Aid Box taking part in Our Freedom project, image by Jon Aiken

The Aid Box Community Women’s Group has been meeting at Trinity since January 2023, creating a regular women-only space to meet new people, share experiences, learn new skills and, importantly, simply spend time together. The group is free to attend and runs during term time.

Aid Box Community was founded in Bristol in 2015, initially in response to the refugee crisis in Europe. The organisation grew from a volunteer-led effort to deliver essential supplies to refugee camps into a Bristol-based charity providing practical support, community, activities and a welcoming place to people seeking asylum and refugees. Its work today includes a Free Shop and Welcome Hub, welfare and crisis support, befriending, activity groups and community trips.

The Weekly Women’s Group at Trinity is part of that wider work. Aid Box describes its activity groups as spaces where people can share skills, learn, laugh, look after their wellbeing and develop a sense of belonging. For the women who attend, the Monday sessions offer a chance to build friendships and connections in a women-only environment, helping to tackle the isolation that can come with displacement and starting a new life in a new city.

The sessions are varied with the group takung part in activities including sewing, arts and crafts, mindfulness, massage, cooking and shared meals. There is also plenty of time for the less structured but equally important parts of coming together for tea, chatting, sharing knowledge and experiences and getting to know one another.

As part of the partnership, Trinity provides creative opportunities for the group, giving women the chance to explore different artforms and contribute their own ideas and experiences through creativity. This has included the group taking part in Our Freedom: Then and Now project in 2025. Working with Bristol City Poet Sukina Noor and Trinity curator Edson Burton, women from Aid Box joined other local communities to explore what freedom means to them. Their experiences and words became part of a wider creative process that went on to inform a national touring exhibition.

The partnership gives space for people to come together, make things, share stories and take part in the cultural life of the city. Aid Box brings deep relationships with refugee and asylum-seeking communities, while Trinity can offer space, creative resources and opportunities to participate and shapce cultural life in Bristol and the UK.

Sober Spaces, Image by Ania Shrimpton

Since April 2025, Trinity has partnered with Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) through its Creative Communities programme, bringing a number of BDP’s established creative groups into Trinity.

The partnership provides a regular home for activities that use creativity, music and community connection to support people affected by drug and alcohol use. BDP’s Creative Communities programme recognises the role that creative activity can play in building confidence, developing skills, strengthening relationships and supporting recovery.

Through the partnership, Trinity has become a regular base for several of BDP’s long-running groups, including the Bristol Recovery Orchestra, delivered in partnership with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The partnership has also enabled us to develop new provision together. Following BDP’s Beginner’s Music sessions, Trinity and BDP launched an intermediate music group for people ready to take the next step in their musical journey.

The sessions provide an opportunity to build on existing skills, develop confidence with beginner instruments and make music alongside others who may have had similar experiences, all within the relaxed, supportive and judgement-free environment of Trinity’s venue and recording studio spaces. The progression is important: people can start by simply trying music for the first time, develop skills through the Beginner’s Music sessions and then move into an intermediate group when they are ready. It creates a pathway that is led by participants’ own interests and confidence, making use of professional creative facilities to grow and develop their creative practice.

As part of the partnership, Trinity is also one of BDP’s Bristol Sober Spaces venues, supporting the development of inclusive cultural experiences where people can enjoy music and socialise in an alcohol-free environment. This has included a D&B Legends event headlined by Roni Size (pic, above) and Nicky Blackmarket.

Through Creative Communities and Sober Spaces, Trinity and Bristol Drugs Project are working together to make creativity, music and cultural participation part of a broader ecosystem of connection, confidence and recovery. The partnership is a shared commitment to making culture and community spaces more accessible, helps the sector to think differently about what an inclusive cultural venue can look like.

Dovetail Orchestra performing at Trinity, May 2026

Trinity partners with Dovetail Orchestra - a Bristol-based community orchestra bringing together musicians from different countries, cultures and musical backgrounds - to perform at the centre.

Founded in 2022, Dovetail was created to provide a welcoming space for people seeking sanctuary, using music to build connection, support musical learning and create a sense of belonging. The Bristol-base orchestra has welcomed people from more than 32 countries and brings together around 30 musicians each week. As part of Dovetail's weekly sessions, musicians work together to create new pieces, combining musical ideas, memories and sounds from the different cultures represented in the room.

Dovetail shows how a music can connect communities from around the world, giving people a chance to share where they come from, develop new skills, build confidence and courage. The orchestra is open to people regardless of musical experience, with professional musicians supporting the group to develop its skills and create performances that can be shared with audiences. For refugees and people seeking asylum, having a regular place to meet, make music and develop friendships can provide an important sense of stability and belonging.

Through their live performances, Dovetail brings together people with different musical traditions and experiences and platforms this work to reach a wider Bristol audience. Trinity hosts Dovetail performances, giving members the opportunity to move from weekly participation and learning into performing on stage and sharing their music with the public.

In May 2026, Dovetail's live concert at Trinity celebrated music from our local-to-global communities with audiences invited not only to listen but to join in with space for dancing as well as seating. For Trinity, this is an important part of what partnership in supporting a community-led creative process and helping to provide a pathway from participation to performance.

Trinity works in partnership with Nilaari Agency to run Men’s Space, a weekly group for men aged 18+ that takes place in Trinity’s Community Garden.

Nilaari is a Bristol-based, Black-led charity that has been supporting the mental health and wellbeing of adults from Black, Asian and other racialised communities for more than 20 years.

Its approach is culturally responsive, recognising that people’s experiences of mental health, wellbeing and accessing support are shaped by their culture, identity and wider circumstances. Alongside talking therapies and practical support, Nilaari runs groups that provide opportunities for people to connect with others who share aspects of their experience.

Men’s Space brings this approach into a different setting, providing a relaxed, welcoming environment where men can spend time together, try something new and build relationships. The aim is to create opportunities for connection and wellbeing through activities that are enjoyable and meaningful, while making use of Trinity’s Community Garden as a space for gathering, being outdoors and taking part.

Programme activities are shaped by the men who attend, to develop an evolving programme in response to interests and needs. Sessions have included photography, Nordic walking, creative writing, cooking and exploring nature, with new ideas emerging as the group develops. This responsive approach reflects Nilaari’s wider commitment to listening to communities and developing support around people's lived experiences and priorities.

This partnership is an opportunity to use Trinity and its outdoor spaces in support of men's wellbeing and connection, creating a space where men can connect with others, try something different and take part in shaping what happens next.

Art for Wellbeing visit to Arnolfini

Trinity works in partnership with SGS College and Bristol School of Art to create opportunities for adults to learn, develop creative skills and build confidence through art.

One of the longest-running elements of the partnership is Art for Wellbeing, a weekly creative programme for adults at Trinity. The sessions provide a welcoming and supportive environment where people can explore different artforms, develop practical skills and spend time with others, without the pressure of formal education or the expectation of producing work for an exhibition or assessment. For some participants, having a regular creative activity can be an important part of rebuilding confidence and establishing routine.

Trinity's case study of Veronica's experience of the Art for Wellbeing programme describes how taking part provided an opportunity to try something new, develop her creativity and connect with other people. The programme demonstrates how participation in the arts can support wellbeing while also opening up pathways into further learning and creative activity. Sessions have included visits to other art spaces in the city, including Arnofini.

The partnership has subsequently developed a new accredited employability course, Skills for Life and Work, using arts and crafts as a route into learning and employment. The course is designed for adults who may face barriers to traditional education or employment.

The course uses practical creative activity as the starting point: participants develop skills through making, while also building confidence, communication, teamwork, problem-solving and other skills that can be transferred into work and further learning. This approach recognises that barriers to employment are not always about a lack of skills, but can also include confidence, isolation, previous experiences of education and a lack of opportunities to demonstrate what people can do.

Our creative learning offer gives people a different way back into learning and employment and is accredited through SGS College's Bristol School of Art, giving participants the opportunity to gain a recognised qualification alongside practical experience. The third cohort of Skills for Life and Work begins in September 2026 and will include supported engagement from service users of Bristol Drugs Project, inHope and Horizons, helping people who may face additional barriers to education and employment to access the course and benefit from the opportunities it provides.

Working with SGS College allows Trinity to use the cultural life of the building to engage with people who may not see themselves as students, developing provision around the strengths of the people taking part and using creativity as a vehicle to improve wellbeing, confidence, skills and employability, helping people to experience the power of creativity and build on what they are capable of.