This poem is from What Words Are Ours? by artist Talia Randall. It was originally live streamed via Zoom and Facebook, Nov 2020 as part of Trinity Presents Online, funded by The Culture Recovery Fund.
Funds have been made available by the Government to support organisations like Trinity to weather the impact of coronavirus and come back even stronger, whilst also providing a much needed arts offer.
What Words Are Ours? was an exciting D/deaf inclusive poetry cabaret performance, featuring BSL interpreter Becky Barry.
Keep an eye out on our website and social media channels for other upcoming performances as part of #CultureRecoveryFund.
#TrinityPresents
#HereForCulture
]]>Photo Alexa Ledecky
Photo Alexa Ledecky
Trinity has been selected to be one of 40 community arts centres to take part in Here and Now, a national and local celebration of culture within communities running alongside the National Lottery’s 25 year anniversary.
“After speaking to others who are of mixed heritage, and face a similar challenge of how to keep our mother tongues and cultures alive I realised there was scope to dive deeper into this subject but through music, as music has no borders, can touch us all and unites us rather than divides us.” Roxana Vilk
The project, headed by Future Arts Centres, will see 40 new projects created in community arts centres across the UK, co-created between exceptional artists and community participants.
Trinity will be working with award winning multi-disciplinary British/Iranian Roxana Vilk who will develop her project Lullabies.
Lullabies celebrates the diversity of cultures who call Bristol home by gathering & sharing songs from across the globe. Lullabies connects communities through the sharing of songs, celebrating the stories and the heritage behind them.
Roxana during the sharing of the pilot of Lullabies at Trinity.
Credit: BBC
Roxana secured an IGNiTE artist residency at Trinity in 2019 where she began collecting Lullabies during her pilot of the project. During her year long residency she delivering a workshop at Easton Community Centre to residents and families living in the BS5 area as well as meeting with Bristol residents to collect recordings.
In 2020 Roxana will be meeting with communities members throughout the year to collect Lullabies alongside hosting workshops, culminating in a celebratory festival event at Trinity later in the year.
If you're interested in getting involved please get in touch on info@trinitybristol.org.uk
About Here and Now
Here and Now: 40 new projects taking place in and around 40 arts centres as part of a national and local celebration of culture within communities.
@HereandNow2020
The Trinity Digs project will enable Trinity to host and support more community activity at the centre. Photo Paul Blakemore
We have been awarded a grant of £231,818 from Power to Change to deliver ‘The Trinity Digs Project’ to carry out capital improvements to the site so can host and support more community activity at the centre.
“We want to make sure Trinity’s ongoing development continues to be shaped and informed by those who use it. As part of the project we’ll be running a community activity programme so that people can get involved, have their say and kick-start their own ideas. More news on this coming soon - watch this space” Glyn Everett, Chair of Trustees and local resident
The project will install customised container-units on site, to provide affordable, low-cost, sustainable hot-desk space as a base for community partners, emerging artists and local start-ups. Improvements to the ‘Graffiti Room’ will also mean more activities can be hosted, such as neighbourhood meetings, rehearsals and workshops.
Match funding has been generously provided from local funders including The Nisbet Trust, who have donated £20,053 toward the capital project, alongside generous donations from members of the public. The project has also been supported by Derbyshire Environmental Trust who have supported with a grant of £28,315 towards costs of the container units. A £25,000 individual gift and a grant of £7,624 from the Postcode Local Trust to improve accessibility to our community garden.
The design scheme was produced thanks to support from Backstage Trust who helped us to revise and update our Feasibility Study, 2018-2019, to work out the next priority for capital works. Alongside the capital works we will be helping support people who have ideas within the community to get involved and set up their own initiatives through the Community Kick Start Project. We are particularly interested in working with small voluntary and residents groups with limited or no budget to support getting new ideas off the ground.
Set up to grow and support community businesses in England, Power to Change provides grants to community businesses run by and for the local community. Our aim through the Trinity Dig’s Project is to continue 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.
View the latest Trinity Digs plans on www.bristol.gov.uk planning portal application ref: 21/05771/F
]]>Support Trinity and help raise £5000 to install secondary solar panels and solar battery storage.
Following our 2015 Green Pledge to improve sustainability and reduce our environmental impact we have already raised funds needed to successfully install solar panels in 2015. Then, with the introduction of our cup deposit scheme in 2018 we reduced our single use plastic waste by 4-5 tonnes year.
Securing the funds to install secondary Solar PV alongside solar battery storage will see a reduction in the use of energy from non-sustainable sources and a significant reduction in energy bills - enabling us to invest more into our charitable activities.
Why we need your help
Community activity makes up over 60% of programming at Trinity, supported through free/subsided hire, enabling communities like Gerry’s Attic a weekly dance group for the over 55’s and The Rhythm of the Night a monthly club-night for adults with learning difficulties to find happiness and opportunity here.
I’m 75 and still dancing – this means so much in term of fitness, socialising and even mental fitness. This wouldn’t be possible without Trinity – who provide amazing spaces for classes” Adrian, participant Gerry’s Attic
Trinity has the backing of M&S ENERGY & Crowdfunder who have committed to supporting the most successful appeal by matching donations £1 for £1 - meaning with your support we could raise an amazing £10,000.
Rewards
By pledging to the Appeal you can bag yourself some great rewards, including a limited edition Trinity Hoodie, a night out on Trinity, a personalised poem, your name hand painted on our supporters wall + much more.
How you can help
Our Sustainable Energy Appeal runs from Monday 18 Nov until Monday 16 December.
Support our appeal today by heading over to our Crowdfunding page crowdfunder.co.uk/trinity-sustainable-energy and making your pledge.
How the new solar panels/batteries would work
Misfits Theatre Company perform their annual showcase at Trinity
Hype Dance juniors perform during Harbour Festival on the Trinity Presents Stage. Hype Dance have been meeting weekly at Trinity for over a decade and are supported through Trinity's Community Kickstart scheme.
Area of Effect play Garden Party in 2018 photo @Jessica Bartolini
Garden Party is one of our most popular events - each year we programme family friendly workshops and some of Bristol and the South West's best bands and DJ's.
Our Making Tracks Showcase is an opportunity for young people, from our music making project, to showcase their talent to a 3,000 person Garden Party audience! The Showcase will be on the main stage from 12:00 - 12:30 then, in the main hall from 3pm - 6pm.
Students will join an awesome lineup including Sam Binga, Rider Shafiue, Dutchie + Indra and Almatic.
We wish them all the luck x
Singer-songwriter Holly Miller performing in Making Tracks Christmas Showcase in 2018
Holly Miller
Holly has been attending the Making Tracks programme for 8 months and has used this time to hone her singer-songwriter craft to create intimate acoustic songs covering universal themes of love, loss and life.
Miss Tee is prime for a summer hit, watch out for her.
Miss Tee
Miss Tee is a multi skilled singer, songwriter and producer who has progressed in leaps and bounds through taking part with our Making Tracks programme, developing her awesome writing capabilities and finding her own distinctive sound.
Sam Neal has been honing his distinctive sound during 121 sessions at Trinity
Sam Neal
Sam Neal is a Making Tracks veteran. This uplifting singer-songwriter's soulful summer sounds are guaranteed to get the crowd moving.
Meghan
Meghan is a multi-discipline drummer / singer. As a performer she is a ball of energy, that can't be ignored - whether it's rocking out on her drum kit or serving fierce vocals Meghan always packs a punch.
Rob B
Rob proves it's never to late to pursue your passion. Having joined 18 months ago his Drum and Bass DJ stylings have thrived producing a mature sound. Area of Effect - Making their return to the Trinity, Garden Party stage Area's of Effect are a young Indie-Rock band - with oodles of talent and buckets of energy.
Making Tracks is a collaborative partnership between Trinity, ACE and Basement Studios. Making Tracks is supported by Youth Music and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Dancers from Gerry's Attic, a dance group for the over 55's take part in a workshop (photo @ Sarah Koury).
Trinity Community Initiative supported community and voluntary groups with over 4000 hours free and subsidised hall space.
Keisha Thompson delivers a workshop to young people as part of our IGNiTE programme (photo @Khali Ackford).
Over 100 people took part in one of the professional workshops delivered by touring companies and artists programmed as part of our IGNiTE theatre and dance programme. Highlights included students from Making Tracks taking part in a vocal looping workshop with Keisha Thompson and Rise Youth Dance taking part in Uchenna Dance’s workshop.
This year we earned a Bronze Attitude is Everything Award, and secured £5,000 funding from the Hedley Foundation and Bruce Wake Charitable Trust to pay for a mobile accessible lift to enable wheelchair users to access our Main Stage.
Josh attends regular 121 music sessions at Trinity's collaborative music making project (photo @ Alistair Brookes).
Our collaborative music making project Making Tracks provided over 400 music sessions for 101 young people, many of whom (85%) struggle with confidence, behaviour, health, well-being or other challenging personal circumstances. Making Tracks makes a difference in peoples lives.
We are committed to conserving and protecting the Trinity Centre for ours and future generations (photo Khali Ackford).
With generous donations from the public, an uplift grant from Historic England and support from Heritage Lottery Fund and, other charitable Trusts & Foundations we raised the much needed funds to complete the major repairs to the fabric of the building.
Trinity's annual Festival of Light along with the Garden Party attract over 3k visitors and feature a line up of the best local musical talent (photo @Khali Ackford).
You can read more about the work we do by downloading our annual report here, or you can find out how you can continue to support the work we do here.
We couldn’t do this without your support, thank you.
We wish everyone the best over the festive season.
]]>Arts West Side & SPACE joined forces from Apr 2016 to March 2018
“We are very proud of what we've achieved with Arts West Side and are sorry that we aren't able to continue this good work but are glad to see it will continue to be used as an arts space for the next couple of years. Thank you to everyone who has supported us since we took it on it 2011.” Karina Castro, Project Manager.
Last week, we all said a goodbye to a familiar landmark in Old Market, as the friendly pigeons on the façade of Arts West Side – painted by renowned Bristol street artist Silent Hobo – were painted over, marking the end of an era for one of the area’s only dedicated community arts spaces.
Owned by Bristol City Council, 6 West Street was handed over to Trinity Community Arts, via the city’s Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process on a ‘peppercorn’ leasehold. We have been looking after the building since 2011, in order to increase arts provision in Old Market, at a time when the area was struggling with boarded up and vacant premises.
Since then, ‘Arts West Side’ has provided artists and communities with an affordable, central resource used and visited by over 2,000 people each year, helping to encourage other businesses and social enterprises to take up residency in the area. As part of the Council's bid to plug a £102m deficit, they are now seeking a commercial rent from the building.
The space will continue to be used as a meanwhile creative hub at a reduced rent by Arts West Side partners for the last 18 months, Artspace Lifespace (ASLS), who will continue their SPACE project until 2020.
We will now focus our efforts on the Trinity Centre building, which is also owned by Bristol City Council. We are currently fundraising to carry out conservation work to the much-loved community asset, having already invested over £1.5 million in protecting the Grade II* listed building.
Photo credits @ Khali Ackford
From tapestry to pews, to the ornate floor and ceiling tiles - woodcarving, clay, textiles and stained glass all highly featured both inside and outside the Holy Trinity Church (now the Trinity Centre) when it opened in 1832. Whilst many of these features are no longer with us, you can still see the remains of the artisan crafted features if you look up in the Fyfe Hall or, walk past the beautiful stained glass windows. As part of our Heart & Soul project, we want to give residents the opportunity to find out more about the heritage of Trinity, through learning the traditional crafts and skills used in building the centre.
“Loved it! Best way to spend a Saturday hands-down. Learning new skills, meeting new people – fab!!”
Our first block of workshops started on Saturday 10 Feb, delivered by stained glass artist Liz Barton, ceramicist Joanna Espiner, textile artist Ruth Ramsey and woodcarver Daniel Bendel. They will be working with participants, across two blocks of workshops, to create collaborative artwork to display across Trinity.
In these initial workshops participants explored Trinity’s features, looking at how the crafts were originally used across the building. Using this as inspiration, participants spent the morning designing their artwork and the afternoon learning the basics of the traditional crafts.
Missed out on these workshops? Our second block of workshops starts in April, sign up here! Please note we have limited spaces and that you will need to complete all sessions (this are not taster workshops).
While you are here, we have a big favour to ask, we need your help.
Adesola Akinleye & the Ila Dance project, Trinity's Garden Party 2017, image by Jessica Bartolini
“We are delighted to support the proposed improvements to Trinity – a very significant and important Grade II* listed Georgian building. For many years, Trinity Centre has been an excellent example of a building where the local community has been involved in its ongoing improvement and in the provision of an ever increasing range of activities and initiatives. This work continues to the present day and into the future. We wish Trinity Centre our ongoing support in securing the funds necessary to secure the future of both the building and of the important activities which it accommodates.” Bristol Civic Society
We are excited to announce Trinity Centre has been granted National Lottery funding to carry out essential repairs to the building. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) have pledged £362,800 towards our Capital Repairs project that will include fixing the iconic towers, North aisle roof, stained glass windows and Bath stonework. Historic England have also shown their support for the capital works, with a grant of £106,099.
A further £97k has also been raised from other supporters including Bristol City Council, Cory Environmental Trust Britain, the Pilgrim Trust, and Nisbets Trust as well as support through individual donations and a Crowdfunder appeal. Other trusts who have supported the capital works to take place include The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation, The Bramble Trust and local heritage foundation The Gibbs Trust.
Bristol Ageing Better and The Swire Charitable Trust are also supporting towards costs of activities, to include workshops in traditional heritage trades, a series of talks and a range of activities for children and families including heritage trails and quests to find out more about local history.
We are now looking to raise the remaining raise remaining £140k match-funding needed to cover the total costs of the project.
We still need help in raising the remaining 20% needed to complete the repairs. You can pledge your support via Trinity’s Just Giving page: visit www.3ca.org.uk/donate for more info, donate by Text Giving with ROOF 31 and your donation amount to 70070, download the Trinity Anthem or buy some of our merch from our marketplace.
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Children's Adventures in Nature
Mon, Wed & Thu from 27 Jul to 31 Aug, 2pm-4pm
Children aged 6-12 can join the fun at the Trinity Community Garden, where they can connect with nature through all weather activities, like forest school, bushcraft and play. Free - suggested donation £5. Contact Lisa: lisat@3ca.org.uk / 07791 140 916
Mondays, 6pm-8pm
12-18 year olds can join us every week to learn about bush-craft, fire-lighting, shelter building, foraging, food growing and cooking at the Trinity Garden. No need to book, just come along, its free! Contact Lisa: lisat@3ca.org.uk / 07791 140 916
Wednesdays: 29 July, 12 & 26 Aug, 10am-12pm
A cookery club for parents and children of all ages. Come and enjoy cooking with other local families, and enjoy your creations in our beautiful garden. Free (donations welcome) - Booking essential, contact Helen: helenw@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200
Wednesdays 29 Jul; 5, 12 & 19 Aug, 5.30pm-6pm
Help us beat the current Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Samba Dance at the Stapleton Rd Make Sunday Special event on Sunday 23 August. Join the free dance workshop sessions and learn the simple routine created by World Jungle Samba Dancers. Contact Ripley: ripley@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200
Wednesdays, 6pm-7pm and 7pm-8pm
Exciting and vibrant street dance training, which is not only fun but a good way of keeping fit! for ages 5 to 11 and 12 to 25 yrs old. £5 per session (please arrive 10 minutes early to sign in). Contact Natasha: thype@hotmail.co.uk / 0117 935 1200
Fridays, 12.30-2.30pm
A weekly meet for parents, carers & their preschoolers to enjoy seasonal activities and the urban outdoors in our beautiful community garden – Free! Contact Helen: helenw@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200
Fri 14 Aug, 10am-4pm
Are you 13-21 yrs old? Try something new for free! Drums, Guitar, DJ, MC, Vocals, Production; followed by a BBQ and your chance to perform on our stage!
Contact Karina: info@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200
]]>Anita O'Flynn, one of our Volunteer Garden Coordinators, was one of the lucky winners to receive Vodafone's World of Difference UK Programme Funding. The programme gives 500 people the chance to work for a UK charity of their choice and get paid!
The award received will allow Anita to deliver 2 weekly sessions of organic gardening and cooking workshops in the Spring and Summer of 2013. One day dedicated to women and children and the other under the wide umbrella of grounding mental health.
With Anita's help we hope to create a safe space where people can learn about herbs and their uses in the morning, have lunch prepared by those interested and follow it by a workshop in gardening, that will include sowing seeds, creating compost, weed identification and so forth. Anita's role will be to help co-ordinate the volunteers during the day and help run the workshops.
The activities funded by Awards for All in 2012 demonstrated a real need for a space in which people can access a food producing garden and gain skills for free in a friendly caring environment.
Participants will include women from minority ethnic communities (BME) who have experienced domestic violence and people who are affected by mental health issues. Groups of participants will include Awaz Utaoh Asian's Women group, Wild Goose, Rethink & Terrence Higgins service users.
Workshops will be held between April-June 2013
How to get involved
To register your interest in the project contact Anita: anita@3ca.org.uk / 0117 9351200
To read more about the garden and Anita's work, visit her blog: Anita's blog
]]>Our polytunnel has given us the gift of gardening outdoors/indoors, with crops and flowers growing faster and stronger when sheltered from winds, warmed by the sun and protected from frosts. It has also provided us with an ideal space for sowing earlier, harvesting later and hugely improving the growing potential of every square foot of soil in the community garden.
After many years of service, our old polytunnel had seen better days and the GL Hearn team agreed to take on the challenge of replacing the polytunnel plastic as part of their volunteer action day in July.
The team did a wonderful job and this improvement has give our garden groups the opportunity to grow a whole variety of plants and develop their skills further in years to come!
Here's what the team had to say about their day:
“The centre needed help renewing the polytunnel material in the community garden...7 volunteers from the Bristol office took part on what was one of the hottest days of the year so far. The day really tested the strength and endurance of the staff involved! Under the guidance of the centre’s Garden Coordinator, the GL Hearn volunteers carried out weeding, digging a trench, renewing the polytunnel material and then filling in the trench to hold the new material in place. It was extremely satisfying to see the end result of all the hard work and knowing it would make a big difference to the centre.”
Since the repairs, our polytunnel has provided an ideal space for sowing earlier, harvesting later and hugely improving the growing potential of every square foot of soil in the community garden. It has meant that there are more activities throughout the year for volunteers and participants to get involved in, giving people the opportunity to grow a whole variety of plants and develop their skills further for years to come.