Speak Out Workshop - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

Speak Out was a free creative development programme for young people made possible through funding from the We Move Fund, created by Children in Need and BBC 1XTRA.

As part of the programme rapper/activist MoYah and poet and spoken word artist Sukina Noor delivered a series of workshops for young musicians and poets, offering support with writing and developing music-making skills.  These workshops where primarily aimed for young people who have lived-experience of the refugee and asylum-seeker system.

"As the Speak Out project unfolded, we saw how transformational this was to the participants. I think for me that was one of the most impactful experiences I’ve had working with young people" - Sukina Noor, Speak Out Facilitator

During the workshops the team offered tailored support and one-on-one mentorship to the young people who attended. We connected with translators to work with young people who wished to express themselves through Arabic -and  as a result they where able to use traditional Arabic poetic techniques during the workshops.

The young people involved in the project reflected on how the sessions offered them a safe space where they were able to fully express their identities and be themselves, and channel this into their art. For example, a participant from Brazil who spoke Portuguese was able to express himself better thanks to MoYah's ability to speak Portuguese, something that the young person had not been able to do since arriving in Bristol. Sukina observed the personal growth of the young Brazilian participant due to being able to speak his first language in the sessions, noting, "He could really experiment and let his story be told".

Facilitators, MoYah and Sukina both reflected on the confidence that the young people demonstrated by taking part and performing at Speak Out events, highlighting their creative and personal development throughout the project.

The young people who took part in these Speak Out workshops were given the opportunity to showcase their talents as part of the Bristol Refugee Festival.

In total six young people aged 16-18 took part in eight workshops, facilitated by MoYah and Sukina.

Click here to find out more about Trinity’s programme of events and activities for young people.

The hand-crafted guitar built by young people who attend Novalis Trust, a Stroud-based learning academy

Young people from Novalis Trust have generously donated a handmade guitar to Trinity's music-making program. This guitar was created as part of the Workbench Project, an initiative delivered in partnership with Pi Guitars.

"We are honoured to donate this guitar to Trinity Community Arts. May it inspire creativity, foster community, and bring the joy of music to all who play it. Thank you for the incredible work you do in Bristol, nurturing the arts and empowering individuals." - James Mountjoy, Novalis Trust

The guitar will be available for young people who attend music making sessions at Trinity to access and play as part of 1-2-1 sessions or the weekly drop in music-making sessions Next Gen Sounds.

The Workbench Project involves young people at the Stroud-based college, who visited Trinity last week to present the guitar to the Music Team. In addition to the donation, the young people enjoyed a tour of Trinity's facilities, including the Recording Studio and the Live Room. Novalis Trust is a Stroud based charity who operate multiple residential facilities in aid of people with learning difficulties from the age of 7 all the way up to 65.

James Mountjoy - a Senior Occupational Therapist from Novalis - said that the group wanted to donate their guitar to Trinity as they love the work we do with Young People in the Creative Arts, reaching so many people to bring them opportunities to explore their creativity, much like the work done at Novalis and Pi Guitars.

Click here to find out more about Trinity's programme of events and activities for Children, Young People and Families.

Sign up to a free workshop series with Kabbo Ferdinand – an African Indigenous storyteller and musician, and Natasha Gatward an immersive performance artist and eco-conscious costume designer.

In the three-day workshops you will learn about creating your own performance, from devising the story to designing lighting - this immersive course will give you the opportunity to create a performance piece from start to finish.

Plus, on completion of attendance (three sessions) you will receive a £100 voucher

Attendees will have an opportunity to showcase their performance at the Garden Party - A Community Celebration

Workshop details:

• Tuesday 30 July, 11am 3pm
• Wednesday 30 July, 11am 3pm
• Thursday 01 Aug, 11am 3pm

Food will be provided

Reasonable transport costs to the workshops will be covered

How to take part:

Register online using this form

If you would like any help with completing the form, please email liamc@trinitybristol.org.uk

About Speak Out

Speak Out is a creative development project exploring art and social justice. It is funded by the We Move Fund created by Children in Need and BBC 1XTRA

Stay & Play is a regular Friday session, but these extended Stay & Play sessions  will be running for six weeks, every Friday, from the 23rd July – 23rd Aug.

No need to book or sign up, just come along.

Summer Family Sessions are programmed in partnership with Trinity and Central Bristol Children's Centre

Sometimes serious, but more often funny, Pirate Taxi tells the directors’ own tale of finding their way via Circus to rural Somerset – weaving in themes of journeys, companionship, and the annual migration of birds.

Audiences are invited to join the ride, as the Taxi embarks on yet another adventure!

Show Timings

3pm Show

6pm Show

This is part of Trinity Presents - our in-house programme of music and performance, bringing world-class artists and emerging talent to inner-city audiences.

Igloo - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

This May Half Term, we’ve got an exciting programme of activities and events for children and young people of all ages to get involved with at Trinity.

Wednesday 29 May - Friday 31 May – Speak Out

Our Speak Out workshops continue on Monday, offering young people aged 16-18 free workshops and the chance to create a performance piece with the guidance of Kabbo Ferdinand – an African Indigenousness storyteller and musician, and Natasha Gatward an immersive performance artist and eco-conscious costume designer.

Wednesday 29 May – Music Masterclass: Hodge

Music Masterclasses are back on Wednesday 29th May. This month, young people aged 16-25 are invited to a free production workshop with Bristol-based DJ and Producer Hodge, who will share their approach to producing which involves finding sounds, processing them, and creating loops and ultimately overcoming writer's block while finding methods to create music in an organised way.

Thursday 30 May – Next-Gen Sounds

Next-Gen Sounds continues as normal during the half-term, with young people aged 14-25 invited to Trinity to take part in group drop in music making sessions led by Trinity and Off The Record.

Friday 31 May – Stay and Play

Children aged 0-5 & their families are invited to Trinity to play, learn and have fun together in our Friday Stay and Play sessions, delivered in partnership with the Health Visiting team. Come along to play, sing, share stories and enjoy the beautiful gardens.

Sunday 02 June – The Fairy Forest

Head to Trinity on Sunday to explore a forgotten woodland world, filled with fairies, forest sprites and mystical beings in ‘The Fairy Forest’ a new children’s theatre show from Tidal Tales, suitable for ages 3 and up.

Click here to learn more about our programme of activities for children, young people and families.

Are you aged 16yr-18yr

Would you like to learn or develop your music, writing, production or performance skills?

Join up to this free course with bilingual Rapper/ Afrofusion Artist MoYah and learn more about expressing yourself through creativity

How to take part:

You can register online using this form

If you would like any help with completing the form please email liamc@trinitybristol.org.uk

Food provided

Transport to sessions subsidised

Next Gen Sounds Performance - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

Young people from our free weekly music project, Next Gen Sounds, were invited to perform during Off The Record (OTR)’s exhibition at Trinity. We work in partnership with the OTR team who come along to the weekly Next-Gen sessions as an additional offer for young people.

“It was really great to get the chance to perform live, it’s so much fun, Trinity really give us a lot of chances to perform in front of an audience. It’s really fantastic to be able to play here” - Joe, Next Gen Sounds Participant

On the night, young people from Next Gen Sounds took to the stage for one hour. Giving incredible musical performances, from bands playing covers of much-loved songs by Fleetwood Mac and Radiohead, to acoustic solo performances, rap, and DJ sets, demonstrating the wide range of musical styles that the young people are exploring as part of Next Gen.

OTR’s exhibition featured paintings, drawings, photography, poetry and of course music from Next Gen. Our Next Gen Sounds sessions are supported by staff from OTR who bring their expertise around mental health and wellbeing to the group sessions, ensuring that the support offered by the programme focuses not only on young people’s musical abilities, but also provides a safe space for personal support, in which the young people can develop their confidence, interpersonal skills, and support their mental wellbeing.

As part of our Children and Young Peoples' programme we offer ways in which those aged 0-25yrs can take their first and next steps in creativity. Next Gen creates pathways for young people to develop their musical practice; from supporting song writing, to demystifying music production, and music masterclasses to eventually offering the young people a platform to perform their music to a live audience.

If you'd like to find out more about Next Gen Sounds, or get involved with the sessions yourself, click here for more information.

Speak Out Celebration 2023. Credit Alastair Brookes

Speak Out is a programme of free creative courses exploring ways in which creativity can be used to shine a light on Future Proofing (or, thinking about our impact on the planet), Neurodiversity and Injustice.

Delivered in partnership with City of Bristol College, Bristol Refugee Festival and Our Second Home, from Feb - June 2024 Trinity will host a series of workshops delivered by a professional artist or facilitator. The sessions will offer a supportive young people to develop creative and craft skills, be inspired by new ideas and build interpersonal and collaborative skills.

The programme was developed following an in-depth consultation with over 150 young people that took place in 2023. This included Trinity's CYP team visiting further education settings, schools, community organisations as well as an in-person event at Trinity.

Speak Out Programme:

Future Proofing – Students of City of Bristol College will explore their impact on the planet. Led by Carene, a sustainable fashion expert, the cohort will explore ways in which they can fight against fast fashion. Running Feb - Mar 2024

Neurodiversity - Kabbo Ferdinand, an African Indigenous storyteller and musician, and Natasha Gatward, an immersive performance artist and costume designer, invite 16 – 18 year olds to explore the ways in which movement and expression can explore Neurodiversity. Running April 2024.

Injustice – Hip-Hop artist Moyah, who has lived experience of the asylum system, will lead workshops for young people affected by the asylum system in order to create a performance piece addressing injustice. Running April 2024.

Speak Out Showcase: Young people who have taken part in Speak Out are invited to come together in celebration of their work at a showcase event at Trinity Centre. Each groups’ practitioners will be at the showcase to support the young people and to guide them through the experience of publicly sharing their art (17th June 6-8pm).

If you would like to sign up to the workshops please contact Liam, Youth Services Facilitator on liamc@trinitybristol.org.uk

Speak Out! Is supported by the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action aims to empower Black children and young people through Youth Social Action.

Music Masterclasses are free workshops for ages 16 - 25, inviting top industry professionals to come and share their knowledge and insights in a series of exclusive workshops and classes, covering all areas of the music industry.

Although there is no charge to attend and no tickets are required, we do ask that you sign up for attendance tracking purposes.

Although there is no charge to attend and no tickets are required, we do ask that you sign up for attendance tracking purposes.

Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

As part of our Children and Young People's programme we offer one to one or small group (up to three people) music sessions for young people aged 11-25yrs. These sessions are tailored to help young people develop skills, build confidence and support to take their next steps, whether it be to access further music-making provision or to re-engage with the educational system.

We work with professional music tutors who use a trauma informed approach to support young people to identify the areas they are interested in exploring in the sessions. This could involve anything from learning guitar or piano to recording an original rap track. Tutors facilitate and encourage young people to express themselves in whatever way they feel inspired to.

‘I love coming here, it’s a home away from home’ - Feedback, young person, 1-2-1 sessions

Sessions take part in our fully equipped studio rooms. Our live rooms feature two drum kits, a large electric piano and a collection of bass, electric and acoustic guitars. Our digital studio allows young people to access synthesisers, drum machines and a professional level microphone set up for recording, ideal for vocalists or those interested in music production. Both studios are capable of making high quality recordings which can be shared with the individual (or group) at their request.

If you are supporting a young person who would benefit from accessing our music provision please contact the Children and Young Peoples team for further information including prices for sessions on info@trinitybristol.org.uk.

These sessions are supported through funding from NIMBUS Sounds, a partnership between Creative Youth Network (CYN), Aspiration Creation Elevation (ACE), Basement Studios and Trinity Community Arts.

LOGO

But sometimes you don’t get what you want,  
even when you’re made to wait…

and wait…

and wait…

Sometimes what you end up with is something even better…

Igloo is a non-verbal, playful experience filled with warmth, sensation and gentle exploration, suitable for babes in arms and pre-schoolers aged 0-3 accompanied by their carers.

“a sensory playground” – Bristol 24/7

“comical in places and heart-wrenching in others”  – Western Super Mum

The Show is 30 minutes long, followed by a 30 minute stay and play, run by Travelling Light. Originally a Travelling Light and Bristol Old Vic co-production.

As part of each performance there will be a facilitated play session. The performance is non-verbal, but the play session contains some words. Audience members will also be given an Igloo picture book and other creative ideas to enable families to continue with creative play at home.

About Trinity Presents:

This event is part of Trinity Presents - our in-house programme of music and performance, bringing world-class artists and emerging talent to inner-city audiences.

A Lecture with Elijah: Building off his Yellow Square practice, Elijah’s thoughts and ideas have evolved into an educational and motivational hub for artists and creatives. He will speak to taking a hold of your creativity and passion for music, and how this can serve as a solid foundation to build out your creative practice.

The Studio Masterclasses with LCY and Mantra: Two masterclasses led by two prolific figures in UK club music; both DJ’s, producers and label bosses, LCY and Mantra have paved their own way.. These will be two, in-depth, intimate and hands-on studio sessions focusing on production techniques, different processes, creating their own sound & live track breakdowns.

*Masterclasses are suitable for those with an intermediate skill set, who have familiarity with production so they can use this session to strengthen and interrogate their own practice *

We want to encourage those in attendance to innovate and utilise tools taught by those with experience in the industry, with the view to using it as guidance towards taking the creative next step.

The day at Trinity will run from 12:00 - 18:00. There will be a networking hour with refreshments from 12:00 - 13:00 to connect and chat with others, and to prepare for the day ahead.

A Lecture with Elijah: 13:00 - 14:30

Studio Masterclass with LCY: 16:30 - 18:00

Studio Masterclass with Mantra: 14:30 - 16:00

Please note the studio masterclass capacity is very limited so we are prioritising attendees from colleges and schools around Bristol. However, the Lecture with Elijah is open publicly but will operate on a first come/first served basis on the day.

This month, we have invited Femke and Louise from Crack Magazine to deliver November's Music Masterclass. The workshop will consist of a insight into running a music magazine, personal reflections and time for questions.

Although there is no charge to attend and no tickets are required, we do ask that you sign up for attendance tracking purposes.