Panel discussion as part of 'Final Frontier'. Image credit: Khali Ackford

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival/Trinity and Citizens In Power, we have been exploring how a representative group of citizens from across the west of England could create a cultural strategy and delivery plan for the region. Following our research phase we are now undertaking a series of ‘citizens panels’ with people from across region.

We will host three panels during September and October in which we will ask citizens to review the initial model for a Citizens’ Assembly for culture that was developed by the working group. The findings of the three citizen panels will be assembled into a report that sets out how the recommendations have been implemented in the design of the 2024 Citizens’ Assembly for culture. We are then planning follow-up sessions with people and organisations working in the cultural sector during November and December.

The citizens panels will be hosted by David Jubb (Citizens In Power) and small discussion groups will be facilitated to ensure everyone has a voice in the process. The reason for involving citizens in the design process is that we believe that a wide range of citizens can help improve the idea and make it more relevant to more people from across the region.

If you would like to find out more and explore questions about the idea and the process then we will be at the ‘Festival of the Future City’ on Oct 19 at Watershed where we will share our journey so far. The event will be open to questions from and conversation with the audience at this free event.

The citizens panels mark an exciting next-step for the Citizens For Culture project, made possible with the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) and Arts Council England through the West of England Cultural Compact fund.

Find out more about the project

Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

We’ve had an amazing summer of music, arts and community events at Trinity and we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the amazing things that have happened at Trinity over the last few months.

Garden Party

On May 14, 2023, Trinity Garden Party welcomed the community to our annual, free event featuring live music, arts, workshops, and performances.

The Den, our outdoor stage, showcased a diverse lineup of talented artists from Bristol and the South West. From Laimu's soulful jazz, Ben Baddoo's Ghanaian percussion, and Magugu's Nigerian rap set the musical tone, we had an amazing range of musical talent on display. The day concluded with an energetic performance from jungle legends Ruffneck Ting duo Dazee and Jakes. Upstairs in Fyfe Hall, local poets, comedians, and spoken word artists entertained, including familiar faces and new local talent.

Workshops throughout the day offered diverse experiences for attendees of all ages. Movema's Dance Workshop ignited the Main Hall, while DMAC's Drumming and Storytelling circle was a hit. Crafts, garden activities, and a Recycle City workshop engaged children and the local community.

With over 2,200 attendees and £3000 in donations, your generosity enables us to host more community events like Garden Party in the future.

Movema

We continued our partnership with award-winning Dance company Movema throughout the summer, delivering a programme of Dance and Movement-based workshops with two Hannah More and St Nicholas of Tolentine Primary Schools.

This summer we celebrated the end of the project with a series of weekly after school Carnival Dance workshops. Held at Trinity, children and their parent/carers, along with Movema, created their own carnival procession that celebrated and took inspiration from the rich cultures and heritages of the group.

Day Parties

Day Parties in our outdoor venue, The Den, continued throughout the summer. We hosted a range of in-house day parties, including a Booty Bass x RepresentAsian takeover, as well as fan-favourites Teachings in Dub ran their first ever day party at Trinity in August. Rave on Avon, a multi-venue festival around Bristol, found it's new home on Old Market this year, and we were lucky enough to host the main stage at Trinity.

House of Weaving Song

As part of Bristol’s Playable Cities project, we hosted The House of Weaving Songs in Trinity’s Community Garden, an outdoor interactive artistic installation celebrating Somali culture. The House of Weaving Songs was created by dhaqan collective, a Somali Feminist art collective led by Ayan Cilmi and Fozia Ismail. The installation featured traditional Somali tapestries that when touched ignited the stories and musicality of Somali women’s weaving songs.

We've got loads of amazing events lined up for autumn and winter at Trinity, click here to see what's on.

Movema's Easter Dance Club. Photo credit Alastair Brooks

We were able to provide 150 local residents and users of the Trinity Centre supermarket vouchers as part of the Winter Crisis Fund. The support has come at a crucial time when families are grappling with unprecedented costs due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

To allow for a fair and accessible process, we developed a user-friendly online form where individuals could indicate how they met our four predefined criteria for receiving vouchers. We then worked with key stakeholders to share the scheme, including printing flyers to distribute among resident groups and parents/carers whose children participate in activities at Trinity.

"I am in receipt of a low income. The shopping voucher really helps with everyday shopping, e.g., food, cleaning products. Furthermore, by being awarded the voucher, I feel listened to and valued. Thank you."

This initiative enabled us to offer some relief to the challenges posed by rising living costs, and the distribution of vouchers primarily benefited local residents with caring responsibilities. 78% of the vouchers were allocated to families whose children attend local schools or children's centres or take part in Trinity's Children and Young People program.

About the Winter Crisis Fund:

The Winter Crisis Fund is an initiative of The Society of the Merchant Ventures.

Many of the events this summer will take place in the community garden. Photo credit Alastair Brookes

Check out our free and affordable activities to take part in as part of our Summer programme of activity.

Meet the Unicorn

Head down to Trinity and uncover a mystical unicorn as part of this yrs city-wide arts trail that is raising money for Leukaemia Care, the UK's leading leukaemia charity. Trinity’s unicorn, named 'Silence Provokes', has been painted by Bristol-based artist Emma Blake-Morsi. People can visit the Unicorn during opening hours (9am-5pm Monday - Friday) and most weekends. However, as Trinity is an active community space, we do apologise but access may be restricted to the site during day parties or wedding.

Explore Somali Culture

As part of Playable City we are hosting 'The House Of Weaving Songs' (07 July-09 July) an outdoor interactive artistic installation celebrating Somali culture featuring 360 audio and tapestry.  Click here to find out more.

Nature and Play

Throughout the Summer we are teaming up with Central Bristol Children's centre for 'Stay and Play' for 0yrs-11yrs (and their grown ups). These sessions, on Friday's, will offer nature and play activities - for free. We will be also running a cafe where you can buy hot drinks and healthy snacks. Click here to find out more.

Family Theatre and Picnics

Following the success of The Ash the Oak and the Standing Stones early this year we have again teamed up with Tidel Tales Collective to bring another magical show The Hare, the Moon and the River Picnic Series (18 Aug). Come along - and bring a picnic.

Arts Workshops

We've got a selection of community-focused arts workshops running at Trinity throughout the summer.

During July and August Newtown residents are invited to take part in free community painting sessions where you can take part in a mandala painting activity. Hosted by Brick Project CIC the sessions will run between 5:00pm-7:00pm - the meeting point is located just across the Clarence Road, which is next to the Trinity Centre.

Starting on 17 July we have Creative Wellbeing Workshops at Trinity, delivered in partnership with Age UK Bristol and Alive Activities. Take part in free in art, crafts, and activities as well as learning ways to look after your wellbeing, while exploring ways to unwind and relax. These drop in sessions are open to everyone. Age UK and Alive Activities would particularly like to welcome Refugees and Asylum Seekers aged 50+, as well as locals living close to the Trinity Centre

On 21 July we will have an Artwork Design Workshop with artist Molly Mural. This is a creative workshop and help design a new public artwork for Stapleton Road, drawing inspiration from local culture, history, and community values you will be able to use various techniques. Click here to sign up.

Community Cafes

Starting on Weds 19 July we are inviting our key community partners to 'take over' The Den and Garden for the afternoon. We will be welcoming key community partners such as Newtown Network to host activities and celebrate the work that they do. We will provide free hot and cold drinks as well as healthy snacks.

Day Parties & Weddings

During the summer months (July-Sep) we will be hosting full-site Days parties. These are for 14+ (under 16's must be accompanied by an adult). This includes veteran soundsystem Downbeat Melody (16 July) and Booty Bass x RepresentAsian (29 July) - tickets start at £5.

Ice Road by Raucous performed in Jacob Wells Baths. Photo credit Jack Offord

In October 2022 a decision was taken to pause the process of awarding fixed-term funding to the arts and cultural sector of Bristol, in order to ensure transparency and independent decision making.

Trinity are advocating for a similar level of scrutiny regarding the future of our city's community infrastructure, given these decisions will have a far greater long-term impact on our social and cultural fabric.

Our work to promote the plight of the city's community buildings falls in line with Trinity's charitable objective to "provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare". Recently we outlined the value of our many community spaces in Bristol in our report: "A community canvas – building the case for community infrastructure 2022-2026"

The disposal of Jacobs Wells Baths

Since January this year we have been working with stakeholders to create a vision for Jacobs Wells Baths, a Grade II Listed building that holds within its walls a wealth of architectural and social heritage - from its time as a public swimming baths to its 30 year history as a dance hub.

Following the information that Jacobs Wells Baths is now being put forward for disposal Emma Harvey, CEO of Trinity Community Arts, has submitted a statement to Bristol City Councils Full Cabinet meeting 04 July 2023.

Emma Harvey CEO Trinity Community Arts Statement:

For over 15 years, I have been raising concerns about Bristol City Council's failure to adequately classify and protect its community buildings.

Today, I once again bring forth my concerns regarding the disposal process being tabled today. It highlights a lack of protective asset class for buildings like Jacobs Wells Baths and Ujima House, which have been listed for disposal alongside disused plots of land, an old lock-up garage and a former public toilet.

The reduction of irreplaceable community buildings to footnotes in a 400-page agenda pack raises questions about how irreversible decisions are made about the assets we own. Disposing of irreplaceable assets without adequate scrutiny or a consistently applied process jeopardises our connection to the past, erodes our present identity, and threatens the resilience of future communities. Such a decision should involve greater care than may given by an ‘estates rationalisation’ exercise, when these decisions risk eroding the city’s landscape of public spaces where our communities - growing in size and diversity - can connect, build trust, and foster unity.

"Bristol has the opportunity to lead the way and, rather than disposing of these cherished spaces with a dismissive wave, we could seek to adopt a new ‘Public Realm’ asset use class that can change the way we define and protect civic and cultural domains for all citizens. These assets belong to the people of Bristol and as our elected representatives you are entrusted by us to act as our guardians of these shared spaces."

These spaces are more than physical structures and worth considerably more than an old bog or a dumping ground. They represent a tangible connection to our city's heritage and have witnessed countless memories and community gatherings that have shaped our city's social fabric. Not only do these spaces connect and improve the daily lives of people in their surrounding areas, they can also act as significant local economic multipliers, generating jobs and supporting small businesses. Specifically Jacobs Wells Baths is the only community hub within a locality with a combined population of 25,000 residents.

As Trinity has already set out, it has every potential to service the needs of this locality’s diverse communities; residents of HMOs and adjacent social housing blocks, older and young people, who have no other hub for locally based service provision.

I ask the members of today’s Cabinet what is the legacy you want to leave behind?

I urge the Cabinet to re-evaluate this process, as the Mayor has done with other recent called-in decisions, such as the Cultural Investment Programme.

I urge members to consider the 2019 Land for the Many independent report, which advocates for changing the way we make decisions about these critical assets.

Bristol has the opportunity to lead the way and, rather than disposing of these cherished spaces with a dismissive wave, we could seek to adopt a new ‘Public Realm’ asset use class that can change the way we define and protect civic and cultural domains for all citizens. These assets belong to the people of Bristol and as our elected representatives you are entrusted by us to act as our guardians of these shared spaces.

Though your time in office may be limited, the decisions you make today will have lasting consequences for the communities of tomorrow. Please do not miss this once in a lifetime chance to make a positive impact to safeguard the legacy of these and other community buildings for the enrichment and well-being of present and future Bristolians.

Further information

We support Power to Change's We're Right Here Campaign that is building a united movement for community power.

Read more in George Monbiot's Land for the Many independent report that focuses on changing the way our assets are used, owned and governed

The unicorn at Trinity

We are pleased to be hosting a Unicorn as part of the magical arts trail taking place throughout July and August in celebration of Bristol’s 650th anniversary.

The art trail features 60 life-sized unicorn sculptures that have been individually designed and painted by some of the South West’s leading artists and will be raising money for Leukaemia Care, the UK's leading leukaemia charity.

" I recognise our health care systems aren't exempt from many of the inequalities in our society, and wanted to create a contrasting design that hopes to raise awareness of this while also celebrating the vibrancy of colours, patterns and textures commonly associated with some ethnically marginalised communities." Emma Blake-Morsi, artist Unicorn Fest

Trinity’s unicorn, named 'Silence Provokes', has been painted by Bristol-based artist Emma Blake-Morsi and is inspired by leading research by the British Journal of Cancer on ethnic disparities within cancer patients, with the intention of raising awareness about inequalities within healthcare.

People will be able to visit the Unicorn most days between 9am and 5pm. Throughout the summer holidays we will also be offering a programme of affordable/free to access activities as part of our Children and Young People's programme so if you are bringing family, or young people you care for, and want to plan your visit - click here to find out more.

Click here to find out more about the trail including how to download the app and buy a map.

Please note that Trinity is an active community space, visitors are advised to check our listings as access may be restricted to the site during day parties or weddings.

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival/Trinity and Citizens In Power, we are exploring how to co-create a cultural strategy for the West of England region with citizens.

During this research phase, funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), we invited a range of collaborators from the sector who place participation at the heart of their practice to hear from some of the best speakers working in democratic decision making right now.

Part 5: Deliberative Workshops

In January and February 2023 we organised three deliberative workshops with the aim of devising a long-term, citizen-led process that will shape a cultural plan for the area.

In our first session, we heard from Sarah James, the Creative and Cultural Programme Lead at West of England Combined Authority. She spoke about the Combined Authority’s Cultural Compact – a group consisting of representatives from four Unitary Authorities (Bath and North-East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire) that aims to focus and amplify the role of culture in the region as a driver for economic success, placemaking, community cohesion and personal wellbeing. Sarah talked us through the evolving Cultural Plan for the region and how this connects with other active cultural conversations in the area.

The group then briefly discussed the application process for previous rounds of the government’s City Of Culture competition, from the initial expression of interest through to the judges’ panel visit and interviews. It was agreed that it would be up to the Citizens’ Assembly for Culture as to whether an application for future competitions would be relevant or not.

The group then moved on to discuss the idea of Deliberation – a key methodology used in Citizens’ Assemblies. We heard from Professor Alan Renwick (Deputy Director at UCL’s Constitution Unit) who described the key components which lead to deliberative and consensus decision-making and how this differs from a more conventional debating approach.

Following this first session, we felt that it would be good to bring some of the principles Alan Renwick discussed to life with a couple of stories from inside a Citizen’s Assembly. Therefore, to start our second deliberative workshop, Executive Director of St Pauls Carnival and regular Citizens’ Assembly facilitator LaToyah McAllister-Jones shared some stories that helped immerse us back into the world of assemblies, understand more about their conduct, and remind us that there is expertise around these kinds of participatory processes in our teams and region for us to draw on.

Following this, we spent some time delving more deeply into the way Citizens’ Assemblies are organised and delivered. Sarah Allan, one of the UK’s leading experts in Citizens’ Assemblies, who is Director of Capacity Building and Standards at Involve, joined us to explore the way assemlies are designed along with some of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the assembly model. She delved into the governance of Citizens’ Assemblies, and how the different stages of assemblies work. After considering the core components of a Citizens’ Assembly, we deliberated together to create a list of other exercises or approaches that we thought could add value to the assembly model.

In the final session, we came together to explore our ideas for a citizen-led process for the west of England region. We set out to create a long-term and affordable and citizen-led process that could create a Cultural Plan for the region. Our main questions and themes were: How can the process itself be creative & cultural? How can the process be inclusive and diverse at every stage? Who are the stakeholders in the process and how can we bring them on the journey? Could the assembly have a federal structure with sub-groups to reflect the different areas across the region? Based on the experience and discussions from all three of the deliberative workshops, we outlined a process as a basic prototype, to be tested with citizens and the wider sector in autumn 2023.

Find out more about the project

Movema Easter workshop at Trinity. Photo credit Alastair Brooks

Due to high demand, applications are now closed

Trinity Community Arts are offering free supermarket vouchers worth up to £150 to help with the cost of living.

The vouchers are available to anyone aged 18 and over who meets one or more of the following criteria

• lives within a 0.5 mile radius of the centre
• takes part in regular community activity at the centre, including Gentle Dance, ROTN and Hype Dance
• takes part in youth activity at the centre, including Next Gen, Stay and Play and after school clubs
• is a parent/carer of a child in local schools including Hannah More, Easton CE Academy, St Nicholas of Tolentine Primary School, Evergreen Primary school and Central Bristol Children's Centre

The voucher scheme will run in May and June 2023 and is supported by The Society of Merchant Venturers,

Photo credit: Ice Road by Raucous, Jack Offord, Jacobs Wells Baths

"Bristol is brimming with dance talent in many forms, and it is well overdue for a dedicated space of its own" Deborah Baddoo MBE, Bristol Dance Futures Producer

Former dance centre and Victorian swimming pool, Jacobs Wells Baths has recently been saved from potential disposal by Bristol City Council following their announcement to launch an open process for expressions of interests to manage the building via a Community Asset Transfer.

In 2019-21 we were part of Bristol Dance Futures, a consortium dedicated to building dance profile, capacity and infrastructure in Bristol. The project highlighted the rich potential of dance in the city and created legacies including cross-sector working across health and community development.

We asked Bristol Dance Futures Producer, Deborah Baddoo MBE, to reflect on the project and to share how it could help reimagine a community space, such as Jacobs Wells Baths.

"During my time as producer for Bristol Dance Futures it was clearly evident that there is a huge gap in terms of a dance specific space in Bristol.

Obviously, it is important to bring dance into other organisations who may not normally have access to dance activity, but there is a thriving dance community throughout the city, hiring commercial studios, performing in unsuitable spaces and trying to book spaces in venues for rehearsals, classes and workshops.

Post Covid-19, now more than ever, the powers that be are recognising the valuable role that dance and indeed all the arts have on helping individuals on their journey to wellbeing and the special role that dance has in connecting people, improving mobility, releasing stress and enhancing creativity, to name only a few of the benefits of dance.

A dedicated dance space such as Jacobs Wells Baths has potential to be a place where many exciting initiatives can flourish, a networking space for dance, a rehearsal space, and importantly hub for dance and wellbeing activity in the city.

Dance in Bristol has gone through many changes and manifestations over the last 25 years, but these have always tended to be piecemeal, short-lived initiatives having limited long-term impact for the sector as a whole.

Bristol is brimming with dance talent in many forms, and it is well overdue for a dedicated space of its own. A dedicated space will help enable the dance sector in Bristol to continue to grow and be a catalyst for exciting new developments and a much needed home for dance in this vibrant city."

Deborah Baddoo MBE, Dance Producer

If you would like to join a conversation on what the future for Jacob Wells could be, please click here.

Activities coordinator, Stefan Boakye connects with UK-wide partners as part of the Fun Palaces project

Trinity is a key partner in Fun Palaces, a national campaign that is making arts and culture more accessible by supporting people to plan and deliver creative events in their communities.

As part of my role, Community Activities coordinator, I have connect with local residents and community groups to offer help and support so they can set up their own creative activities. This includes Ruth Harrison and her ‘Recycle City Project’ and new resident group Impact Bristol.

"I learnt that many other organisations where also exploring developing networks between organisations and we discussed ways to make this more effective"

In January we hosted an 'action research meeting' with the Fun Palace partners. These meetings are a way to collectively gather feedback, improve working practices, learn from each other and create new connections. Partner organisations are based across the UK and included the Albany Centre, The National Trust for Wales and Rotherham Council Libraries.

We began the day by introducing ourselves and checking in on what each organisation was currently focusing on. We had a fun icebreaker which involved us talking to each other about what our ‘special’ skills were.

Following this we took part in an evaluation session with Sarah Boiling and shared our progress within the program, success stories and challenges. This session was more focused on the things we liked about Fun Palaces and how we can develop these themes. This was very valuable as we all explored the ways in which the Fun Palaces message helps us all in our individual roles to talk about the importance of making arts and culture more accessible.

After this we had lunch delivered from a local Caribbean takeaway ‘Nadine’s Caribbean Cafe’ and we had another opportunity to chat and bond with each other before we went back into our final ‘Open Sessions’.

‘Open Sessions’ brought the group together to raise any topics they wished to discuss. If someone wanted to raise a topic, they would announce it in the centre of the room and then find a designated space to host the discussion.

I took part in several of these discussions and it was useful to pick up tips and hear the experiences of other partners and makers. The fact that we were encouraged to talk freely amongst ourselves meant that we covered a lot of important topics. For example, I learnt that many other organisations where also exploring developing networks between organisations and we discussed ways to make this more effective.

We finished by sharing what we had gained from the day, how we were feeling and any final thoughts. I mentioned that my involvement in discussions about building networks would be very useful in helping me to form ideas to develop a community network which will connect individuals and organisations.

The event was really positive and it was great to see so many people who were passionate about what they do and the communities that they are trying to reach, which made me feel more inspired about my role.

To find out more about the Fun Palaces campaign, how to get involved and how to create your own Fun Palace contact our Community Producer Stefan on: stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk

In 2022 Trinity took part in the Thriving Communities initiative, to develop a programme of creative activity in response to the increased isolation that many people - including older people and those caring for young children - experienced during and post-pandemic.

The year-long initiative, led by specialist 'arts-on-referral' practitioners, creativeShift pioneered a new model of using the arts to improve health and well-being. The pilot project helped to connect key partners in the arts, health and social care setting, to help communities rebuild and recover.

“The art helps you to manage your own feelings and learn how to cope with things. It has given us transferable skills, and I have noticed how the participants have grown in confidence”. Anita, Gentle Creative Dance

Building on our previous Moving Bristol project that explored how dance can be used in a social prescribing model, we connected creativeShift with some of Trinity's resident community groups to design a programme of activity that was subsequently delivered to service users who were referred by local health and community partners due to their health needs.

Over the last year, we have been able to utilise our unique position as a trusted community arts hub to build resilient cross-sectors partnerships, including strengthening links with community health providers Wellspring Settlement, who referred patients to our free-to-access programmes.

Social prescribing delivery in practice

creativeShift worked with Gerry's Attic - an over 55's dance group who meet regularly at Trinity - to create Gentle Creative Movement, a weekly programme designed to increase well-being and confidence for those who may be experiencing long term health issues effecting their mobility.

One Gentle Creative movement participant now volunteers at a local dementia café saying that going to sessions had “... given me the confidence to do that.”

Social prescribing specialists from creativeShift also collaborated with Bristol Children’s Centre (CBCC) to design a play-based programme for parents and carers of young children born during the pandemic to connect with their children and with each other.

Image credit: St Paul's Carnival

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival/Trinity and David Jubb of Citizens In Power, we are exploring how to co-create a cultural strategy for the city and surrounding region with citizens.

During this research phase, funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), we invited a range of collaborators from the sector who place participation at the heart of their practice to hear from some of the best speakers working in democratic decision making right now.

Part 3: Becoming A City Of Culture

In our third blog we reflect on the thoughts and experiences of Bradford 2025 team members, May McQuade and Jack Lynch who used the Citizens’ Assembly model as part of Bradford’s successful UK City of Culture 2025 bid.

May McQuade was the Programme and Community Coordinator for Bradford 2025. It was her role to explore what they would do if they were to win, and what programming could happen during the bidding period. This involved lots of consultation work, spreading the word around the bidding and getting people on board. 

Jack Lynch worked on creating the campaign and brand for Bradford 2025. His role looked at how the City of Culture bid looked and felt, and the story they wanted it to tell. Jack spoke about being particularly keen to make something that felt truly original in Bradford, particularly with regards to how people normally spoke about the area.

The group were interested to explore what the catalyst was for this groundswell of positive engagement with the Bradford 2025 campaign. Jack shared that there was a focus on taking public opinion and universal truths about Bradford, and working them into the campaign. They found this was a way that everyone – from people in the arts sector to people in the street – could understand the aim of winning a City of Culture bid, and that this helped create a high level of engagement. The group discussed that ‘finding the city’s universal truths’ could be an important part of a City of Culture bid for Bristol.

Delving into the local authority’s involvement in Bradford 2025, May shared how the council had set up and invested in the trust then fully supported the bidding process. The decision for the bid to be separate from the council gave the team creative freedom.

There was a question posed from the group about the high number of people of Pakistani heritage living in Bradford, and how the bid was representative of this community. May spoke about several staff and steering group members being of South Asian heritage and the broad consultation events taking place in every ward of the district. May also shared that part of the bid’s focus was around improving representation in decision making roles within the arts, and supporting growth of the South Asian arts offer in Bradford. She went on to say that there are also many other Global Majority groups living in the area, and they wanted to make sure everyone was involved - which was admittedly difficult. The group spoke about Bristol’s arts sector not being fully representative of the diverse population of the city, and how there would need to be careful thought put into that during the bidding process. 

When asked what the biggest takeaways were from the process, Jack spoke about understanding that from a marketing perspective this is essentially a political campaign. May shared that, on a personal level, she felt it was important to start with a pace that makes sense with the communities you’re working with and not push too hard from the beginning – it’s a fast paced process and can easily become overwhelming.

Interested in finding out more?

• Read the blogs so far: Part 1 What is a Citizen's Assembly? and Part 2 Art, for, with, by the people
• Keep up-to-date about the project by joining our mailing list
• Read Freddie Wulf's article: Identity Capital
• Watch Trinity's take over of the Radix Big Tent
• Join in the conversation using #67MillionVoices

Sessions will take place in the Trinity Community Garden as well as inside the building and will focus on nature-based and craft activities that will explore gentle practices to improve wellbeing and to build connections with the natural world, yourself and each other.

How to get involved

Registration is via Changes Bristol,  please contact Jen from the team on growing@changesbristol.org.uk to find out more

About Changes Bristol

Changes Bristol has been providing support to those in mental distress in Greater Bristol, since 2003. People access our services in the city of Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire (BNSSG), and Bath & North East Somerset.

Changes provide support in the form of weekly support meetings across Bristol and providing learning materials for participants to take away and learn new techniques such as mindfulness and CBT. Changes also provide brefriending services, volunteering opportunities to help people gain confidence and learn new skills, as well as training opportunities.

Mondays from 11am-1pm (School term time only)

Aid Box Community supports refugee and asylum seekers in Bristol. They create a safe space for refugee communities to socialise and exchange knowledge, skills, culture and language, whilst drinking lots of tea and laughing.

Every week we have a different activity for our wonderful women to do whilst we chat about this and that, and keep each other company! We have had mindfulness and art sessions, massage days, sewing activities, multi-cultural lunch clubs, and much more.

Tea, coffee, and light snacks are provided.

How to get involved

These sessions are targeted towards Refugee and Asylum Seeker women. You do not need to bring anything along to participate in these sessions. Children are also welcome. For more information please contact Heather from Aid Box.

St Pauls Carnival

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival and David Jubb of Citizens In Power, Trinity are exploring how Bristol can co-create a cultural strategy for the city and surrounding region.

During this research phase, funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), we invited a range of collaborators from the sector who place participation at the heart of their practice to hear from some of the best speakers working in democratic decision making right now.

These focus groups have been a chance to share ideas, experiences, knowledge and expertise on co-creation, participatory democracy and how we can do things differently in the culture sector.

In a series of blogs we are documenting and sharing what we are uncovering this journey. For our first focus groups we welcomed Brett Henning, co-founder of the Sortition Foundation and Janet Vaughan, designer and co-artistic director of Talking Birds to share their experiences of creating Citizens' Assemblies.

Part 2: Art, for, with, by the people

Janet Vaughan is the co-artistic director of Talking Birds Theatre Company who hosted the UK’s first Citizens’ Assembly on Arts, Culture & Creativity as part of the 2021 Coventry City of Culture. The Assembly took place over six weeks and produced recommendations that were incorporated in the city's Cultural Strategy. We invited Janet to share their experience of using this model and what they learned during the process.

Joining us on Zoom, Janet first shared how their interest in participatory democracy came from the early day of the pandemic where a large proportion of people in the UK suddenly had time 'to do things'. During this time, Janet shared that they took part in online conferences and events by organisations including Civic Square and that this initial engagement was the spark that led to their hosting of a Citizens' Assembly.

The initial barrier to programming the Citizens' Assembly in Coventry was engaging with stakeholders to invest in the process - as Citizens' Assemblies are very expensive. However, Talking Birds, in collaboration with stakeholders, felt it was important for people, outside the cultural sector, to have a voice in creating a cultural offer.

Through David Jubb, Janet connected with the Sortition Foundation and they acted as the independent organisation who would administer, engage and select participants for the Assembly. The Sortition Foundation worked to ‘crunch’ the numbers to ensure participants reflected the demographic data that has been specified.

As with other UK Assemblies, Talking Birds paid for participants to take part and supplied people with the tech they may have needed for engaging in the process during a pandemic. They also offered 1-2-1 tech support to ensure engagement was equitable.

The group were interested in whether the Citizens' Assembly ‘made a difference’ and if the process enabled learnings that were 'surprising or unexpected'. Janet shared that, yes, firstly because conversations were had that otherwise would not have been able to happen and, secondly, because the people who took part would not normally have been able to engage with each other. Then finally, that because the Citizens' Assembly approach is tried and tested, it created real spaces for conversation, questions and ideas.

The group were then interested in how to go about choosing the provocation for discussion during the Assemblies'. Janet shared that Talking Birds set up an oversight committee to explore what their provocation would be. At the time there was a drive to ‘build back better’ and the committee, through discussions, came to an agreement that they wanted to explore the role of art and artists in this.

The final part of Janet’s talk looked at data and numbers. The Coventry project ran over six weeks, 50 people took part in the Assembly itself across six learning sessions with evidence from around 12 expert witnesses. The cost to run and engage participants was around £120k.

Janet reflected that it was brilliant to watch the participants build confidence over the project and felt the approach enabled people to feel autonomy, listened to and that their questions were valid. From these, recommendations were drafted and put to vote at the Assembly and then went through a process of refining the recommendations which where eventually submitted to the Council for consideration.

We will continue to share our findings from the research stage of our project alongside programming further focus groups and action-learning sessions.

Interested in finding out more?

• Read part 1: What is a Citizen's Assembly?
• Keep up-to-date about the project by joining our mailing list
• Read Freddie Wulf's article: Identity Capital
• Watch Trinity's take over of the Radix Big Tent
• Join in the conversation using #67MillionVoices