All Ah Wi 2024 Credit: Francisco Vicaria/KoLAB Studios

This March - we are launching Women Who Make and Do - an all-day market celebrating women and non-binary makers.

Taking place on Sunday 9th March, the market will host stalls from local traders selling various goods such as craft, beauty and haircare, stationery and much more. Supported by Fun Palaces, there will be local makers sharing their skills in henna, movement and various craft. There will also be activities for kids and refreshments available.

We recognise that Bristol is a creative and cultural city and would like to honour independent makers of all backgrounds for International Women's Day. Last year, we hosted All Ah Wi, a female led collective that took over Trinity for a full day of workshops and discussions to celebrate the talents and interests of women and we are keen to continue supporting and championing local women.

"It was a really good day, all who came had a great time and got a lot out of it" - Participant of All Ah Wi

We’re keen to provide a wide range of stalls with original gifts and ethical products so are looking for a wide variety of traders. Slots are also available for demos or for traders to present and talk a little about your work. Let us know if you'd be keen to take up this offer by signing up using the form below. Please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk with any questions.

Stall/Maker Sign Up

As this is a market celebrating women and non binary makers, we encourage people  that fall in this category to apply and welcome applications from independent makers. Deadline for applications is 5pm 24th February.

Sign up to be a stall holder or a skill sharer: https://forms.office.com/e/jnFLLC7Sj9

See more event info here.

Part of the Fun Palaces programme.

Festus Market, 2023. Credit Alastair Brookes/KoLAB Studios

Coming to Trinity on the 20 March  The Grip explores the stories of family separation that are part of the Windrush experience. Created as a live radio show, featuring live performances, and interviews the Grip is a live production about families, separation and the Windrush

“Growing up in Jamaica, all my cousins knew their mother because they grew up with her – I was the only child that didn’t really have her mum around and it was an isolating experience. You know, I still haven’t overcome it fully“ The Grip interviewee

Get involved

The creators of the Grip, Strike A Light, are inviting Bristol residents to sign up to be interviewed for The Grip and share thier stories about Windrush. This could be about the lives of people left behind to those separated from family or friends for a significant period of childhoods/formative years.

If you are one such person, know someone who may be interested or you yourself are a child of this generation (born here in the UK or abroad) and would like to be interviewed as part of the project, then we would love to hear from you.

The themes can be broadly categorised in the following ways:

1. Those who were left behind

2. Those who had to leave children and loved ones behind

3. Those who were born in the UK and have siblings in the Caribbean who may or may not have joined them.

All interviews will be recorded and added to a Podcast (with the interviewees' consent). Extracts of two of the interviews will be chosen to be shared during the Grip event at Trinity on 20 March.

If you would like to take part please get in touch with Philippa Smith or Edson Burton by emailing: philippa@strikealightfestival.org.uk and edson@trinitybristol.org.uk or you can call the Trinity office on 0117 935 1200.

Understory, credit: Alastair Brookes

We are working in collaboration with Bristol School of Art to offer adult learning courses for adults living within Trinity's locality. The courses are an opportunity for adults to learn and build upon creative, employment and job related skills.

The first of these course focusses on Arts & Crafts and life skills will take place over 15-weeks and will lead to a competency-based qualification - all designed to promote progression into education and employability. This will be through by exploring core transferable skills including speaking and listening, ESOL and digital skills.

"We're looking forward to working with Trinity to bring creative educational opportunities to the local community where we hope to inspire and support learners in our friendly, inclusive environment". Lynette Evans, Bristol School of Art, Art Lecturer

The idea for the courses were first developed during the Spring of 2024 where we collaborated with Bristol School of Art to deliver a ten-week Creativity in Nature for Wellbeing course in our community garden. We shared the opportunity with local groups, partners and through out Community Connectors.  People who took part in the sessions fed back that they built confidence, met new people and felt at ease in exploring creativity in a familiar environment.

Following the success of this  Bristol School of Art offered a 10-week art course, providing taster sessions in a range of art forms, for participants to build confidence and understanding in different approaches, and the opportunities to develop and follow their interests as the course progresses.

Through this research and development we have now created a regular programme of adult learning and education to meet local need and addresses health, wellbeing and educational inequalities. Working with cross-sector partners we will strengthen recruitment and progression opportunities and co-design a new employability framework - identifying key competencies to further progression.

Find out more about our community programme and explore upcoming events here.

Photo credit: Khali Ackford, Art of Resistance

As part of our interviews exploring the future of culture in the West of England, we spoke with Cleo Lake, an artist, producer, and community leader with nearly 20 years’ experience in curating performances, cultural events, and engagement activities.

In this interview, Cleo highlights the importance of equitable funding, accessible spaces, and fresh, inclusive cultural experiences.

“We will all need to be prepared to be open to whatever is presented if we are truly to have something democratic.”

Tell us a bit about your work in the cultural sector and what drew you to this field.

I didn’t consciously enter the cultural sector, but went from an underground dance artist to doing a dance degree and then curating performances for myself and other artists. Over the last almost 20 years I have produced a number of cultural events spanning music, theatre, dance. I have also led community engagement activities and most of my work tends to relate to my African descent heritage.

What do you feel are some of the current challenges within the cultural sector and how would you suggest these could be addressed?

The challenge will almost always be funding and also spaces to create and deliver at free or low cost. Also, I think the distribution of funding is unequal because organisations with more staff and capacity will likely do better than those who don’t. I like the redistro model of funding.

How do you think the regional cultural sector could benefit from a Citizens’ Assembly model or other democratic decision-making tools?

It will open things up and get the views of ordinary people - not just middle class in-the-know artsy types. So we will all need to be prepared to be open to whatever is presented if we are truly to have something democratic! On the whole I also see it as an opportunity to lobby and/or put forward a collective view.

What are your hopes for the future of Arts and Culture in the West of England?

I hope we’ll have more opportunities for different people to be excited, moved, challenged and energised by totally new and fresh ideas and experiences. I also hope for high streets to be reignited with art, and funding to be more fairly distributed.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Citizens' Assembly for Culture in the West of England?

It will be interesting and I hope that there will be a broad mix of people from all backgrounds. The ballet go-ers to the ravers!

Anything else you would like to add?

Arts and culture can bring people together and keep people well. I hope this platform will further champion the necessity of arts and culture.

Interested in finding out more?

• Follow Cleo on Instagram
• Read Maca Gomez-Gutierrez’s interview on leadership, inclusion, and the potential of a Citizens Assembly for Culture
• Read our six month look back at Citizens for Culture
• Read the recap of our Citizens for Culture online information sessions

About Citizens for Culture

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

As we prepare for the upcoming Citizens’ Assembly for Culture, we’re speaking to leading voices in cultural engagement and democratic decision-making to inform and inspire the process. The Assembly will bring together citizens - people living, working or staying in the West of England - to shape a regional cultural offer that is inclusive and accessible.

In this interview, we hear from Maca Gomez-Gutierrez, an engagement professional and creative research producer. Maca has a decade of experience connecting research, culture, and community. From co-producing public engagement programs at We The Curious to supporting grassroots organizations in Colombia, her work highlights the transformative power of arts and culture.

Maca shares her insights on the challenges and opportunities in the cultural sector, the importance of diverse leadership, and how a Citizens’ Assembly can help amplify underrepresented voices.

“The Assembly will provide a level of public participation with regional impact that could reframe the way we think about culture”

Hi Maca! Tell us a bit about your work in the cultural sector and what drew you to this field.

As an engagement professional and creative research producer, I am interested in bringing research (in its broadest sense) into the cultural landscape, out of confinement into a space where everyone can be part of the conversation, and everyone’s experience, knowledge and expertise is recognised, welcomed and valued.

I have c. 10 years’ experience in both the UK and global south, most recently (2018-2023) producing We The Curious' public engagement with research programme of activities, workshops and participatory experiences, co-produced with research and community partners. Besides that, a personal favourite of mine (and close to my heart as I’m Colombian!) has been to produce Bringing Memories in from the Margins where I worked with grassroots organisations in Colombia and supported them to bring their creative projects to Bristol. Part of the MEMPAZ Project on inclusive transitional justice and creative memory processes for reconciliation in Colombia, Bringing Memories in from the Margins was a public programme of events including food, theatre, music and photography that took place over a week in March 2023 across multiple venues.

Personally, I like to mull over things, question, get angry, celebrate, explore alternatives; and I enjoy creating collective experiences and spaces where others might do so as well. There are so many important conversations and developments happening in the research world and we should all be participating in these. I think arts and culture have the potential to bring together all sorts of topics, practices, and experiences in ways that are innovative, surprising, engaging and that talk to and challenge our humanity; that’s what’s drawn me into this field.

What do you feel are some of the current challenges within the cultural sector and how would you suggest these could be addressed?

Beyond the obvious (lack of funding!), I feel there is a lack of diversity at leadership level. Specifically, a lack of diversity of ideas which of course arise from a lack of diversity of life experiences. I believe that a step towards solving this challenge is to recognise that leadership exists in different ways, and that many leaders sit outside the hierarchical structures of cultural organisations; implementing a collective approach to leadership can only be beneficial for the sector.

An additional challenge for me is how can we, as a sector, provide a cultural offer that reflects the ever evolving and changing nature of culture; particularly when we often experience a version of it that is static and monolithic. For me, once we recognise that culture is not only what has been labelled as so in museums, galleries etc. but an essential part of our everyday life- what we eat, how we eat, how we dress, the music we listen to, the very expression of our selves- then the cultural offer will increasingly reflect this and inhabit an ever growing diversity of spaces and experiences.

How do you think the regional cultural sector could benefit from a Citizens’ Assembly model or other democratic decision-making tools?

A Citizen’s Assembly model has the potential to bring into the conversation voices that are not usually present, have very low representation or might be completely excluded. For people participating in them, there can be a sense of ownership, of being able to have a say in what cultural offer their community and beyond might be able to engage with in the future.

This can only benefit the regional cultural sector since a sense of collective ownership and belonging can lead to more engagement with existing and future cultural offer. What’s more, the Assembly provides an opportunity for cultural organisations in the region to better understand people’s wants and needs, especially of those who are not regularly, if at all, coming through the doors.

What are your hopes for the future of Arts and Culture in the West of England?

I would like the arts and culture sector in the West of England (and everywhere else as a matter of fact!) to be a viable career option for young people of all backgrounds and not just for the ones who can afford it; and I would like the required infrastructure to support this to be in place e.g., strong arts programmes at schools, access to culture, paid training opportunities etc.

I would also like arts and culture to be truly recognised and valued as an important vehicle for civic engagement. Arts and culture permeate everything, it is the soil where an infinite number of wonderful things can grow on. We need a well-kept and healthy soil, one from where conversations, interactions, partnerships, friendships and action can sprout.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Citizens' Assembly for Culture in the West of England?

It’s very exciting! The Assembly will provide a level of public participation with regional impact that could reframe the way we think about culture- what is culture and who gets to decide it? what do people want to consume and where? etc.- as well as potentially catalyse a truly innovative cultural offer.

I also believe that it could be the beginning of a stronger relationship of trust and partnership between audiences and the cultural sector, rooted in that very sense of ownership and belonging, which makes the uptake of the Assembly recommendations even more crucial as there will be an expectation to see at least some of the outputs from the Assembly materialise in a future cultural offer.

Anything else you would like to add?

As I was typing these answers, a thought came to me: a Citizen’s Assembly model could allow the ones of us who cannot vote in any elections (not British, not Commonwealth, not European) an opportunity to participate in democratic processes; and this can only be a good thing.

Interested in finding out more?

About Citizens for Culture

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

An animated history of the Trinity Centre, Heart & Soul

As part of this years National Lottery Heritage Fund's, Heritage Treasure Day we are taking a look back to some of the heritage projects at Trinity over the years.

Art of Resistance 2020-2022

Art of Resistance was a two-year project exploring 100 years of social activism, protest and civil disobedience in Bristol and the art that underpinned each movement. In this project we explored how key movements and their messages have been amplified by different art forms such as poetry, textiles, posters, banners, music and performing arts. We also charted the lived stories of inner-city Bristolians and, explores the city's history of grass-roots artistic, community and cultural movements.

Heart & Soul 2017-2018

In Heart & Soul we explored the different uses of the Trinity Centre as a place for celebration. We explored the history of the building as a place for weddings and civil ceremonies and explored it’s journey from church to music and community centre.

Vice and Virtue 2013-2015

Vice & Virtue took a look beneath the area's reputation to explore the many cultures that have lived here, its national significance as an area of architectural conservation and key moments of historical interest. Themes included: the riots of 1932, the British and GI experience, business, trade and leisure in Old Market, the sex industry, the Gay quarter and new communities in Old Market.

What’s your Trinity Story? 2010-2012

Funded by Heritage Lottery Fund Your Heritage Grant - featured an an oral history and archiving project about Trinity from 1960-today, with specific reference to its role as a music and community venue.

The Bristol Sound Project: 2008-2010

As part of our heritage project exploring Trinity’s role in the development of the Bristol Sound we collaborated with The Wonder Club to produce a spectacular site specific promenade theatre performance At Tether's End. The show was inspired by the true story of a local young man William Pullin who tragically stabbed a police man, PC Richard Hill, to death. The show was part of the Bristol Sound Project and featured artwork, set and performances from a large number of young people working alongside professional artists from Bristol.

Explore more:

• The history of the Holy Trinity Church
• The Bristol Sound project
• The Art of Resistance
• Community at Trinity

Trinity patron, Miriam Margolyes, visits Jacobs Wells. Photo Alistair Brookes, KoLAB Studios

The last year at Jacobs Wells we have been focussing on leading further investigations of previously out of reach areas to determine the condition of the building, leading to some fascinating and unexpected discoveries.

By uncovering elements of the building, including removing stonework and cutting back the vegetation that has been creeping into the building, we can determine what is salvageable and which areas might need to be entirely rebuilt.

The Pump Room

Further works have now been paused in the Pump Room, following the discovery of a small bat roost of the lesser horseshoe bat - Rhinolophus Hipposideros. These species are listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats directive and so are protected by European legislation which means no further works can take place as long as they are there. Once we have undertaken the safe relocation of any bat roost with advice from Natural England, we can continue with planned asbestos decontamination that will enable the professional team to gain greater access to some of the more mysterious and unusual elements of the site.

“It is a real privilege to join the team at Trinity and help move the ambitious project to restore and reopen Jacobs Wells forward. I am excited to bring my in depth knowledge of the conservation of historic buildings to the role” Emma Brown, Facilities Manager

The Pump Room is a unique area of heritage significance, featuring intact Victorian engineering, including large iron-cast water tanks that once held 60,000 gallons of water, fed by an ancient natural spring redirected from several local sources, including Jacob’s Well. By collaborating with industrial heritage engineering specialists, we will gain better understanding of this remarkable setup and develop a clear plan for the best use of this natural resource.

Our vision is to transform this space into rehearsal studios, informal performance areas and a café/bar, making this hidden gem accessible to the public for the first time.

Victorian Tiles

We are making strides with other repair works including the deconstruction of a parapet wall on the southern aspect of the building, roof repair works on areas not used by bats on the northern and eastern aspects and other small-scale works.

During recent cleaning trials, including external graffiti removal, specialists have uncovered yet more Victorian glazed tiles in the entrance corridor of the building, which have been painted over and hidden for decades.

This discovery accompanies the tiled finishes already uncovered within the Main Hall and underscores the importance of our investigation works, so that we can fully understand what lies beneath more modern finishes in order to ensure the building’s historical richness is sensitively restored and conserved for future generations.

Welcoming a new facilities manager

We’re excited to welcome Emma Brown as our new Facilities Manager. Emma will be working with our professional team to oversee capital repairs and maintenance at both the Trinity Centre and Jacobs Wells Baths.

With a wealth of experience in heritage conservation, Emma has previously served as Estates Manager for Tewkesbury Abbey and as Church Buildings Adviser for the Diocese of Bath & Wells.

She is also a Trustee of the Somerset Churches Trust and St Andrews Conservation Trust and a member of the Wells Cathedral Fabric Committee.

Emma’s passion for heritage, history, and conservation, combined with her extensive expertise, makes her the perfect addition to our team as we continue to care for these two iconic historic buildings.

Fundraising & support

We are grateful for the continued support from our funders and community, including the recent awards:

• Centrica: Energy for Tomorrow - £84,600 to advance our renewable energy scheme

• Historic England - £89,000 for expanded South Studio roof and masonry works

• Support from individual donors on our Fundsufer

Thank to everyone who has made the magic happen at Trinity this year- it's thanks to the generous support from people like you that we can continue to inspire and strengthen local communities through arts and culture.

This year we’ve made strides towards our vision of Creative Expression for All offering a year-round cultural offer.

We launched the Cultural Alliance - a two-year arts-based learning programme in three local primary schools, ensuring every Key Stage 2 pupil now receives weekly dance & drama sessions.

We’ve increased our commitment to young people, including weekly Speak Out sessions, giving young people the creative tools to take action about issues they care about.

By nurturing young people’s creativity, we’ve welcomed rising talent onto Trinity’s stage including the Next Gen Sounds performance at the annual Garden Party.

We’ve appointed three Community Connector roles to better understand the needs and interests of residents and community groups within the Newtown area, Stapleton Road as well as people accessing services at the Wild Goose Cafe.

We are continually working to enhance our heritage building, ensuring it remains accessible, inclusive and sustainable for all. This year we launched the Ticket Levy, a fee applied to all bookings to help us fund essential improvements to Trinity Centre.

Our Citizens for Culture, delivered in partnership with St Paul's Carnival, and Citizens In Power, is bringing together people across the Southwest to meet with creative practitioners, cultural providers and decision-makers with the aim to create a Cultural Plan for the region.

Advocating for our shared community spaces remains a priority for us as we progress in our mission to save Jacobs Wells. We’re now working hard to raise essential funds to restore and re-open the building as a multi-purpose community hub by Autumn 2025.

We are hugely proud of everything we’ve achieved throughout this year, and the impact we continue to create for our local community.

None of this would be possible without the longstanding support and friendship of our supporters, partners and audiences.

In Autumn 2024 we celebrated the rich creativity in Old Market through a programme of free creative happenings throughout the inner city suburb.

Amplifying the wide-ranging grassroots musicians in Bristol we took over shops and restaurants transforming them into pop-up DIY music venues hosting the likes of d Young Echo, TLK, EJ:AKIN and Rider Shafique and Sarahsson.

Audiences also explored Old Markets history through a promenade performance devised by writer Edson Burton and artist Tom Marshman. The performance uncovered the hidden stories of residents from Old Market’s past as well as exploring the sites and sounds of the area.

In addition to celebrating the rich cultural offerings in Old Market the programme of work intended to help encourage new audiences to Old Market – an often overlooked suburb of Bristol. Over 90% of audiences who came along to one of the free events shared that they were visiting the area specifically for the show or performance – and 55% shared that having come along to an event meant they were more likely to visit Old Market in the future.

In total over 700 audience members attended one or more of the events as part of Destination Old Market. As part of the programme we created paid opportunities for 48 musicians, 5 actors and 15 creative practitioners.

About Destination Old Market

Destination Old Market is produced by Trinity Community Arts and is part of the City Centre and High Streets Culture and Events Programme, funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority. The initiative aims to attract more visitors to the City Centre, boosting local businesses and the economy.

Image credit: Amy Fern

As we move towards the Assembly’s delivery in 2025, here’s a look back at what we achieved in the second half of 2024.

Outreach and Partnerships

Building strong connections has been central to our progress. Since the project’s launch, we’ve worked to establish a wide-reaching network of partners, supporters, and collaborators - from cultural organisations, to community groups, to political leaders.

Over the last six months, we’ve:

• Engaged with more than 100 organisations across the cultural sector, led by our Assembly Producer, who joined us in May.
• Hosted online information sessions in August to connect with cultural organisations and individuals interested in becoming Assembly Associates.
• Secured £100,000 in funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, with additional funding prospects in development.

Designing the Assembly

Creating a representative and impactful Citizens’ Assembly remains central to our work. The Assembly’s design principles have been shaped through collaboration with citizens, community partners, and cultural organisations, with a focus on accessibility and inclusion.

Key steps in the design process include:

• Developing a detailed sortition process in partnership with the Sortition Foundation to recruit a diverse and representative group of Assembly participants.
• Complementing this recruitment process with targeted outreach to historically underrepresented groups, including working-class citizens, young people, and rural communities.

Adjusting the Timeline

The Assembly is now scheduled to take place in autumn 2025, a shift from the original spring timeline. This adjustment ensures we can brief the region’s incoming mayor on the initiative after the spring elections, securing their full support.

Meanwhile, we’ve begun public engagement through events like the Trinity AGM and Speak Out with Young People. These initial conversations have helped develop provocations that will shape the Assembly’s focus on accessibility and inclusion.

What’s Next?

As we move into the next phase of Citizens for Culture, we’re committed to building a representative Assembly and developing an actionable Cultural Delivery Plan. With strong regional collaboration and growing support from funders, the project is positioned to influence cultural planning and governance locally and nationally.

In the comings months, we’ll be:

• Launching a public awareness campaign to engage communities across the region.
• Hosting summer festival events to spark conversations around ‘what culture means to me.’
• Preparing for the Assembly’s delivery in autumn 2025.

We’re excited to set the stage for a more inclusive and democratic cultural future in the West of England.

Interested in finding out more?

• Explore the Citizens for Culture website
• Read Martha King's thoughts on redesigning leadership for a more equitable future

About Citizens for Culture

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

Heritage Talks, Heart & Soul, credit Khali Ackford

This summer, we hosted a series of Citizens for Culture online information sessions as part of our ongoing journey toward the UK’s first regional Citizens’ Assembly for culture, set to take place in 2025.

The sessions, held via Zoom, provided an opportunity to learn about the Citizens’ Assembly, ask questions, and share ideas that would ultimately shape the assembly itself. Hosted by key project partners, including LaToyah McAllister-Jones from St Paul’s Carnival, David Jubb of Citizens in Power and Emma Harvey from Trinity, the sessions provided an open space to discuss and understand how democratic tools can shape and impact the cultural sector, and how they might address challenges that the sector faces.
Across three engaging sessions, participants explored the concept of Citizens’ Assemblies, the potential impact on cultural decision-making, and how individuals and organisations in the West of England can get involved.

Each session covered a different topic. LaToyah McAllister-Jones offered an in-depth look at the assembly’s design, addressing questions about its structure and objectives. David Jubb highlighted the strategic potential of the assembly to impact the region’s cultural ecosystem, emphasising the roles of key stakeholders. Emma Harvey led a discussion on potential questions the assembly might tackle. These discussions sparked conversations and provided a space to reflect on how different people can play a part in this project.

We want to extend a thank you to everyone who joined us for these sessions. Your contributions have shaped the next steps of Citizens for Culture.

We’re now looking for more individuals and organisations in the West of England to become associates with Citizens for Culture. Associates will play a key role in guiding the Assembly, ensuring it reflects the region’s diverse voices and that its outcomes shape the cultural sector for the better.

Head over to the Citizens for Culture website, where you’ll find more ways to get involved, including opportunities to submit evidence, participate in workshops, and stay updated on our progress.

Interested in finding out more?

• Read our six month look back at Citizens for Culture
• Visit the Citizens for Culture website
• Become a Citizens for Culture Associate

About Citizens for Culture

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

Through Citizens for Culture, we are creating the opportunity for people across the West of England to express their views to help shape an inclusive cultural plan for the region.

As we shape up plans for a 2025 Assembly, we are connecting with some of the people who have been part of the journey so far to ask them how they are exploring inclusive decision-making processes.

Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC), a Bristol-based arts and technology organisation, is a prime example of reimagining leadership and governance. Their commitment to creating fair and thriving neighbourhoods has led them to adopt more equitable and democratic practices.

In this piece, Martha King, co-director KWMC, shares their reflections on how the Bristol based arts organisation are embracing different ways of ‘organising’.

Martha King, Creative Co-Director, Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC)

KWMC is an arts and tech organisation in Bristol. Our mission is to ‘make fair and thriving neighbourhoods together, with arts, tech and care’. We believe in empowering communities and fostering non-hierarchical spaces for change making.

KWMC started in 1996. Back then it was all about democratising access to camera technology and supporting young people to tell their own stories. Now, we work with people of all ages, both locally and beyond, to imagine and co-create equitable futures through arts, technology, and collaborative making.

Being place-based, we want our organisational structure to reflect our commitment to inclusivity and non-hierarchical collaboration. This Easter, with the retirement of our founder-director, Carolyn Hassan, we saw an opportunity to re-evaluate leadership and explore new models of organising. We worked with Practical Governance Collective who helped us transition from a single CEO model to two co-directors as a step towards more distributed leadership.

Our journey towards more distributed leadership ….

During the pandemic, we connected with cooperative Outlandish, who supported our staff to use methods from Sociocracy, a values-based governance system, to embed consent-based decision-making within KWMC.

Sociocracy’s ‘circles’ method provides an easy-to-follow process where people bring forward proposals. All voices can be heard and decisions are made based on a process of iteration and consent, applying the notion of ‘good enough for now, safe enough to try’.

We support staff to use these tools through coaching and training so they can regularly develop these skills. We see coaching as a way of enabling staff, community, partners and artists to find their own solutions and assume leadership in relation to goals.

Our team of 30 is currently using Theory U, a systemic change method, to develop a refreshed collective vision. Through active listening and co-creation, we're forging a future built on shared understanding. This work is drawing on methods and approaches from the Clore Leadership Systemic change programme that I attended earlier this year.

Looking Ahead: Experimentation and Collaboration

There are many examples of good practices of organisations who are using alternative modes of organising. However, as the recent Arts Professional article highlighted, it is still not common for arts organisations to adopt non-hierarchical structures and use models such as Sociocracy. We are ready to go on this journey.

We are mindful, however, to make sure we don’t get too caught up on internal organising at the expense of delivering our activities. We are aware we need to keep thinking about how we can increase representation of our local community and other stakeholders at different levels of decision-making, inspired by models of Citizens’ Assemblies and the adoption of citizen juries by places like Birmingham Museums Trust.

At KWMC we are excited to go further towards more radical ways of organising that match our co-creating practices and are ready to experiment, learn and share with others.

Connecting and Sharing

KWMC are keen to connect with others doing similar things and are currently in conversation with FaCE about co-producing some talks that share inspirational practice in this field. Watch this space for more developments and feel free to reach out for a conversation: martha.king@kwmc.org.uk

Further Resources:

• Find out more about ‘Teal’ or self-managed organisations from ‘Reinventing Organisations’ by Frédéric Laloux.
• There are useful tips on the ‘Sociocracy for all’ website on setting up ‘circles’ and using consent based decision making.
• Dark Matter Labs blogs about organising beyond the rules.

Interested in finding out more?

Email Imogen@trinitybristol.org.uk to join our Citizens For Culture mailing list

About Citizens for Culture

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

Image by Alistair Brookes

Historic England has awarded a grant of £89,743 to the Grade II listed Jacobs Wells Baths in Bristol, providing a further boost to secure the future of this important Victorian building.

The funding will support urgent repairs to the south studio wing, releasing the space for temporary community use while the wider restoration plans progress.

The work will include the restoration of the roof lantern, repairs to the chimney, roof supports, and gutters, and essential masonry work.

The south wing once housed the women’s warm baths. It is matched by another single-story wing on the north side which housed the men’s warm baths.

Comments

Ross Simmonds, South West Regional Director at Historic England, said: "Jacobs Wells Baths is a remarkable example of Victorian civic architecture that tells an important story about public health and community life in Bristol. This grant represents another vital step in breathing new life into this much-loved building, ensuring it can once again serve as a vibrant community asset."

Emma Harvey, CEO of Trinity Community Arts, said: "This funding is more welcome news for Jacobs Wells Baths. These essential repairs will not only protect the building's historic fabric but will help us create a temporary community hub in the south wing. This space will become crucial for engaging local residents and stakeholders as we develop our wider vision for the building's future."

Carla Denyer, MP for Bristol Central, said: “Jacobs Wells Baths is an incredible historic building and I’ve been delighted to watch the progress as it has been restored for the community to use.

“This grant will play a vital role in ensuring that the Baths can become a thriving community hub, and I can’t wait to see the outcome of the restoration.”

This is the second Historic England repair grant to support the Saving Jacobs Wells project, which aims to transform the baths into a multi-purpose community, civic arts, and heritage hub. A grant of £57,800 in 2024 funded emergency works to prevent water getting into the building.

History

Built in 1889 to the designs of City Surveyor Josiah Thomas, the Northern Renaissance Revival style building features distinctive local red brick with buff terracotta dressings. The baths originally served Bristol residents with both swimming facilities and warm baths, fed by the natural springs of Jacob's Well on Brandon Hill. The building was listed at Grade II in 1977.

Paul Stephenson - Image Credit: Khali Ackford

Sir Paul Stephenson has left a profound legacy that reverberates across recent decades.

Few individuals have been so widely regarded across their lifetime as Civil Rights activist Sir Paul Stephenson.  Paul is best known for his leadership of the Bristol Bus Boycott. As some of you may know a colour bar was in operation across Britain, including Bristol. The colour bar restricted Black and Asian migrants' access to housing, employment and services. Unlike apartheid South Africa, Britain’s discrimination was not codified in law. Instead, in the absence of legislation preventing discrimination, landlords, employers, service providers of all kinds were at liberty to deny services to whomever they chose.  'No Blacks, No Dogs no Irish' typified who was vilified.  Regardless of skill levels migrants were relegated to the least desirable jobs, that is if they could find employment at all.  The colour bar in housing meant that migrants were concentrated in the less desirable parts of Britain’s towns and cities.

Sir Paul, a former service man, had moved to Bristol to take up a post as youth worker when he joined a group of West Indian activists who wanted to bring attention to the colour bar in Bristol. They chose The Bristol Omnibus Bus Company as their cause Celebre.

The Bus Company’s refusal to employ Black drivers was widely known in the city. It was all the more glaring given the numbers of Black staff employed elsewhere in the country across the transport sector. Inspired by the US civil rights movement Paul and fellow activists Roy Hackett, Owen Henry, Audrey Evans, Guy Bailey, led a boycott of the Bristol Omnibus company from April-August 1963. The boycott was supported by students, liberal Christians, and of course members of the Bristol’s Black community. Crucially, the boycott attracted the attention of the national press at a time when Britain was entering a new relationship with the Commonwealth. Moving away from its dominant role, Britain wanted to signal it could be the head of a multilateral Commonwealth of Nations. News of racism in Britain was then a stain on Britain’s reputation among the newly independent nations.

A charismatic, handsome, orator and to all intents and purposes an Englishman, Paul was the perfect spokesmen for the movement. Under pressure from the Wilson Government, the national Trade Unions the Bristol Bus Company capitulated two months after the start of the boycott.

Various commentators argue that the boycott was an important catalyst for Britain’s first anti-discrimination act. Introduced into law in December 1965 the Act made it illegal to incite racial hatred and to refuse access to public spaces.  The Act was strengthened in years to come but was at least the first step in a long legal journey towards equality.

The Bus Boycott was only the start, albeit a dramatic start to Paul’s activist career. He was once again in the public eye the following year when he was arrested and charged for causing a public nuisance. Paul had refused to leave the pub after the manager refused to serve him on account of his colour. The case went to court, an eyewitness corroborated Paul’s version of events he was acquitted, and the manager was later dismissed but as with the bus boycott, Paul’s actions exposed a persistence of racism to the wider public.

Paul used his friendship with celebrities, such as Mohammed Ali, to raise money for various youth charities He joined the Sports Council England but resigned in protest over the Thatcher Government’s refusal to criticize a British cricket tour of South Africa at a time when many in the sporting and entertainment world actively boycotted the apartheid regime.

Despite his national profile Paul continued his grassroots activism. Amongst many other roles he was chair of the West Indian Parents and Friends Association. He and his fellow activists were particularly concerned by the challenges facing the second generation of Black Britons. All too often, they experienced new forms of discrimination whilst also feeling marginalized from Bristol’s cultural mainstream. It was for this reason that members of the Association took on the management of the Trinity Centre.

Trinity had been purchased from the Church by a previous community organization in 1977.  During this period Trinity offered a range of vocational courses, artistic development and an entertainment space. Despite its popularity, Trinity faced financial hardship and went into receivership in 1984. Owned by the Council, the building underwent a substantial overhaul and was put out to tender in 1991.

The tender was competitive but Paul’s influence as well as that of West Indian Parents and Friends was key to securing the building’s future as a community venue.

Trinity owes a debt of gratitude to Paul Stephenson for its continued existence. But wider than Trinity, Bristol and the country at large is indebted to his example of unflinching public service.

Tribute written by Dr Edson Burton

Image credit: Trinity Garden Party, Alastair Brookes

Trinity have joined forces with Eastside Community Trust, Windmill Hill City Farm and 13 other organisations to call for urgent action to protect and enhance Bristol’s shared spaces.

As part of this we are inviting organisations who manage community buildings across Bristol to take part in a survey that will form the foundation of a report on the importance of our city’s community spaces.

This report will build on insights from the 2021 Trinity Community Arts Lettings: A Community Canvas, highlighting the vital role these spaces play in supporting public health, social cohesion, and community wellbeing.

The survey is part of Roots of Resilience: Saving Community Spaces initiative, a city-wide call to action to protect and enhance Bristol’s shared spaces.

These spaces are currently under threat due to various challenges, including council budget cuts and legislation enabling the sale of council properties. Roots of Resilience advocates for urgent measures to safeguard these vital community assets.

Why we’re creating an updated report

The original 2021 report was produced in response to community spaces across the country facing closure due to ongoing council funding crises. Its findings led to Bristol City Council’s one-off £4m Community Resilience Fund, supporting building capital improvements.

Since then, budgetary pressures have worsened, with Bristol City Council estimating a £22m deficit for their 2024/25 budget. This indicates further cuts, increasing the pressure to sell publicly owned assets.

The updated report will aim to provide evidence that supports policy changes and secures long-term investments for the city’s community assets, ensuring their sustainability and accessibility for future generations.

Click here to complete the survey

The deadline for responses is Monday 13 Jan 2025

Share your story:

We’re also looking to meet with people to gather case studies. If you’re interested in featuring in the report, please get in touch at Imogen@trinitybristol.org.uk - we’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for your support. If you have any questions or require support with the survey, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Imogen@trinitybristol.org.uk.

Wild Goose Choir - Image Credits: Alastair Brookes

As part of our Community and Neighbourhoods programme, we connected with local charity, Wild Goose, to run the Wild Goose Choir - weekly singing sessions within a cafe space on Stapleton Road.

“This is a fun socially interactive group that tackles many of the difficult issues faced by service users, enabling people from all cultures, different language barriers to cohesively join together.” - Mick Connolly, Drop-in Manager, Wild Goose Cafe

The sessions took place throughout July – October 2024 and were delivered by experienced choir leaders Sophie Wilsden and Holly Jacks with support from Wild Goose Cafe staff. The sessions included a warm-up, check in, refreshments and a check-out. Participants learned songs from all across the world, in different languages, and from different cultures.

Wild Goose offer support to people to help them rebuild their lives. The cafe offers a lifeline for many people who attend drop in services to access hot meals and support services. During the sessions, the Wild Goose team and the project facilitators shared that the sessions encouraged people to spend time together, build confidence, resilience and connections.

Throughout the project, 14 people took part in Wild Goose Choir, with participants returning for regular weekly sessions. Due to the success of the project, we will be expanding the programme and working with partners to host a weekly choir for people accessing services within Trinity’s locality.

The Choir has been developed through our 'Community Connector' roles, where we are working with people living within Trinity’s locality to create a creative programme of activity. You can find out more about events and projects coming up click here to find out more

Image credit: Josephine Gyasi

As part of this years celebrations of Black History Month we invited creatives and activists in the West of England to respond to the theme ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ through the lens of Citizens For Culture’s core principles: inclusion, voice and influence In the final piece as part of the series creative producer, facilitator and DJ Josephine Gyasi shares her poem: What Are Your Plans?

Josephine Gyasi: Reclaiming Narritives

Like so many, I was once again heartbroken and deeply shaken by the killing of an innocent Black person. In a dark period of isolation, shock, and deep reflection, I wrote these words to confront the enduring evils of inequality and police brutality — injustices embedded in the very systems that still structure our society today. This piece poses a clear message and a question to every non-Black person on the planet, especially those with the greatest power and privilege.

What Are Your Plans? Created in 2020.

I’m sick of death
I’m sick to death
I’M SICK OF DEATH
From all the way over there
How could you understand
That to walk outside your door
Might mean fate has other plans
You may never return
Instead you’ll be dead
Murdered.
On the streets
Like a rodent with disease
The White Man stops you
On your way
Thinks you’ve got too much to say
So he tears away your life
Makes you beg
And plead
And pray
We ask ourselves, why?
But the question is, why not?
Why would The White Man change?
With no orders from the top?
No justice
No peace
No racist police
The blood is on your hands
The blood is on your hands
The blood is on your hands
So, Mr White Man…
What are your plans?

Watch "What Are Your Plans" on Vimeo

Purchase "What Are Your Plans" Print: A3 size, 2 cm border, unframed, £33. Printed on Studio Expression Smooth Fine Art, a 100% cotton art paper.

Please add your name and address in the purchase link.

Interested in finding out more?

• Watch the first piece in this series, Goddess by NGAIO
• Read the second piece in this series, Justice by Mya Fraser
• Email Imogen@trinitybristol.org.uk to join our Citizens For Culture mailing list
• Find out more about what a Citizens’ Assembly for Culture is in this Q&A

What Are Your Plans? Credits

Producer, Co-Director, Spoken Word Artist - Josephine Gyasi | Co-director, Camera, Editor - Pierre Niyongira | Music Composer - Xavier Redkwa | Production Assistant, Contributor - Aaliyah Celeste Blair | Contributors - Emma Blake-Morsi, Ade Sowemimo, Lawrence Hoo, Courtenay Welcome | Whose Future Billboard Campaign - Rising Arts Agency

About Citizens for Culture

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

This autumn, enjoy an amazing programme of film screenings exploring the bredth of talents of African and diaspora filmmakers with Afrika Eye 2024, the South West's biggest celebration of African film and culture.

The festival returns to Trinity in a new format - instead of a full-on festival, the team at Afrika Eye have created a season of enticing films to run throughout the autumn months at Bristol venues including Watershed, The Cube, and The Trinity Centre.

"Our programme reaches across genres and aims to bring in new audiences to the festival with a season of films, rich in stories, drama and cultural themes, celebrating and sharing the vibrancy and importance of African culture with a programme appealing to all ages and interests" - Annie Menter, Afrika Eye Festival Director

At Trinity we pleased to welcome three films celebrating Black female action heroes:

Sat 09 No is Gina Prince-Bythewood's 2022 film The Woman King, starring Viola Davis. There will be delicious West African food for you to enjoy as well as a special Dahomey cocktail - click here to get your tickets.

On Fri 15 Nov, step back into the gritty '70s for a double bill screening of films starring the iconic Pam Grier in classic blaxploitation films Coffy and Foxy Brown. Plus stick around for an informal, post-screening discussion with a selections of black female and non-binary guests speakers.

This year’s Afrika Eye festival promises a diverse programme, spanning contemporary African films, spoken word performances, dance, music, and more, appealing to audiences of all ages. Artists from across Africa and within the diaspora bring insights, creative ideas and extraordinary projects to broaden and enrich our knowledge of a continent that has for centuries been part of a shared history, without ever having an equal voice. Head to Afrika Eye's website to explore the full line up.

Mya is part of Mandala Theatre Company. Credit Seed Guardians/Mandala Theatre Company

We are committed to creating ways in which citizens can take an active role in shaping arts and culture, through projects such as Citizens for Culture. This Autumn we are inviting creatives and activists in the West of England to respond to the Black History Month 2024 theme ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ through the lens of Citizens For Culture’s core principles of inclusion, and voice and influence. In the second of this content series, writer and actress Mya Fraser shares her poem Justice.

Reclaiming the Narrative: Mya Fraser and Justice

Justice

Think of a boomerang, an object which is designed to return

back to that throws forcer. What happens if it doesn’t come back?. History. Left behind whilst they dare to live without them. I believe in clarity. what i would like to clarify is the detachment clarify the sadness the hurt the wonders. I believe in comfort. something you can’t breathe properly without. your beats no longer stating the same rhythms. that irregulation speaks volumes. the very same songs the luth sings isolated. As if there’s a complete loss of control. where lies the control when the one creator's captured fix stays lost. You've Left the hand waiting behind whilst finding that paternal break. The originator plucks the air it once sat. pondering in what it’s doing. Where are you? Hopeful you’re homesick. do theirs caress better?  do theirs care for more?. Remaining wishful of tracing those invisible tracks in which the sand once led for you. Fulfilling the void that formed in your absence. To hear your sound once more would be an extraordinary pleasure in the figure and in the residential care of your beloved. Bring them home. Because again, I believe. and what i believe in most is a happy ending. rewriting a story doesn’t change the idea of the first plot, it manipulates the initial honesty. Here’s to history.

About Mya Fraser

Mya Fraser is a 20-year-old actress and writer, brought up in Oxford. At the age of 15 she decided to begin her acting career by joining young theatre companies based in her hometown. She later went on to receive her acting diploma in 2022 on a two year A-level equivalent diploma course at Bristol School of Acting. Fraser has been on multiple international tours with Mandala Theatre Company and is currently in their show Seed Guardians.

Follow Mya on Instagram

Interested in finding out more?

• Read the first part of this series, an exploration of NGAIO's music video Goddess
• Email Imogen@trinitybristol.org.uk to join our Citizens For Culture mailing list
• Find out more about what a Citizens’ Assembly for Culture is in this Q&A
• Become a Citizens for Culture Associate

Citizens for Culture is an initiative from St Paul Carnival CIC, Trinity Community Arts, Citizens in Power and West of England Combined Authority and is supported through funding by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch).

During the summer Community Connector, Shanti Pant hosted 'Nature in Newtown' -a free project exploring the natural environment in local neighbourhood, Newtown.

Following this project the ten-group members took part in a series of workshops to create short films inspired by 'nature'. The film making sessions were facilitated by Bristol-based filmmaker and Shanti Sherson and film-maker Jon Aitkin.

"It’s been lovely to build a nice friendly and inclusive group. It’s given me confidence. I’ve been told ‘you can’t do that’ so much. It’s so good to be around people who say ‘go for it!'"

Across the sessions the group learned simple techniques using mobile phones to create short films and explored different ways of creative expression, for example Haiku's, poetry and painting. The project culminated with a film screening at Trinity and a communal lunch.

Newtown is one of three local neighbourhoods that Trinity is working closely with over the course of this year, to develop a greater understanding of residents’ interests and experiences, and how Trinity can support grassroots creative activity.

Click here to find out more about our Community and Neighbourhoods programme