Members of Gentle Dance during Trinity's Heart & Soul Memory Dance in 2018. Photo Khali Ackford / KoLAB Studios
“Being able to use Trinity free of charge has enabled us to keep running the art and craft drop-ins even with a very limited budget, reaching a greater number of disabled people.” WECIL
We believe activities are most successful when they're led by those by who use the services.
Our Community Kickstart scheme supports inspired individuals in our communities who have an idea and the passion to start an activity that is lacking in the community or neighbourhood. The scheme gives local residents free space, support and seed-funding to get new neighbourhood activities off the ground.
Kickstart is open to groups that are not in receipt of funding and do not have access to regular space to deliver their activity. Activities can include a dance, arts or fitness class, a community meeting or network event, a regular tea morning or an advice group or workshop.
Through Kickstart, we've launched new regular groups and classses such as Gentle Dance, which was set up in 2010 with support from LinkAge Bristol. With Trinity’s support, the group has become self-managing and sustainable, with 30+ regular participants each week, helping to improve health and well-being for over 55s through regular dance activity.
To qualify for our Kickstart scheme you have to be:
We are what you make us, so #makethespace and #getinvolved
]]>Newtown street party in Aug 2021
Newtown is one of Trinity's closest neighbours, tucked between the Bristol – Bath Cycle Path and Clarence Road. Many of the families in Newtown have lived there for several generations, creating a strong feeling of community and belonging. Newtown Network is a local grassroots community organisation that is working to improve the quality of life for residents and “putting Newtown on the map!”.
“Newtown Network connects the dots that wasn’t there before. I’m excited for the developments and regeneration that are going to happen in Newtown” Deborah Benjamin, Newtown Network
Deborah Benjamin, Newtown resident and chair of the Newtown Network, sees the role of the organisation to “address frustrations felt by residents who continue to feel disconnected from the investment that many other areas of Bristol have experienced, which they feel has led to high rates of crime and anti-social behaviour, leaving many residents feeling isolated.”
The Network are using creativity as a catalyst for change, delivering community projects, activities and events so that community members can feel heard, connected and empowered to influence their own future.
Newtown Network are valued members of Trinity and as part of our ongoing commitment to support grassroots organisations we have been working with them to offer support for the delivery and planning of their events
In August 2021 Trinity joined forces with Newtown Network to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Newtown with an (excellent) street party, steered by Newtown Network chair Deborah Benjamin and supported by artists Amy Rose and Jess Meadows from Mobile Urban Community Collaborations (MUCC). Over 75 residents came along, taking part in creative workshops, live performances as well as information stands from local organisations including the Salvation Army, Trinity Tabernacle Church, Lawrence Hill Health Centre and youth centre Baggator.
In October 2021 Newtown Network hosted the ‘Unsung Heroes – Give Thankz Celebration’ at Trinity. This event celebrated the local heroes who have contributed to their local communities. Guest speakers at the event included local poet Zed Regal and Joy Gardiner-Johnson who gave a presentation on the ‘Art of Headwraps’ and how they appear in different cultures.
Since November 2021, the Newtown Network have been collaborating with Trinity’s Resident Artist, Michelle Roche, to deliver the ‘Newtown Wishlist’ a series of creative happenings in Newtown in 2021/2022. Residents who would like to take part in the project can meet Michelle for a cup of tea (and cake) at Rosevear House on Wednesdays 10 am – 12 pm.
If you would like to get involved or keep up-to-date with events and activities happening in Newtown get in touch with Deborah Benjamin (Newtown Network) newtownlive20@outlook.com or sign up to Trinity’s Community newsletter.
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“As we have struggled with funding...The doors of the Trinity Centre have always been open to us.”
Simi Chowdhry, Director, Awaz Utaoh
Awaz Utaoh weekly women's group at Trinity
In memory of life and work of community leader Simi Chowdhry, who sadly passed in November 2021, we look back on the work of our charity partner Awaz Utaoh, who ran a weekly Asian women's support group at Trinity for over a decade...
Awaz Utaoh means 'raise your voice' - founded in 1998, the charity sought to engage women from across Bristol's South Asian community of any religion.Each Wednesday until 2019, Trinity's Main Hall was filled with music, dancing, food and fun, thanks to Awaz Utaoh's weekly well-being and empowerment workshops and activities for Asian women of all faiths and backgrounds.
From Zuumba to gardening, language classes to safety courses, the group provided vital support for South Asian women to improve their health and well-being.
The group was supported via Trinity's Community Kickstart scheme until the retirement of Simi, the charity's founder, who sadly passed away in November 2021.
]]>Nature & Play activities at Trinity
2019-2021
With funding from BBC Children in Need, Trinity delivered a three year programme of activities based in our Community Garden engaging, educating and connecting our local children aged 18 and under to a green space and to each other.
In the first year of the project, the garden team have worked in partnership with local schools and charities to welcome over 140 children to weekly Forest Schools and Gardening Days, as well as inviting families and friends from our local community to Summer Holiday Family Days.
Sessions are tailored to help support social and emotional development as many children and families who take part in the programme experience economic and social hardship.
During a Forest School/Gardening Day children take part in fire making, identifying plants, sowing seeds, and team building games as well as natural craft activities and free play in the garden.
Family Days, delivered in partnership with St Pauls Nursery & Children's Centre and Julian House charity, include storytelling activities, music workshops, natural craft workshops, insect hunts, and games
Courtesy of Ben and Kath
Courtesy of Clare and Sam
Courtesy of Emma and Nick
Courtesy of Ben and Kath
“Amongst all the uncertainty and lows that COVID-19 has brought, we had the most amazing, intimate and glorious wedding day thanks to Trinity staff. The venue is relaxed, beautiful and great value and the staff are incredible, so much so we will be returning to Trinity next year to celebrate our wedding reception with our family and friends.”
Ben and Kath, 2020
As an independent grassroots venue, Trinity's experienced team know how to put on a party! Our licensed venue is now available for weddings throughout the summer.
When you book with Trinity, you can be confident knowing we will work with you to respond to changing restrictions to make sure your special day goes ahead as planned. If changes due to restrictions means the event can't go ahead, your deposit is secure and can be either refunded or transferred to a future available date.
As a Grade II* Listed former-church, its backdrop of original features, stained-glass windows and ornate stonework make the Trinity Centre the perfect venue for your wedding ceremony and reception.
For more about what your wedding day could look like, download our wedding brochure for info about spaces and packages or get in touch on info@trinitybristol.org.uk to request a viewing. Availability is limited so we recommend getting in touch today to secure your date!
Image: Nathalie Codsi in Arnold's Big Adventure by Tessa Bide Productions, photo by Kai Taylor
Spilt Ink Theatre Company have been awarded Trinity’s Young Audiences Commission to develop a new piece of work for 3-10 year olds. The £6,000 commission has been made possible through the support of the Cultural Recovery Fund.
Spilt Ink are a physical theatre company who create playful, joyful and fun work with and for communities and children. During their development commission they will be exploring the themes of home and identity.
“We will create a fantasy ‘home’ rooted in real stories of our multicultural community. It will explore both the physical sensation of home and the cultural meaning of home. We will question what home means to ourselves, as diverse artists, and to the multicultural local community of East Bristol.”
They will work with Trinity and local community partners to deliver creative and playful workshops with local children and families; sharing and exploring the stories of the many communities living in Lawrence Hill and Easton.
Spilt Ink were selected for the commission following an open call out that received 20 project proposals. Their project, Home, stood out to our parent-led selection panel - made up of staff, volunteers and community reps - for the way it placed co-creation at its core and young people at the centre of deciding where the project journey would take them.
Between its members - Lebanese/Italian actor and theatre maker Nathalie Codsi, Bristol-based international theatre director, community arts facilitator and performer Hester Welch, and British actor, puppeteer/ theatre maker Sarah Cribdon, Spilt Ink have a wealth of experience of working with diverse communities across the world and we look forward to seeing where Home will take them.
If you are interested in finding out more about how to get involved with the Young Audiences Commission as it emerges, please get in touch or sign up to our mailing list.
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Trinity was exited to welcome IDLES band to the Centre in January 2021, as part of a socially-distanced film for their single Carcinogenic.
"Venues are at greatest risk because they are mostly small businesses, not interested in profit or investors but in the nourishment of creative, open-minded, critical thinking."
Mark Bowen, IDLES
(NME, Jan 21)
Each band member performs in some of Bristol's most loved grassroots music venues, including The Louisiana, Exchange, The Mother’s Ruin, The Old Duke, and of course The Trinity Centre.
The film was in support of Independent Venues Week that, with support from Music Venues Trust, have been working to raise the profile of grassroots music venues impacted by lockdown restrictions.
Speaking to NME about Independent Venue Week, guitarist Mark Bowen said: “Now more than ever independent musicians and the music industry at large need to unite to keep from being decimated. Between the pandemic and a government who not only don’t care about the future of the arts (especially independence within the arts) but take a pro-active role in its diminishment, independent venues are at greatest risk because they are mostly small businesses, not interested in profit or investors but in the nourishment of creative, open-minded, critical thinking.”
]]>Image Colin Moody
Art of Resistance is a 2-year project exploring 100 years of social activism, protest, and civil disobedience in Bristol, and the art that underpinned each movement.
We're looking for people who have artifacts or stories they would like to share to help build this picture of Bristol as a city of art and activism.
Whether your #resist story or art relates to Workers Rights, Women’s Equality, Anti-Racism, Anti-Fascism - or something else we haven't thought of - we'd love to hear from you.
In particular, we're really interested if any artwork, including poetry, textiles, posters, banners and ephemera, music and performing arts that were used to support and capture the spirit of different movements throughout the ages.
#GetInvolved
If you have digital material you can upload it here: Art Of Resistance Submission form.
If you have a physical item or would like to discus taking part in an interview to tell your own story, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk
Keep up to do with the project and other Trinity news and event sign up to our mailing list here.
The project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
]]>Trinity Presents Garden Sessions. Design by Adam Menzies
Drum roll please… We are ready to welcome you back music lovers! In a specially erected tent in the historic grounds of Trinity, we will be running weekend sessions throughout the Autumn and we cannot wait.
Trinity Presents Garden Sessions will run throughout October, launching its first weekend with Bristol's experimental trio Waldo’s Gift (Oct 16), Livity Sound's Hodge & Danielle (Oct 17), and Dubkasm meets Ashanti Selah (Oct 18).
With Saturday & Sunday being powered by Sinai Soundystem.
“We cannot wait to welcome our music-loving audiences back to Trinity and have worked hard to make sure that we can provide a safe space for our audiences to come and enjoy what they love most - music. We cannot wait to bring well-loved artists, from Bristol and beyond, back to Trinity.” Jamell Ackford, Venue Manager
Ticket buyers can book a table for up to 6 people (from £48 +bf). Drinks will be served via Love My Local and there will be options to purchase food.
Tickets go on sale Sep 16, 10am.
]]>In these challenging times, Trinity and Cambridge Junction have come together to offer a £3,000 commission to a D/deaf or Disabled Artist(s) to create work for an online audience.
We will commission one new piece of work and want the brief to be as open as possible, so you can respond in a way that best suits you as an artist. We welcome artists of any practice, working in any art-form, to apply.
We want to commission:
A brand-new online performance/exhibition that can remain available to experience for a set period of time – we want people to be able to experience your work safely from their homes
One artist who identifies as D/deaf or Disabled, or a collective of artists where at least 50% of the collective identify as D/deaf or Disabled
Work that will be completed and distributed online before the end of October 2020
We expect applications to include:
A consideration of audience access within the commission fee
Confirmation that artist access costs are covered by the commission fee or by Access to Work or similar
We will provide:
A commission fee of £3,000
Producing support: we don’t want anyone to be put off if they don’t have producing capacity at the moment
Marketing and digital content support: we want your work to reach far and wide
The platform for sharing your work: Trinity and Cambridge Junction’s social media platforms and those of our partners are readily available to platform your work
At Trinity we programme using a ‘Programming Forum’ which you can find out more about here. The final decision on who receives the commission will be made by a forum made up of local artists and community members from both Trinity and Cambridge Junction.
To apply:
Applications for this opportunity have now closed.
In the Summer the garden welcomed local children and families for activity days. Photo @Paul Blakemore
Local children, including Tate, received activity packs during Lockdown. Photo via Twitter courtesy of Tate's Mum
"@HannahMorePri huge thanks to you and @TrinityBristol for the fantastic kit for the windowsill grow challenge! Tate really enjoyed potting them. We will keep you posted on their growth" Charlene L. Twitter
Since the Covid-19 lockdown, we have been working closely with local primary schools and Up Our Street to find ways to reach out to young people in the community who can no longer access our community garden and may have limited access to green spaces during this time.
The first batch of activity packs, filled with simple DIY windowsill gardening ideas and craft activities for families, children and carers to get busy with at home, went out in May/June 2020. Activities include sowing seeds, making bird feeders, scavenger hunts and more. A digital version of the pack is downloadable from our website.
“I think the biggest benefit is that it gives children and families who might not be able to get outside, the chance to engage in nature-based activities. Being around nature and doing tasks like planting and looking after plants are great for mental health and well-being and get children engaged in the world around them!”
Natalie Barker, Deputy Head, St Nicholas of Toletine Primary, June 2020
The garden team are also creating videos on everything from handy gardening tips to fun activities you can do at home - keep up-to-date with these on our social media channels or catch up here.
]]>Team Trinity, pre-lockdown
The Trinity Centre, Old Market, has been given a grant of £35k as part of Arts Council England's £160m emergency package to support the arts sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over 80% of Trinity's revenue is earned income from live music, bar sales, a pay and display public car park, plus hall hire for a range of community events and activities. Trading has ceased since the pandemic and the venue is anticipating a slow recovery once restrictions begin to lift, due to potential extended restrictions on public gatherings.
The grant from Arts Council England will be used to support Trinity through its recovery plan as well as help us to adapt existing projects and move activities online. As this is also a very difficult time for artists and freelance practitioners, Trinity is committing 20% of its grant to pay independent artists and community members for contributions to 'Trinity Presents'. This will include online workshops with Trinity's Associate Artist and local resident, Roxanna Vilk.
"Never have the Arts been more important than now, in these peculiar times. Singing, dancing, painting, drama, poetry - people are reaching out to all the art forms for nourishment, comfort, entertainment & wisdom. We mustn’t starve our imaginations & Trinity has a part to play in refreshing & delighting its followers. I’m thrilled to be one of them." Miriam Margolyes OBE, Trinity Patron
Trinity will be releasing information about an open-call commission for an independent D/Deaf or disabled artist to create a new piece of digital work.
Speaking of the recent support, Tom Marshman, Board Member and Local Artist said:
“Not really a time for a massive celebration party, more of an opportunity to take a breath and pause whilst we all stabilize ourselves and look forward to life after isolation. With this promise of the Emergency Arts Council Grant, Trinity can feel more assured that they will continue to be at the heart of Bristol culture and community engagement that is always people centred”.
Since we began our lockdown Trinity has been working hard to ensure that we continue to reach out to our community and support the independent artists that we work with. We have been providing a digital platform via Trinity Presents. Arts Council support at this crucial point, means we can continue this offer as well as find new ways to support artists to connect communities with relevant and much needed cultural experiences.
]]>We have created an online poll allowing people to share their thoughts and feelings for Jacobs Wells Baths.
The platform allows you to vote on other submissions, this is collected anonymously and gathers common themes.
If you would like to share please click this link and share with anyone who may want to join in.
About Pol.is
Pol.is is a survey technology where users can enter statements, which other users can express their positions on, clicking either “agree,” “disagree,” or “pass”.
It is an Open Source online tool that can be used to gather open ended feedback from large groups of people. It is well suited to gathering organic, authentic feedback while retaining minority opinions.
If you have any other feedback or comments, or would like to get in touch about something more specific, contact sarah@trinitybristol.org.uk
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