov)

Lighting and Sound Specialists

Noods Radio (14 Dec)

St Pauls-based Radio Station

Do you know someone who would benefit from our Music Masterclass series? Send an email to fleurw@trinitybristol.org.uk to register your interest.

Volunteers help maintain the gardens at Trinity

Putting Down Roots is a horticultural therapy and training project, using gardening as a tool to help people in their recovery. Delivered by St Mungo’s, the project helps to build people’s self-esteem, confidence and sociability through connecting with nature.

“It is a pleasure to work in such a beautiful space and to be part of something so positive that so well serves the local community.” Putting Down Roots Participant

The group meet weekly and help maintain the gardens in Trinity’s historic grounds and work in teams to plant blubs, prune trees, weed and even to take part in crafts activities such as mud sculpture.

On average about ten people attend the weekly sessions at Trinity. The team delivering Putting Down Roots say that taking part can be an up and down journey, but it is proven to help people take positive next steps in their recovery.

One client, Miriam*, took part in Putting Down Roots for about a year and a half. She particularly enjoyed being in the garden and the St Mungo's team saw her benefit therapeutically through being able to get involved, for example, in pruning the trees or weeding an area enough to unwind and feel much better after a few hours than she did when she arrived. Miriam recently moved on to start a new role as a Forest School Assistant.

Clients who take part in Putting Down Roots are referred to the project through their key worker - they may live at the St Mungo's hostel or are recommended by a someone who has previously taken part.

If you would like to find out more about the project please visit the St Mungo's website.

*name changed to protect privacy

Community painting day with Rose Popay. Photo credit Khali Ackford

Trinity is a charity whose work connects communities and contributes to urban regeneration, through a progressive programme of live music and creative activities.

Following the success of Trinity’s recovery post-Covid we are in an exciting period of change and growth in the organisation and are looking for new team members.

Youth Service Manager

Join our Arts Programme team in the newly created, full-time, Youth Services Manager – in response to consultation, we are expanding our programme of activities for children and young people and require an experienced Youth Services Manager to help us build on our longstanding offer in music and nature play, developing  new areas in dance & performing arts, alongside an enhanced outreach offer for schools and neighbourhoods.

The successful candidate will be experienced in designing and delivery of creative programmes for children and young people and will be passionate about using arts and creativity to help build skills, confidence and progression for those taking part.

Duty Manager

We're also looking for a part-time Duty Manager (15hr pw basic) to join our team in time to help us with the delivery of our late-night programme alongside our varied community events.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for working in a community and live-events setting and  will be flexible and adaptable, ideally with previous experience as a key-holder or event/house manager.

To find out more about the roles head over to Get Involved to download the recruitment packs or if you have any questions about the roles, please get in touch on info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Trinity is committed to creating opportunities for people to gain access to the arts industry and gain experience in the creative sector, particularly amongst groups with lower representation in the arts industry.

“At Trinity the opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration are massive. I’ve learned so much being here that I wouldn’t have at other venues” Aysha, Event Production Coordinator

Many of our permanent team members initially joined Trinity on an internship. Aysha, Trinity’s Production Coordinator, started her journey at Trinity in 2019 on a three-month internship. A role was created to suit both Aysha’s skill-set and the needs of Trinity. Trinity feels that this individually focused approach to hiring staff leads to more meaningful, fulfilling employment, and means that employees are in roles that best suit their skills, experience and long-term ambitions.

Like many members of Team Trinity, Aysha was offered a permanent contract after the end of her internship, moving into the role of Production Coordinator, and having additional responsibilities such as line management.  Further to this Aysha is part of a city-wide campaign to create safer environments for everyone to enjoy nightlife in the city.

Trinity believes strongly that investment in staff is one of the most effective ways to democratise employment in the arts industry.

We are working in partnership with South Bristol Youth (SBY) to provide opportunities for KS4 students to experience insights into working in the creative sectors as part of their 'insight into apprenticeship' initiative.

We also became an accredited Living Wage organisation and have created opportunities for young people to develop skills in the creative sector. Through the Kickstarter scheme we offered entry-level roles to nine individuals including CPD, training and mentorship for young people to gain paid experience in the cultural sector including in event production, marketing and communications and operations.

Over ¼ of employees who start at Trinity on internships go on to stay as permanent members of staff. By offering both secure and meaningful employment alongside opportunities to progress and develop a career in the sector, Trinity can help ensure that careers in the creative industry are a viable option for everyone.

Peachin' Day Festival. Photo credit Khali Ackford

In our commitment to platform emerging talent and provide access to quality facilities for the community, we’re excited to announce a summer season of live music and spoken word events in our outdoor space, ‘The Den’.

Between July-September 2022, we will be showcasing some of the best breakthrough artist from Bristol and the South West alongside a wider programme of family friendly arts activities and events.

“Trinity have always been there providing a space for us and many other artists to do what we do best and always put creativity and community first” Ishmael Ensemble

We’ve joined forces with collectives who are making waves in the region including Bristol poetry collective Raise The Bar, who are bringing Youtuber Leena Norms to perform, 31 July and multi-disciplinary Arts organisation Beyond Face, who will take over The Den to showcase spoken word artists from the global majority.

Head over to our What's On section to find out more about events and activities at The Den.

About The Den

Our vision for The Den is to increase our presentation of creative and performing arts, and alongside this provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure for community groups and local residents.

Funded by Power to Change, Bristol City Council, Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund and match funders, our revamped outdoor space feels like a secret, magical corner of a festival. The space - including bar, kitchen, outdoor seating and stretch-tent – is set within our beautiful garden and heritage grounds.

The works form part of Trinity’s phased capital works programme, that paused in 2020 when the impacts of COVID19 and Brexit caused delays to planned construction of a larger scheme of work, including a two-story kitchen/bar with offices and outdoor area.

Venue Director, Jamell Ackford said; “Like many music venues, we began to get creative with our outdoor space in response to pandemic restrictions, launching the ‘Garden Sessions’ in 2020.

Following support in 2021 from the Architectural Heritage Fund to to revisit and revise our Feasibility Study, a detailed community consultation helped us to find out what the community wanted from us in a post-pandemic environment. From this, we updated our original plans and the idea for ‘The Den’ was born.

With this new bespoke setup, The Den will provide wider opportunities including supporting local food and community activities, as well as giving audiences a unique experience.”

As part of Trinity’s post-pandemic responses, a Community Activities Coordinator has been appointed to support ‘Community Kickstart’ activity – working with local residents, grassroots groups and charities to establish new activities from the space.

If you are a local resident or group and would like to run an activity for the local community, get in touch with stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk to find out more.

Ashton Court Future Ville Launch. Photo credit Caroline Thake

Bristol City Council has announced The Community Resilience Fund to be made available to community groups delivering provision in some of Bristol’s most deprived areas. The announcement of the grant follows the publication of Trinity’s 100 Beacons Report that we submitted to the City Council.

The report, created in partnership with other venues and the Council, shines a light on Bristol's community and cultural assets, including the critical role they played in providing local services as part of the COVID19 response.

"Huge thanks to Trinity for advocating for other community buildings in some of Bristol’s most neglected areas and to Bristol City Council for engaging and responding to this need” Katherine Chiswell Jones, Art Space Life Space

We created the report with the intention of building a collective case for capital investment in the city’s youth, community and cultural assets and we are pleased that Bristol City Council has now announced the commitment to funding these much-needed spaces.

The one-off pot of £4 million is also available for city-wide self-organised equality groups and is intended to help groups invest in costs, such as works to improve access, upgrading ICT infrastructure or works to a community building.

Our 100 Beacons report was part of our continued commitment to advocating for shared community and cultural spaces. We are members of Locality, support a ’Community Power Act’ and, have invested in Stokes Croft Land Trust.

Find out more about the funding and how to apply here

Students from City Academy at Trinity

We are working in partnership with South Bristol Youth (SBY) to provide opportunities for KS4 students to experience insights into working in the creative sectors as part of their 'insight into apprenticeship' initiative.

Connecting with local comprehensive and community schools we have programmed experiences for students, who may be historically excluded from the arts, that aim to provide insights into the various careers available in the cultural sector.

"Dave and his creative team hosted a high energy, interactive and informative day ... providing a fascinating insight in the creative arts industry in all its many wild and wonderful forms." Mark Nixon, Project Coordinator, South Bristol Youth Consortium for Young People

Recently we hosted students from City Academy, a local school that is situated in Lawrence Hill, one of the most deprived wards in the city whose cohort of over 1000 students have higher-than-average EAL/SEND.

During the visit students were taken on a guided tour of Trinity, detailing aspects of the grade II* listed buildings historic and cultural significance, highlighting the impact Trinity has had on the local community and wider music and arts scene within the city over the years.

They also took part in a series of music workshops, including, DJ, drumming and live performance. Trinity’s Youth Music Activities Manager Dave then led a masterclass session on music events promotion and podcasting.

This exciting partnership will help young people to reach their potential in work and in life, by building the skills, knowledge and confidence to better understand the pathways to apprenticeships, higher education and suitable employment. We will be hosting more schools over the coming months as well as our free-to-access Masterclasses this summer for young people who are interested in working in the music industry.

Forest School in Trinity's Community Garden

As part of our commitment to creating opportunities for children and families to connect with nature and learn through play we deliver regular free-to-access Forest School sessions in our Community Garden, funded by Children in Need.

“Thank you so much, we have loved coming here. We enjoy having a space to run around in as we do not have a garden at home. It is important for the children to have a space to run around in and spend time outside. They love digging and watering”. Parent of child attending Forest School

The sessions are aimed at children who attend local primary schools as well as families who are signposted through our partnerships with community organisations and outdoor play providers. The sessions provide a much-needed outdoor space for children, many of whom do not have access to outdoor spaces or gardens at home. So far 357 children, families and carers have taken part in the provision since Sep 2021.

Our work with children focuses on improving confidence and well-being through nature based-education. Children work in small groups, led by experienced facilitators, take part in activities such as campfire cooking, lighting fires and organic gardening.

Many children who come to the sessions may struggle to engage with mainstream education, due to the impact of Lockdown or an additional educational need. 97% of the children who have attended Forest School have shown increased confidence in outdoor spaces and many have shown significant progress in their confidence and team working skills. For example one child presented initially as disruptive and disengaged however, following regular attendance they became an active and engaged participant working successfully with peers.

Due to the success of the project we are able to extend Forest School sessions and will continue working with schools and partners to continue to offer this much-needed provision. This includes our free Summer Holiday provision.

Take part in carnival style dance at this years Harbour Festival

Trinity have curated a two-day programme of dance as part of this years Harbour Festival (16/17 July).

Following on from the success of 2019’s Bristol Dances stage we have reached out across the city to give audiences a taste of the wide-ranging professional, community and cultural dance Bristol has to offer.

Over two days audiences will experience the breadth of dance in the city from Irish Dancing to Bharathnatyam Dance to Voguing. Highlights include DMAC's Afrikan Dance, Drumming, Indigenous Storytelling & Capoeira Angola, performances from award-winning dance troupes, HYPE and Miss Daisy’s and Decolonising Memory: Digital Bodies In Movement.

D_wild Fitness will get people  moving with their dance fitness classes featuring afrobeats, soca and dancehall music. Enjoy samba-inspired drumming and dance troupe, Bristol Samba and acoustic performances from Aisha Ali, Bemudian folk artist Anna Colette and Portuguese neo-soul singer Luna Kali.

This year we also continue our commitment to collaborating with collectives and organisations who are working to amplify grassroots voices. This showcase will feature KIOTA collective, Bristol’s Got Talent and musicians from Lorraine Ayensu Refugee Arts organisation. The Art of Resistance showcase, inspired by the rich history of creative protest in Bristol, will feature some of Bristol’s best and up-and-coming arts activists working across poetry, performance and movement.

Don’t miss out - catch all this at Bristol Dance Stage, curated by Trinity, at Millennium Square 16/17 July 2022.

Full lineup

• Bristol's Got Talent • D_wild fitness • Miss Daisy Dance Team • Anna Colette • Bristol Ballroom Presents • Kiota Showcas • Gerry's Attic • Hype • L.A Dance • Aisha Ali • Feel Fit Studio • Luna Kali • Bristol Samba • IAM13E • Carnival Fitness by PILOXERCISE • Movema Community Dance - World Fusion • Musicians from Lorraine Ayensu Refugee Arts • Decolonising Memory Digital Bodies In Movement • Sublime Dance Troupe • StreetCred • McClennan Academy of Irish Dance• Rise • Bharathnatyam Dance Piece from traditional Margam • DMAC UK Presents: Afrikan Dance, Drumming, Indigenous Storytelling and Capoeira Angola

Don’t miss a rare chance to see Black Roots live at Trinity on 02 July as part of The Mid Summer Reggae Festival – hosted by Dub Legacy and one of Bristol’s top radio stations Ujima. Black Roots will be joined by some of the best soundsystems in the scene including Green King and Indica Dubs.

The history of Black Roots is intertwined with Bristol’s relationship with reggae and the reggae scene as a whole. Formed in St Paul’s in 1979, the group were an integral part of the early sound system culture in the late 1970s/early 1980s that defined Bristol’s music scene at the time. Set against a backdrop of rising racial tensions in the city, seen most clearly through the St Paul’s Riot in 1980, the emerging sound system culture was a way for young Black people in the city to carve their own space within the local music scene.

While discriminatory entry policy barred entry for many young Black people in a number of Bristol’s venues, Trinity opened its doors and soon became renowned for hosting reggae and sound system events.

Sound system culture was part of a wider DIY scene that still exists in Bristol today and the grassroots approach to music allows for local people to define their city’s music scene from the ground up. After garnering international acclaim for their raw, honest approach to roots reggae, Black Roots went quiet until 2004 when they went on to drop 4 new albums ‘On the ground’, ‘Ghetto Feel’, ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Take it’. Their newest release was in 2021 ‘Take it Easy’.

This event is not to be missed - click here below to check out the full line-up and get your tickets.

In Dec 2019, Trinity received funding from Power to Change, Bristol City Council, Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund and match funders for the Trinity Digs Project; to invest in the Trinity Centre as a key cultural and community asset, and to build a varied and sustainable participatory community arts programme that reflects the interests of Bristol’s diverse communities and cultures.

We secured planning consent (Ref. No: 19/02611/F) for installation of shipping containers, to provide accommodation for desk spaces and kitchen/coffee bar, with outdoor seating for outdoor events.

“Trinity have always been there providing a space for us and many other artists to do what we do best and always put creativity and community first”

Ishmeal Ensemble

Since receiving permission and commencing the ‘Community Kickstart’ activity to launch new community-led projects and groups, the delivery of the project was severely delayed and impacted by both COVID19 and Brexit. This not only caused delay to construction but also rapidly inflated the pricing of the units which meant we weren’t able to proceed with the installation of the planned two-story units, due to the costs of works exceeding committed grant funds.

Whilst we navigated these challenges, like many music venues, we began to get creative with our outdoor event space, launching the Trinity Garden Sessions in Sep 2020, hosting an array of emerging Bristol artists in a magical outdoor stretch-tent.

We went on to secure £45k from Architectural Heritage Fund to revisit and revise our Feasibility Study over the next year, in light of the impact of COVID19 on long-term business plan and delivery. This included detailed community consultation to find out what the community wanted from us in a post-pandemic environment.

This culminated in a revised plan for a smaller, single-story kitchen-bar unit setup, with a stretch-tent in semi-permanent setup throughout the Spring/Summer, to build on the ‘Trinity Presents’ Garden sessions established during restrictions, to continue to provide an alternative events offer (ref: 21/05771/F).

Trinity appointed an Activities Coordinator to support continued ‘Community Kickstart’ activity, supporting local residents and grassroots groups and charities to establish new activities from the Centre including the new pop-up space. If you have an activity to 'Kickstart' get in touch with Stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk.

Our seasonable outdoor venue 'The Den' was launched between July 2022-Sep 2022. The space will be open during Spring-Autumn each year and will host an array of live music, performance and family arts activities. Click here to find out more.