Following the securing of a grant from Arts Council England, Trinity launched IGNiTE: a programme of performance, artist residencies and workshops.

"IGNiTE melts the brilliant parts of our creative city into a shining new whole." Dr Edson Burton, Engagement Officer

Trinity has built a strong reputation for engagement across different communities and across different disciplines. It is a well-established music venue, and has further developed as a centre for learning and creative activity. With this is mind programme manager, Rhiannon Jones specifically created a platform for programming that directly engages the local community and centre users, aptly named the Programming Forum.

Click here to view the final project report or visit the Artists area of our website for information about the artists we supported through the programme.

Portishead legend and Bristol-Sound pioneer Adrian Utley, together with world-renowned musician and guitarist John Parish, describe why they support Trinity's Notes for Notes Appeal in an interview, now available on You Tube

During the interview, John and Adrian explained why they are supporting the Trinity Centre by creating the "Trinity Anthem" for the Appeal, and Adrian goes on to remember his time performing with Portishead at Trinity back in the '90s.

For every £5 received in donation to the Appeal, Trinity will exchange a virtual musical note, and once 4,000 notes have been exchanged (£20,000), Adrian and John will release the Trinity Anthem - a unique piece of music that reflects and celebrates Trinity's rich 40 year musical heritage.

To support the Appeal, donate on our Just Giving page or by text to ROOF31 £5 to 70070

With thanks to Charlie Tothill, Chris Price (film & edition), Memotone (music).

One of Bristol's oldest Freemasonry Lodges has supported Trinity's Notes for Notes Appeal with a donation of £908.

The Royal Sussex Lodge of Hospitality said they wanted to support a local charity that works closely within the local community. They chose Trinity as they know how vital the Centre is in providing space for community groups, also the benefit the space has been for the local community for over forty years.

The group were also aware of the impact that Trinity's Youth Music Programme has, helping vulnerable young people to access music, often at very challenging times in their lives.

The Lodge wanted to support Notes for Notes and the forthcoming Conservation Project, which will provide essential repairs to the iconic Trinity towers and the building.

Keep an eye on our growing fundraising appeal and pledge your support via our Just Giving page.

You can support Trinity's Notes for Notes Appeal, text ROOF 31 £5 to 70070 or donate at www.3ca.org.uk/donate

The Trinity Community Initiative (TCI) supported AWP Bristol Early Intervention in Psychosis Team with 40 hours of subsidised space hire at Arts West Side, between February and May 2016.

The Art Therapy sessions were planned for young adults, most of them referred by their GP's. The purpose of their project was to help participants to increase their understanding of what is happening, reducing the level of distress caused by unusual experiences and prioritising personal recovery and a quick return to valued roles and social relationships.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends the use of art for young people because it can help to alleviate negative symptoms and should be provided in a group setting.

We talked to Katie Gannaway, Mental Health Worker for the project, who summarised her time at Arts West Side for us:

"Earlier this year we ran a therapeutic art group from Arts West Side, for 16 weeks. The group was for young people 16- 35 years who are experiencing mental health difficulties. As part of their recovery we wanted this group to be in the community to promote social inclusion, leading to service users to feel less isolated and facilitating them to link in to other community resources.

The art group gave them an opportunity to explore their creativity whilst receiving emotional support in a safe group environment enabling them to feel more confident to be part of the community. The group was for a maximum of eight people, and included two healthcare professionals facilitating the therapeutic art group.

The feedback from group members was very positive; they liked the location because it was central, they also felt the space provided was safe and confidential, allowing them to freely express themselves through their art.

They also appreciated the art space below (SPACE), giving them the opportunity to view various exhibits, which for some, influenced their art and interest. This often impacted on our art sessions; members would access the group through the exhibition and this would become a talking point, and an opportunity to engage with others. Some of the members had never had the opportunity to visit art exhibitions; however, the accessibility provided this opportunity.

We would have struggled to provide this group in the community due to limited funds; Arts West Side offered a great space, accessible to communities that are often isolated."

Presented by Diverse City and Bristol City Council, Doing Things Differently is a new festival coming to Bristol that takes a playful look at experiencing, learning and doing something different. In September audiences will be able to see shows from a range of performing companies. A playful look at doing something different this autumn…

Doing Things Differently is about celebrating, learning and talking about equality in the arts. Experience great shows from a range of performing companies, including Weighting from the UK’s integrated professional circus company, Extraordinary Bodies in Castle Park.

Our strap-line 'A Centre for the people' came directly from our experience of facilitating and supporting 'communities' regardless of age, gender, sexuality ethnicity, income & ability such as theatre group the Misfits and their monthly Rhythm of The Night accessible disco. As well as providing a carefully managed and lovingly maintained spaces, we support groups which, with a little additional support, can expand their activities to something extraordinary. As part of the festival Misfits have partnered with Funky Llama, all the way from Plymouth to bring an alternative version of this ever popular event.

On Friday 16 we invite you to an intimate performance of On the Edge of Me in which the voice of one actress echoes the struggles of an entire generation of people facing unemployment, anxiety and depression...a solo dark comedy about the life of recent graduate, Remi, who confronts life as she knows it.“Brilliant, poignant and touching.’”

That same night we will also be hosting “one of the most incredible stories ever committed to film”. From the lawless streets of Kinshasa, Congo, comes Benda Billi, five years in the making which follows a group of street musicians as they struggle to record their first album. Hailed as the new Buena Vista Social Club, “Benda Billi is an inspirational, infectious, hilarious and life-affirming story of a dream that becomes reality”.

As this is a festival of doing as much as watching and learning we are pleased to be hosting Cardboard Citizens as they bring their celebrated 2 day workshop How to use Forum Theatre as a tool for social change with communities. This training is ideal for Arts and Social Sector practitioners who want to develop their practice to support working with disengaged groups from an organisation which has been making life-changing theatre with and for homeless people and disengaged groups for 25 years.

Our thanks to the staff at The Regency Group for supporting Trinity's Notes for Notes Appeal with a generous donation of £500

The Regency Group are based in Weston-Super-Mare and support and promote many local charities

The Notes for Notes Appeal aims to raise £20,000 towards the £1/2 million cost of essential conservation repairs to the 187 year old Grade II* listed Trinity Centre

The donation will help secure the Centre for the future of Trinity Community Arts and help conserve the heritage of the building

One of Trinity Community Arts' (TCA) charitable objects is, ‘to preserve, protect and improve for the public benefit the Trinity Centre, formerly the Holy Trinity Church, and promote the heritage of this building.’

The Trinity Centre is an important Grade II* listed building, which retains significant townscape value in the context of Old Market Conservation Area, defined as "an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance."

Since forming in 2003, TCA have been carrying out a phased programme of capital repair and redevelopment works, in order to renovate the historic asset and conserve it for future generations. We are approximately 1/3 of the way through the capital works programme and have invested over £1m with support from public funding.

The development and improvement of the premises, to maximise community benefit and potential revenue to ensure sustainability for any group running the space, has been a vision for many since as early as 1976.

The space has had several periods of significant investment, including the construction of an intermediate concrete floor and replacement of several windows by Bristol City Council between 1987-1991.

Ambitions to conserve the building and develop the space as a hub for community, arts, youth and education activities can be seen in Bristol City Council's business plan for the Centre from 1989, which related to the installation of the existing second floor and proposals to install a mezzanine to create additional training spaces.

Due to the complicated nature of the 1987 church conversion, the severity of dereliction and subsequent degradation, the building still remained in need of renovation and development.

TCA's board and management have worked in line with some of these past visions for the Centre and have also embarked on several consultation exercises to explore how Trinity could best meet local needs and desires.

Previous works included introducing a lift, training rooms and accessible WCs to help improve access to community training resources on the first floor. Our facilities team have also worked to carry out maintenance and repair works supported by small grants funding from groups such as landfill trusts and our own income generation.

Recently completed phases, 2013-2014, include a repair works scheme to the South Aisle lead roof funded by Historic England (formerly English Heritage) and match funders and a development works programme to bring the upstairs hall space into use, funded by Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities Buildings and match funders.

With building of Trinity's size and importance, there is still much investment needed to realise the full extent of this facility.

In 2016 we commenced a year-long development phase funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, to carry out a scheme of repair and conservation works at the Trinity Centre in 2017.

Click here to read more information about the Trinity Centre Conservation Project.

More about the Trinity Centre

The Trinity Centre is a deconsecrated Georgian church, now a community centre, brought back into to use by the current management Trinity Community Arts (TCA) in 2004.

The space was deconsecrated in 1976 and has been run by community groups for the past four decades. Protected by a covenant that says it is only to be used for community purposes, it was a base for the African-Caribbean Community and is still strongly connected with the constantly evolving ethnic landscape of the local area.

Since 1992, the building has been a prominent music venue. It has played host to a spectacular role-call of acts, becoming an important landmark in the globally exported 'Bristol Sound'.

The Trinity Centre is a significant iconic space. Built in the Gothic-revival between 1829-1832 it is a Waterloo Church and considered to be one of the finest examples of the work of architects Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson.

The building is situated within one of the most culturally diverse, economically deprived areas of the South West. Race, migration and the changing ethnic landscape have played an important role in the history of Trinity and the surrounding area. East Bristol remains a focal point for migration to the city both domestically and internationally.

Cultural diversity has shaped our community and made it the vibrant and exciting area that it is today. Central and East Bristol is at the heart of the city’s diversity, helping to create a unique cultural and creative environment for everyone to enjoy and benefit from. By renovating and conserving the Trinity Centre, we want to provide an affordable community arts hub for inner-city Bristol in order to make sure everyone has the opportunity to shape arts and culture in Bristol.

Text ROOF31 £5

to 70070 to   donate to the

Trinity Centre Conservation Project

Trinity would like to give a big thank you to Reverend Jack Daniels DJ and his friends and family for raising £200 towards Trinity's youth music programme, in memory of our the late great DJ Derek.

The Scott Arms in Dorset hosted The Strummerjam ‘Jerk Shak’ Garden Party in celebration of the birthday of Joe Strummer - British musician co-founder and lead vocalist of the Clash - and to raise a glass to the late DJ Derek, who sadly passed just over one year ago.

Donations for the raffle came from the Scott Arms, Wilkswood Farm Butchers Shop and Worth Matravers Tearooms. The Hattie Brown Brewery donated a barrel of 'Sweet Memory Ale' and Charlie Newman at the Square and Compass donation of a barrel of 'Johnny Appleseed Cider'. The event raised funds for Sweet Memory Sounds - the legacy set up in memory of DJ Derek by his family and friends, to support good causes that would have been close to his heart.

Funds raised will support Trinity's Youth Music Programme, working with young people who have become disengaged or excluded from mainstream education. Using music, we help young people increase their confidence, skills and abilities and help them to re-engage and get back into learning.

A big thank you to DJ Jack and his family for selling an amazing amount of raffle tickets and for supporting Trinity's youth music programme.

Read more about our work with young people here.

Trinity is pleased to announce the launch of the next stage our our Ignite Programme.

Due to successfully being awarded Arts Council support through the Grants for the Arts funding we are now recruiting for two great Freelance Posts to join our Trinity Team.

We are seeking a freelance Marketing Officer who can work with us to implement our Marketing Strategy, to help raise the profile of the Ignite project, encourage participation and engage audiences in our developing in-house programme.

We are also seeking a freelance Producer who can work with us to implement our Programme Strategy, to help programme and deliver a diverse range of activities and events that reflect our values and respond to our communities and centre users.

We are looking to engage with consultants who are confident, resourceful and creative, who can operate in a busy, changing environment.

Ignite is a year-long project 2016/2017 during which we will implement our Programme Strategy through a series of residencies, workshops and live-performance, featuring up-and-coming artists reflective of Bristol’s diverse communities.

Through an enhanced in-house programme, targeted residencies, commissioning opportunities and bridging activities that foster connectivity between resident creatives and centre users, we will help affect real change in the diversification of arts in Bristol.

Click here to visit the Job Vacancies section of our website for more info.

The partnership between The Island (an Artspace Lifespace project) and Trinity to maintain and promote Arts West Side & SPACE as an affordable, accessible community arts space began in April 2016.

SPACE & Arts West Side have secured an extended lease from the City Council as a Community Asset Transfer and will continue as a hub for community arts and events until the end of March 2018...so let's get inspired!

Are you looking to participate, host or deliver an exhibition, creative collective, art project, community based activity? Regardless of your age, profession, ethnic, cultural, or educational background; whether you consider yourself an established/emerging artist or not at all, we want to hear your ideas for SPACE.

Standing for ‘Sound, Performance, Art, Community, Engagement’, SPACE has hosted public events, art shows, residencies, meetings, workshops, pop-up shops since April...and SPACE could be yours next!

SPACE aims to provide an opportunity for all to present a range of sound, performance, art and community based activities in our welcoming and accessible creative spaces, suitable for use as: a gallery, pop-up shop, performances, short film screening, rehearsals, meetings and much more.

Proposals are accepted all year round and should include:

• 500 words maximum, outlining your idea or project, including time-scale, tech requirements and space preference (Gallery or Art Room on 1st floor)

• For exhibitions: images representative of your work

• A website address to your work or group (if available)

• Budget (if available)

Selection of proposals will be based on quality, feasibility and the connection to the overall theme of SPACE.

Please send your proposal to SPACE

6 West street

Old Market

BS2 0BH

Website:  http://theislandbristol.com/spaces/space/

FaceBook: SPACE.TheIsland

Twitter: SPACE_theisland

Instagram: @theislandbristol #theislandbristol

@spaceoldmarket #spaceoldmarket #space #oldmarket #bristol

£131k has been granted through the Catalyst: Evolve Fund, to help Trinity become more a more sustainable and resilient community arts and cultural organisation over the next three years. Funding will be used for capacity building and match funding for equipment and project activities.

£45k has been awarded from Grants for the Arts to launch our Ignite Programme; enabling us to develop and deliver a 12 month programme.

The aim of the Ignite Programme is to affect real and lasting change in diversification of arts in Bristol. We will provide:

- an affordable in-house programme of theatre, dance and music, that represents and engages diverse communities and user groups
- a targeted artist residency programme, supporting artists based within the Centre to develop new work
workshops, talks and social events, and activities, that help to build links between resident artists and other and community centre users.

We will be offering commissioning opportunities for local artists to enhance our existing programme as well as providing improved technical capabilities for community arts delivery, thanks to £15K already secured from the Garfield Weston Weston Foundation.

There will be a number of new part-time posts and contract opportunities created to help us deliver these exciting new projects. Please keep an eye on the Recruitment area of our website for more information.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager said; "This is a fantastic opportunity for Trinity to realise some of our ambitions to become a more sustainable organisation and help support the development and delivery of arts at a grassroots level"

To register your interest in the Ignite Programme, contact rhiannon@3ca.org.uk to sign up to our mailing list.

Two Key Arts Providers for the City - Trinity Community Arts & Artspace Lifespace - launched the petition to Save SPACE! & Arts West Side, following a decision taken in June to lease the premises commercially.

The petition gained well over 1,000 signatures in the space of two weeks and the groups received testimonies of support from local residents, artists and community groups, as well as from major arts institutions in the city. One petition support commented; “The arts is important to people's lives and well-being as well as the local economy. I believe creative spaces and places that the local and artistic community can express themselves deserve to be supported.”

After a series of discussions with Deputy Mayor, Councillor Estella Tincknell an agreement was made to keep SPACE & Arts West Side as a community asset and a hub for community arts and events until the end of March 2018.

Dina Ntziora, Project Manager for Artspace Lifespace said; "We are so grateful to everyone who supported our petition and believed in the value of our project SPACE. We would also like to thank the Arts Development team of Bristol City Council for their support throughout this process. It is a victory for community arts and the importance of projects like SPACE in making Bristol the city it is today. We believe that temporary use and re-use of empty premises and buildings can help create dynamic and resilient places in and around our towns and cities.”

The partnership between Artspace Lifespace and Trinity Community Arts to maintain and promote Arts West Side & SPACE as an affordable, accessible community arts space began in April 2016. Standing for ‘sound, performance, art, community, engagement’, SPACE has hosted public events, art shows, artist residencies, community meetings, pop-up shops, as well as providing opportunities for volunteers.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager for Trinity said; "The support we've received from the public has been amazing. Following consultation and knowing the depth of support from the community, Bristol City Council have generously decided to extend our lease. It's great to have a listening, responsive council that reacts quickly and effectively for the needs of the people. A big thanks to those involved who have helped us to achieve this fantastic outcome for Old Market. We look forward to developing an ongoing positive relationship with the Council."

Looking forward, SPACE has a vibrant programme of events lined-up, including taking part in the Doing Things Differently festival, organised by Diverse City and Bristol City Council’s Culture Team, which aims to support creativity across the city and help reflect diversity on stage and in performance.

Talking about what the future brings at SPACE, Dina explained; “The decision to keep SPACE and Arts West Side for community arts use shows us that partnership between two Key Arts Providers are important and hold great potential for our city, both economically and socially. Real ‘ownership’ comes from making a private space into a public space. SPACE is your space. SPACE is open to your ideas, proposals and projects. Let’s get inspired!”

To keep up to date about what’s on at SPACE visit the Island's website.

A big THANK YOU to all who supported and believed in us!

Artspace Lifespace - the community interest company behind The Island - have been working in partnership with Trinity Community Arts and developing SPACE (sound-performance-art-community-engagement) on the ground floor of Arts West Side since April 2016.

Artspace Lifespace CIC recycles vacant, under-used and problem properties into thriving creative resources.

They work in partnership with artists, building owners, property developers, local communities and organisations to secure and re-cycle interesting, unusual and often difficult buildings as vibrant multi-use art spaces.

Their work transforms neighbourhoods and also brings something fresh and diverse to commercial centres. Making space accessible to a wide variety of creative influences serves to enrich and develop the multi cultural identity of any community.

The opportunity to work in partnership has been an invaluable one and a perfect example of how two Key Art Providers (LAP - 2015-2018) in the city can come together and work in together to develop a new project.

The aim of KAP is to give Bristol people access to high quality arts in the city and at the same time support the council’s own specific criteria: to contribute to work with young people; to promote better neighbourhoods and to promote equality of opportunity.

Artspace Lifespace CIC The Island’s main vision when submitting our proposal for SPACE was to create a welcoming and open space for the local community and support creativity in Bristol with a new hub where they can showcase work and share ideas.

Since 8th April 2016 when we launched SPACE on the ground floor of Arts West Side, we've hosted 12 art show and 1 artist residency. We've worked with 6 local community groups, engaged 10 volunteers and hosted one 1 University placement. We've delivered workshops and facilitated community discussion groups, plus we have a full programme of events planned for the coming season.

The response and interest from the local community and the wider creative community in Bristol and beyond we had since we've launched the partnership project has been overwhelming.

The Island have so far invested a fair amount of capital and time to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for the public-facing space, on the ground floor of Arts West Side. Dina, Project Manager for SPACE said;

"We have enjoyed every minute of working with the local community and the way the local community has embraced the project allows me to believe that the feeling has been mutual.

An initiative such as SPACE created from the work of two community arts organisations with limited resources, shows that the city can grow in important ways without always relying on large capital expenditures or a major construction.

A strong community place-based project can encourage the emergence of a new space for participation, diversity, and experimentation in the arts and community engagement in Bristol and help build resilient communities where they are most needed."

Show your support via the Save SPACE campaign.

Click here to show your support!

Two Key Arts Providers for the City - Trinity Community Arts & Artspace Lifespace - have launched a petition Save Space & Arts West Side, located at 6 West Street. They are urging Bristol City Council to keep it as a space for community arts, Old Market.

The groups joining together and asking people to add their signature to the online petition to keep the building open for community use. If the petition receive 3,500 signatures, the Council have to discuss the decision at a full cabinet meeting.

The two groups recently applied to the Council to keep Arts West Side for community arts use, but the Council have decided to let the premises commercially; which they estimate will generate £15,000 rental value. While this will be a drop in the ocean of an estimated £60m budget deficit forecast for 2019/2020, this decision will have a huge impact on the grass-roots community art work taking place along the once troubled high street.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager for Trinity said; “We’re surprised by this decision, given the lack of commercial value of the premises; also how it seems to conflict with the city’s vision of Bristol as an inclusive city of culture. We opened Arts West Side to support regeneration of the area. At a time when communities in Bristol are concerned that they are being left behind as other parts of the city prospers, it is sadly ironic that the Council themselves are acting as an agent of gentrification.”

Historically, there have been negative perceptions of the Old Market area. The area also has a diverse and complex identity, including a thriving night time economy and an established LGBT scene.

Trinity have been running the 6 West Street - known as ‘Arts West Side’ - since August 2011 through Bristol City Council’s Community Asset Transfer Policy, also known as ‘CAT’. The policy seeks to make publicly owned spaces across the city available for community use.

Trinity are also tenants of another well-known Bristol landmark - The Trinity Centre, a thriving community arts centre and live music venue, based in a converted former church at the top of Old Market high-street - also owned by Bristol City Council.

Emma continued; “Trinity and Artspace Lifespace have launched this petition in the hope that we can keep SPACE & Arts West Side. Together, we want to make sure that everyone in Bristol has an opportunity to shape arts and culture in our city.”

Artspace Lifespace - the community interest company behind ‘The Island’, based in the Old Bridewell Police Station - have been running a series of public and community arts activities and events at Arts West Side, under the title ‘SPACE’.

Standing for ‘sound, performance, art, community, engagement’, since April 2016 they have hosted public events, art shows, artist residencies, community meetings, as well as providing opportunities for volunteers.

Dina Ntziora, Project Manager for SPACE said; “Our work transforms neighbourhoods and also brings something fresh and diverse to commercial centres. Making SPACE accessible to a wide variety of creative influences helps to enrich and develop the multi-cultural identity of this diverse community. We’re really disappointed the Council do not wish us to continue this important work.”

Talking about the joint-venture, Dina explained; “The opportunity to work in partnership with Trinity Community Arts has been an invaluable experience for us as an organisation and has been a perfect example of how two Key Art Providers in the city can come together and work in partnership to develop a new project.”

A programme of events is already scheduled until the end of September, as part of PRIDE Festival, Open Doors Day as well as the ‘Doing Things Differently’ Festival about diversity and equality in the arts organised by Bristol City Council and Diverse City UK. The City’s art team were themselves unaware of the decision to change use and also took part in the recent selection panel to award Trinity a further five-year lease, alongside representatives from neighbourhoods and properties.

Paul Bradburn, Chair of the Old Market Community Association said; “Old Market has long suffered from a lack of community facilities and so when I was asked to support Trinity's proposal for the future of the building I was most happy to do so. As the chairman of the OMCA and as a local resident, I would implore the Council to consider their duty to the community and offer the lease to Trinity and the Island.”

The OMCA’s Neighbourhood Plan was recently adopted at a Full Council Meeting in March this year. Among other measures, the plan details a need for 'better local facilities to contribute to a balanced and independent economy' and that they will ‘seek to protect existing community facilities such as Trinity Arts...and encourage new facilities to service the needs of a diverse community’.

It goes on to explain the need for ‘creation of community facilities’, to balance the growing shift towards a night-time economy and unaffordable private housing emerging in the area.

The groups have until 31 July to show that the community are behind them and to continue with the current programme.

Click here to show your support!

The petition is currently hosted on Change.org however if you do not wish to use this platform, you can add your signature to the Council's e-petition by clicking here. Please only add your signature to one platform.

Images courtesy of Sidz Photography

Bristol City Council are also asking people to inform a new Vacant Buildings Plan; complete their online survey, here.

Utley, one third of 'Bristol Sound' founders Portishead will work with world-renowned musician and long-term collaborator of PJ Harvey, Parish, to create a new tract to help Trinity raise funds towards £0.5m essential repairs.

Speaking to Dave Thomas, Training Coordinator for Trinity’s youth music programme, John said; “Trinity’s been on the Bristol scene long as I’ve been living in Bristol...I remember from when I first went gigs around about the end of the 1970s, not long after it became a venue...now my daughters are coming to shows here.”

John continued; “It feels like it’s part of the fabric of the Bristol music scene...It’s also the the work you do, the community work, which is amazing.”

When asked why he was getting involved to support Trinity’s appeal, John said; “If I can help then I’d like to - a place like this is really worth hanging onto.

“You can see the way is city is being, as a lot of cities are, being redeveloped - sometimes for better...sometimes for worse...for instance, a studio where I’ve been doing a lot of work’s just been sold, being developed into apartments, which is happening to a lot of central city spaces.

“I feel it’s vital that we hang onto artistic and cultural spaces, because that’s what makes a city valuable...without those, the heart of the city will die.”

Adrian continued; “We really do need all our venues - whether they’re big ones like this or tiny clubs that people start in. In Bristol we tend to forge ahead in spite of what is happening to our studios and our spaces – which is a good thing; there’s a lot of energy for making music.

“I’ve been coming for years, seeing bands here. I’ve played here quite a few times.”

This is the first time the pair will work together on a musical project of this nature, and they are both looking forward to working together and supporting the Trinity Centre. Adrian said; “We’ve worked together but we’ve never actually written music together.”

The Trinity Anthem will be a unique piece of music to celebrate venue’s rich forty year musical heritage and will be the impetus to drive donations toward the charity’s Notes for Notes appeal.

Each £5 raised represents one virtual musical note. When the charity reaches 4,000 notes, Utley & Parish’s track will be released for download, under a ‘pay what you can’ music model; a model used by several artists including Radiohead, to give people the freedom to pay what they can afford towards the track, in support of Trinity’s ongoing capital works programme.

Talking about their favourite Trinity memories, Adrian spoke of when he performed at the converted church in the mid 1990s; “Playing here with Portishead, very early days...it was quite a different space...it was completely wicked and it was great to do it.”

John said; “I remember the first show I ever saw here, which was Magazine in 1980...astonishing gig. Astonishing atmosphere. Quite violent...but it was an amazing gig.”

If you would like to keep the Trinity Centre’s musical heritage alive, you can support with a donation to the Notes for Notes appeal via Just Giving.

Click here to read more about the Trinity Centre Conservation Project.

Images courtesy of Khali Photography

Increasingly, couples getting married are choosing charity and ethical gift lists as part of their special day.

Larger organisations have set up their own gift lists and more popular, go-to gift-stores now have an option to donate via a regular gift registry.

In Bristol, there are lots of fantastic, smaller charities who are often most in-need of financial support, yet don’t have the infrastructure to promote their work and raise vital funds.

So, if you're getting married at Trinity or elsewhere, we've helped by putting together a list of 10 local charities working to make Bristol a better place for everyone.

16-25 Independent People provide accommodation, support & advice for 16-25 year olds living in the city. With 80,000 young people facing homelessness every year, 1625IP are a vital Bristol service, offering support to young people so that they can lead independent lives. They also work to prevent young people who are in crisis from reaching tipping point within their family home, in order to prevent homelessness.

Awaz Utaoh translation meaning, 'Raise your voice'; helping women from South Asian communities to feel valued, uplifted and empowered. One user commented; “Until I joined Awaz Utoah I had no idea of the support available to me”. Awaz Utaoh hold drop-in advice and social groups, a youth forum and an over 50’s group, helping to reduce isolation and address other issues and concerns.

Borderlands Refugee Centre works especially with people seeking asylum in the UK or who are refugees on Mondays and Tuesdays. They provide ESOL English Lessons, food parcels, a hot meal, drinks and sandwiches, a warm and welcoming place to be, as well as running an arts and crafts table and advice sessions at the Tolentino Hall. They run information and advice courses for refugees on issues around housing, benefits, money management and employment. Through supporting volunteer opportunities, they help to give a voice to refugees, so that they can share their experiences.

Bristol Refugee Rights runs a drop in Welcome Centre 3 days/week for asylum seekers and refugees. They offer: a social space, 7 levels of English classes, advocacy and information, a pre-school crèche,  interpreter and public speaker training and volunteering opportunities for members, arts activities, including musical performances, trips, and public events to raise awareness of asylum issues. Their vision is that everybody coming to Bristol to seek sanctuary is welcomed and treated with dignity and respect.

Fare Share is a UK wide charity fighting hunger and food waste. They redistribute good food that would otherwise go to waste to frontline charities and community groups that support vulnerable people. By receiving food from FareShare, these organisations are better able to provide nutritious meals alongside life-changing support. FareShare reaches over 320 towns and cities, providing food for 18.3 million meals a year and supporting 211,565 people every week. By ensuring good food is not wasted we turn an environmental problem into a social solution; “A square meal helps you think clearly about your life" Cliff, formerly homeless.

Misfits Theatre theatre & social group led by & for people with learning difficulties who want to get creative! “The Misfits is an incredibly valuable theatre company providing important services to both people with learning difficulties, people who work with people with learning difficulties, and the general public. It is one of Bristol's top cultural and social organisations.”

Off the Record provide free, confidential mental health support & information to young people aged 11-25 in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Each year they help over 5,000 young people providing free 1-1 counselling, training and specialist youth work.

One 25 One25 reaches out to women trapped in, or vulnerable to, street sex work; "Tonight, women will wait on Bristol’s dark streets for a car to stop. They’ll get in, not knowing if they’ll come out alive. They are trapped in addictions and this is how they survive. But there’s hope. Your donations to One25 will help women escape street sex-work and find freedom."

Talking Money dedicated to helping people out of financial hardship; providing free, independent debt advice, energy advice & financial education. 60% of children in our local area live in poverty; in the last year Talking Money have helped 278 families increase their income and reduce their costs, raising £244,862 for vulnerable clients.

Trinity Community Arts - yes, that's us! We work to ensure everyone has the opportunity to shape arts & culture in Bristol. We provide free and subsidised space for community activities, deliver projects that develop people's skills and well-being and programme events that help ensure Bristol's culture is reflective of our diverse city.

So why not say 'I do!' to a charity gift list!

Click here for more information about weddings at Trinity.

Adrian Utley is best known for being one third of the 'Bristol Sound' founders Portishead.

A guitarist and producer, Utley has also recorded under various names and participated in several recorded and live collectives, such as the occasional This I Dig, Stonephace, Adrian Utley & Mount Vernon Arts Lab, and Adrian Utley's Guitar Orchestra, which performed for Trinity's relaunch in 2014.

John Parish is a world-renowned musician, songwriter, composer and record producer and long-term collaborator with PJ Harvey.

He has also worked with many other bands including Eels, Tracy Chapman, Giant Sand, and Sparklehorse.

The pair are collaborating to create the Trinity Anthem to support Trinity's Notes for Notes fundraising appeal, to raise vital funds towards the £500,000 cost of essential conservation repairs.

Trinity is a late Georgian building, so repairs to the north side roof, windows and stonework will help to ensure Trinity can remain 'a centre for the people' for future generations.

This is the first time that Utley and Parish will collaborate on a musical project of this nature and they are both looking forward to working together to support the Trinity Centre, which is in critical need of repair.

"The Trinity Centre has a fantastic history as a music venue, stretching back over forty years, with some great acts having played there, and we're supporting its future by creating the Trinity Anthem to encourage people to donate to the Appeal. The building is great, but its the work that goes on inside by the Trinity Community Arts charity that's important, so we want to keep a roof over their heads and see the charity doing what they do best for another forty years at least!" (John Parish)

Notes for Notes

The Notes for Notes appeal aims to raise £20,000 towards the £500,000 Conservation Project to carry out essential repairs to the much-loved Trinity Centre.

For every every £5 raised for the Notes for Notes campaign, Trinity will exchange one musical note.

When we reach 4,000 musical-notes we will launch 'the Trinity Anthem' - a unique piece of music, created by Adrian Utley & John Parish, to celebrate the diverse musical heritage of the centre and city of Bristol.

We hope that people who hold Trinity close to their hearts will support the Conservation Project and help us raise vital funds to help secure the centre's future.

Click here to pledge your support today and help make the Trinity Anthem happen.

Click here to read more about the Trinity Centre Conservation Project.

Images credits

Adrian Utley (right) courtesy of Benoit Peverelli

John Parish (left) courtesy of Matias Corral

SOLO LAB
When: 5th - 8th September 2016
Where: Trinity Centre, Bristol

Trinity Centre have offered us the use of their beautiful Fyfe hall for two SOLO labs. The SOLO labs will be for 4 artists to work over 4 days on their own solo projects, within each others company and support. SOLO labs are to explore emergent ideas or develop work already in progress, including opportunities for workshopping the material, showing and getting practitioner-centred feedback. The format and structure for the lab can be designed by the group, and may include working solo in the mornings and sharing in the afternoons, collective warm-ups, as well as evening conversations, over food.

These labs are unfunded so will be best suited to Bristol based artists. Artists based in other locations are welcome, we could support in finding you a place to stay but we unfortunately cannot cover travel expenses.

To express your interest in participating in a SOLO lab please email soloperformanceforum@gmail.com, with the following;
- A brief description of your practice
- What you would like to work on during the lab
- Which lab you would like to attend (June or September)

Deadlines: 26th May for June lab/13th June for September lab

Sales of two ales - One Love Pale Ale and Derek Ale - both launched in the memory of the renowned DJ, will help to support Trinity’s work with young people, helping them re-engage with learning through making music.

Sweet Memory Sounds

This support is part of the wider work of Sweet Memory Sounds - set up by Derek’s family and friends to keep Derek’s musical legacy going. The group are donating funds raised to Trinity to help with young people get into music, who commented; “we feel this is perfect and what Derek would of wanted.”

One Love Pale Ale

Festival organisers of Positive Vibration: Festival of Reggae - taking place in Liverpool this weekend, 10 and 11 June - have collaborated with Black Lodge Brewery, to commemorate Derek and the wonderful life he led.

‘One Love Pale Ale’ will be sold throughout the festival, with proceeds donated to the Trinity Community Arts - a charity running the Trinity Centre, Lawrence Hill - in support of our youth music programme.

The family-friendly reggae festival will feature Mad Professor, Trojan Soundsystem, Don Letts, DJ Vadim and much more.

‘Derek’ Wetherspoons Ale

In honour of the late Bristol legend DJ Derek, Wetherspoons have also released a Bristol-brewed ale called ‘Derek’, with 5p for each pint sold being donated to the Trinity charity.

Wetherspoons was Derek’s favourite pub chain and he was also known for enjoying dark ales. So GWB Brewery have paid tribute to the local DJ by releasing an ale to celebrate his life.

Derek ale was released in April this year, to coincide with the date of Derek’s public funeral - and pays honour to his lifelong ambition of visiting every Wetherspoons in the country.

DJ Derek loved playing in Wetherspoons pubs up and down the country, including the Commercial Rooms in Bristol, where the idea to launch a tribute ale in his memory first came about.

The ale has been going very well and can be found in may Bristol pubs. GWB Brewery have decided to produce the ale in 500ml bottles which will hopefully be available at the beginning of July 2016.

Read more about how Sweet Memory Sounds are supporting Trinity here.

Please support Trinity through purchasing these ales and please drink responsibly.

Sweet Memory Sounds - set up by the family and friends of Derek Serpell-Morris in memory of Bristol’s legendary reggae DJ - have generously supported Trinity Community Arts, Old Market, with a donation of £2,000 towards the charity’s youth music programme.

Following a fundraising event hosted at The Farm, St Werburghs, there was an amazing response as people pledged their support in DJ Derek’s memory.

As part of the recent BBC 6 Music Festival, the event featured exclusive screening extracts of Ring The Alarm: The DJ Derek Story, which saw Derek being honoured by Massive Attack's Daddy G and BBC presenter Don Letts.

As a prominent feature of Bristol’s music scene for over 50 years, Derek’s family were keen to ensure that, as part of his legacy, they could help to realise the musical aspirations of young people in the city.

Derek’s great-niece, Jennifer Griffiths - who was pivotal in leading the eight-month search for the missing DJ - said; “We are so happy to be part of the Trinity and to carry Derek’s legacy on, this is what he would of wanted so it's great to be able to get involved and help out a great cause.”

A friend of Derek’s family, local artist Mat Kauhanen, helped set up Sweet Memory Sounds to support fundraising efforts to create a huge mural of the local legend on a wall in Montpelier, near The Star & Garter, where Derek cut his teeth as a DJ. The mural - planned to help raise the profile of the search for him - will now be as a commemorative work and will be created in July this year to mark one year on from when Derek initially went missing.

The additional funds raised through the tireless efforts of Sweet Memory Sounds will help to support Trinity’s work with disengaged young people, including young offenders and those with other health and behavioural issues.

The donation is part of a wider programme of support from the memorial charity, which will also see an ale being sold in his honour, with a proportion of the proceeds going towards the local arts charity to continue their work with young people.

Trinity has been working with young people from challenging circumstances to help them to make music since 2005. They work with over 60 young people each year, helping them to find positive ways to express themselves, gain confidence and develop their musical ability.

Recently, this has seen the charity provide a successful series of exclusive ‘Industry Insights’ sessions with artists including Devin Townsend, Jack Garratt and Nitin Sawnhney.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager from Trinity said; “To receive a donation like this is just amazing, not least because it’s connected with Derek’s memory. Derek was a favourite at Trinity back in the day and everyone has a memory of seeing him perform. We’re glad to work with his family to realise a lasting legacy in the city that he would be proud of.”

There will be a press event held at the Trinity Centre, 10am Friday 10 June to find out more about the the planned DJ Derek mural, Sweet Memory Sounds and their work with the Trinity youth music programme. To pledge your support for DJ Derek mural visit GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/ndfqcqek

Click here to read more about Trinity's youth music programme, the work supported by Sweet Memory Sounds and the stories of the young people who benefit. Read more about how Sweet Memory Sounds are supporting Trinity here.

Trinity are setting up a memorial page here on our website. Please get in touch with edson@3ca.org.uk if you have any stories or images you would like to share with us.