The Real Living Wage Foundation  has announced that the new RLW will be increased by 10.1% in the new financial year (April 2023). Outside of London new Living Wage rates will rise to £10.90 an hour (£1 increase).

"We should not treat staff as a cost cutting measure but the engine which drives everything we do.  We know low-paid workers are being hit the hardest, with over half using foodbanks in the last 12 months, so the time for us to act is now". Adam Gallacher, Deputy CEO

With the largest year-on-year RLW increase announced recently we stand firmly with our commitment to ensure all staff and regular contractors are paid fairly. As such we have implemented the changes as of October 1 2022. This will mean entry level-staff members and those on casual contracts will benefit early from the increase.

We are proud to be an accredited RLW employer. New research from the Cardiff Business School shows that workers being paid the Real Living Wage have benefitted from more than £338m in extra wages since the start of this year, with one in ten employees now working for an accredited Living Wage Employer.

Find out more about the Real Living Wage by watching a short film about the positive impact it has on some of our team members here.

Tell us what you think - and be in for a chance to win a Trinity Mini Rig plus goodie bag

Each year we ask you to let us know your thoughts about Trinity. We use this to help shape and adapt our programme and to help us raise funds so we can ensure that everyone in Bristol has the opportunity to access and shape arts and culture.

Last year you said: you would like to see more music performances in the Garden and for there to be a space for communities to cook together.

We responded: we opened The Den - a new seasonal outdoor venue in July 2022 that will be opened annually until late summer. The Den has an outdoor kitchen and a bar.

You said: You wanted more activity for over 60s that reflects peoples tastes and interests.

We responded: Our Community Activities Coordinator has worked with resident groups to re-ignite provisions and have welcomed back Gentle Dance and Gerry's Attic. Our partnership project Eastside People and Places is supported by community-led activity with regular Creative Coffee Mornings at Rosevear House already established.

Using the feedback from last years survey alongside and extensive Community Consultation, we have published our 2022 Trinity Pledges, a 12pt action-plan that will help to ensure that Trinity live by our values. Read more about this here.

This year we are again calling for those who use Trinity, and those who don't, to fill in our audience survey and lend their voice to help shape the future of Trinity.

By taking part you will entered into a prize draw* to win a custom Trinity Mini-Rig. Survey closes on 10 Oct so hurry and click on the link to tell us what you think!

Click here to fill out our audience survey

Survey closes 10 Oct 2022 5:00pm

*T&Cs apply, click here to download them

Trinity's Community Consultation

Thanks to the support of Architectural Heritage Fund, we were able to carry out an extensive community consultation, led independently by Artspace Lifespace. Working with PH3 Designs, we also worked to update our Feasibility Study for the Trinity Centre, to ensure we have a plan for future capital works linked to the feedback of communities we serve.

Our 12pt action-plan, linked to our Business Plan for 2023-26 will help to ensure we remain on track to respond to these fundings and recommendations, in line with our values:

Accessibility & visibility

1. Achieve 'Attitude is Everything Charter' Silver Award to further improve venue accessibility
2. Develop a 'soft' entrance into the building, introducing visual aesthetics to make the Centre more inviting, welcoming and celebratory of our communities
3. Provide a programme of publicly accessible drop-in activities to enable visitors to attend and utilise the site freely

Relevancy & equity

1. Develop activities in direct response to feedback and community needs analysis, including open access activities for young people and targeted provision for men aged 55+ living locally
2. Increase place-based work, delivering activity outside of Trinity to connect and engage new communities in partnership with local groups and artists
3. Adopt Equity Union minimum rate of pay for freelancers/artists and prioritise resources to nurture and support locally embedded artists
4. Invest in a cross-sector partnership model and prioritise support for grassroots groups who can proactively respond to community needs and interests

Reach & representation

1. Develop existing and new participatory decision-making forums to ensure representation across programmes
2. Develop targeted community-specific communications and engagement, including neighbourhood champions to reach our diverse communities and celebrate community achievements
3. Adopt Unlock: the Inc Arts Diverse Workforce Toolkit, which includes inclusive recruitment actions to reach and support a diverse workforce

Responsibility & accountability

1. Update our 2014 Green Audit to identify short, medium and long-term actions in response to the climate emergency
2. Appoint a dedicated mental health lead for Trinity’s workforce and offer mental health first aid training to support staff and centre users

Context

Trinity’s values are Empower, Respond and Amplify and we are committed to living these values through the proactive development of our workforce, programme and building. In response to previous surveys and feedback we have taken the steps to ensure our actions align with our values, including:

• Empower: Becoming a Real Living Wage employer in 2020 for all age-groups and roles, to ensure everyone is paid fairly to start their career in the arts

• Respond: Appointed a new Activities Coordinator in 2021 to lead asset-based community development activities and initiatives

• Amplify: Ran the 100 Beacons campaign, 2022 to raise the profile of the work of community buildings across the city, helping to inspire a £4m Community Resilience Fund for the city

If there is anything else you think we could or should be doing to make sure we live out our values, please get in touch with your suggestions: feedback@trinitybristol.org.uk

More info

What's Next? Community Consultation, Artspace Lifespace

Feasbility Study, PH3 Designs

Trinity Business Plan, 2023-26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We're Right Here (subtitled) from We're Right Here on Vimeo.

National Community organisations have gathered together to launch ‘We’re Right Here’ a campaign that aims to shift power to communities through the creation of a ‘Community Power Act’.

This act, if successful, will fundamentally change where power and decision-making lie by ’ establishing three new community rights:

A Community Right to Buy - giving communities the right of first refusal once buildings and spaces with significant community value come up for sale.

A Community Right to Shape Public Services - Encouraging greater collaboration between communities and public institutions when designing, commissioning and delivering local services.

A Community Right to Control Investment - Increasing community control over the key spending decisions which affect local neighbourhoods.

‘We’re Right Here’ is supported by nine national organisations committed to ‘community power’ – these are Power to Change, The Cares Family, New Local, Locality, the Young Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Local Trust, People’s Health Trust and Friends Provident Foundation.

Here's how you can support this work:

Find out more about We’re Right here

Share your story of the Power of Community

Sign the letter to Michael Gove

Trinity are committed to advocating for shared community and cultural spaces. We are members of Locality and have invested in Stokes Croft Land Trust. Read our 100 Beacons report that shines a light on the importance of – and understand the risks posed to – Bristol's community and cultural assets.

TLK performing in the Fyfe Hall as part of Trinity Presents. Image credit Khali Ackford/Trinity Community Arts

In the past year, Trinity has welcomed some of the best artists in the UK, from Brit Award-winning Sam Fender to singer-songwriter Joy Crookes (on her breakthrough tour) to post-punk band Goat Girl. We've hosted all-nighters welcoming the likes of Teachings In Dub and Electrikal Wall of Sound. In-house we programmed some of the best acts Bristol and the South West have to offer, from Booty Bass giving it everything in the Garden Sessions to sublime Jazz from Waldo's Gift in the Fyfe Hall.

We are pleased to announce in recognition of this and, for the second year running, Trinity has been nominated for a Grassroots Venue: Spirit Of The Scene Award as part of The Music Week Awards.

As the winner is selected by public vote, you can help by:

1. Vote for Trinity by clicking on this link 👉 (voting takes 1-2 mins)
2. Spread the word - Share the link on socials alongside pics of your fav gig you have been to at Trinity in the last year and don't forget to @ us and use #ReviveLive hashtag
3. Be quick - Voting closes at 5pm 18 March 2022

The Award is supported by Music Venue Trust whom advocate for Grassroots Venues in the UK and we are nominated alongside eight other grassroots venues in the UK: Le Pub, Night & Day, Omeara, Rescue Rooms, Sneaky Pete's, The Boileroom, The New Adelphi and The Sugarmill.

We wish everyone the best of luck and anticipate a very enjoyable evening together on Thursday 26 May during The Music Week Award Ceremony when the winners will be announced.

Trinity stand in solidarity with the Bristol DIY Arts Network and call to keep Culture at ‘arm's length’

Arts organisations from Bristol have come together to create #67MillionVoices, to raise awareness of the possible risks to the future of creative freedom of expression in the arts.

As many were buried in the National Portfolio application, the newly launched Reviews of Public Bodies programme announced it will examine the operations of all arm’s-length bodies in England - including the Arts Council, the BFI, the National Lottery Community Fund and Historic England - to assess whether "they should be abolished or retained" (The Stage, 16 May 2022)

The UK have always held a firm ‘at arms length’ stance to the arts and heritage sector. Over the last two years, pressures from the 'Common Sense Group' has  sought to reduce this independence, and have lobbied the Government step in and take action against charities and arts organisations whose work is not in keeping with 'British values'.

What does it mean to be British and who should get to decide?

DIY believe diversity is strength. It makes our art better, our heritage stories richer and Britain greater.

It is the job of arts and heritage charities to reflect on our past and recontextualise history for audiences in the present day.

The presentation of narratives counter to those that we may be more familiar with is not about, ‘doing Britain down’. Instead, this provides us with an enriched learning environment and builds a more accurate picture of what it means to be British today.

This freedom of expression is critical to the arts and enables us to celebrate our diversity.

Here's how to support this work:

✔  Keep culture 'at arm's length' #KeepItArmsLength #HandsOffOurHeritage

✔  Uphold the Human Rights Act #ProtectHumanRightsAct

✔  Protect freedom of expression #ProtectFreedomofExpression

✔Write to you MP, download a template letter

✔Amplify #67MillionVoices on social media

✔ Get Informed – read the online timeline of events so far

#67millionvoices make culture - use yours today

Bristol DIY Arts Network is an independent gathering of arts organisations and arts practitioners, large and small, who deliver cultural programmes within the city of Bristol. We meet regularly to advocate for the sector and to discuss and inform policy.

Like Mercury Residency Bellatrix and Emma Houston Dance Collective. Photo credit Khali Ackford

Newtown 50th Anniversary street party. Photo credit Newtown Network

Joy Crookes. Photo credit Khali Ackford

Family garden sessions Oct 2021. Photo credit Trinity Community Arts

Trinity Impact infographic. Apr 2021-Sep 2022

We have been so grateful for the support of funders, donors, members, artists, audiences, volunteers, the team and everyone who has been involved in Trinity's journey this year.

We were able to adapt our programme so communities were able to access arts and culture through these challenging times.

Respond. We programmed activities for 625 children, young people and families, including Forest School, family garden days, 1-2-1/small group bespoke music provision and skills-based workshops.

“These young people can have some much-needed downtime, in a safe space, with supporting adults. Many of them have described the Wednesday night sessions as a lifeline” Helen Peder Refugee Council | Children’s Adviser (Bristol)

Amplify. Through Art of Resistance, we celebrated the role of creativity in some of the key social movements of the last 100 years, programming nine events and project-based activities attended by over 274 people.

Empower. We provided 285 paid opportunities for artists, companies and freelance event staff alongside five entry-level roles at Trinity, paid at the Real Living Wage.

Community partners were able to re-launch regular activities at the Centre, such as Hype Dance and Gerry’s Attic dance groups. We also supported Aid Box, Black Creatives and St Mungos to set up new regular groups, providing services and activities for some of those most in need during the continuing pandemic.

48 volunteers helped to deliver activities and mobilise others. This included gardening sessions in our community garden and a neighbourhood celebration event in August with a new ‘Newtown Network’ of local residents.

We welcomed back live music/club nights inside the building. With sell-out performances from Sam Fender, Teachings in Dub and Black Midi.

Over 2600 people came along to our in-house programme, Trinity Presents. From taking part in lively discussions about Soundsystem Culture (Roots, Reggae and Resistance) to experiencing Roxana Vilk's immersive Trinity take over (Lullabies Celebration) to sit-down-raving in our pop up venue early in the year.

Finally, we’re looking forward to welcoming back Caring in Bristol for their Caring at Christmas day shelter, Dec 24-30, providing a warm welcome, hot meal and good company for those experiencing homelessness and hardship this Christmas

Thank you to everyone for being part of this amazing journey, we could not have done this without you.