Bristol Culture Network

©Khali Ackford

Not one room, but many

Trinity is a member of Bristol Culture Network (formerly DIY Arts Network); an independent, self-organising gathering of arts organisations and arts practitioners, large and small, who deliver cultural programmes within the city of Bristol.

The group’s members work across different scales and different artforms; some specialise in participatory opportunities, others seek out an audience; some charge, some don’t; and some provide complex programmes that sit across a number of strands. Network members include Bristol Old Vic, Watershed, Bristol Beacon, Knowle West Media Centre, Artspace Lifespace, St Paul's Carnival, Bristol Paraorchestra, RWA and many others including independent artists and freelance creative practitioners.

Together, we are committed to the successful future of our city, and the creativity of both Bristol and Bristolians. We have developed a set of saraed DIY Arts Culture Standards which aims to make Bristol’s arts sector fair, open and inclusive.

Meetings & Gatherings

We meet to advocate for the sector and to discuss and inform policy, as well as forming working groups in response to specific issues and to develop shared activity. Network meetings come together in the form of:

• Open sessions – for anyone working in the arts incl freelancers and artists, providing peer connection, information sharing, and surfacing challenges and opportunities from the wider sector
• Task-and-finish groups – taking action on behalf of the wider network
• Cultural Leaders – individuals with existing agency and capacity to act, serving as a bridge between strategy and the wider sector

This thinking feeds directly into the wider cultural conversations happening in the city through the One City Culture Board.

We also have social activities and peer gatherings online and in person so that people working in the arts can share ideas and support one another and to navigate the challenges of the arts sector, together.

Bristol’s cultural strength comes from a dispersed, interconnected ecology with power and ideas spread across many spaces rather than held in one central room.

If you are an independent artist, practitioner or smaller organisation unable to attend a meeting, you can share ideas, views and concerns with Trinity. Contact us if you have an idea/issue you would like to raise.

We're what you make us so get involved! #MaketheSpace.

Please contact We The Curious or RWA who help to administer the group to be added to the mailing list about upcoming meetings and gatherings.