In our first round (2020), we were able to make seven grants totalling £6,350 to these excellent groups:
Cables and Cameras
Cables and Cameras is a non-profit events-based community project established in 2018, working out of the heart of Bristol’s Stokes Croft. The events create a hub and outlet for filmmakers and creatives of colour in Bristol to showcase their short films/sizzler reels. It is also a platform where filmmakers can discuss, share and debate ideas creating a space to open up opportunities to collaborate and network.
The founder, Gary Thompson – a film producer and creative producer – recognised the need to fill a gap in linking communities of colour to film and vice versa. Representation of people of colour (POC) across the film industry is well below where it needs to be. In Bristol we have a very diverse community and mix of cultures but sometimes we don’t see or hear the stories that affect us all in day-to-day life.
Cables and Cameras exhibits and curates POC films that would not otherwise have an outlet for sharing with audiences. In 2 years they have screened around 50 films, covering a number of topics from transgender issues, colourism and discrimination to transatlantic slavery.
Cables and Cameras is a non-profit events-based community project established in 2018, working out of the heart of Bristol’s Stokes Croft. The events create a hub and outlet for filmmakers and creatives of colour in Bristol to showcase their short films/sizzler reels. It is also a platform where filmmakers can discuss, share and debate ideas creating a space to open up opportunities to collaborate and network.
The founder, Gary Thompson – a film producer and creative producer – recognised the need to fill a gap in linking communities of colour to film and vice versa. Representation of people of colour (POC) across the film industry is well below where it needs to be. In Bristol we have a very diverse community and mix of cultures but sometimes we don’t see or hear the stories that affect us all in day-to-day life.
Cables and Cameras exhibits and curates POC films that would not otherwise have an outlet for sharing with audiences. In 2 years they have screened around 50 films, covering a number of topics from transgender issues, colourism and discrimination to transatlantic slavery.
Mandem is a media platform that offers a unique space for young men of colour to express themselves creatively, primarily through writing film and music. They also provide a space for young people to engage in topical discussions centred around culture, politics and identity.
They primarily publish articles, promote new creative talent, host panel-led events with a political focus, and produce educational films. They also provide a space on the platform where anyone and everyone can contribute content to the ongoing discussion about race and masculinity.
Mandem came about due to disillusionment with the representation of people of colour in the media. They wanted to put representation back into their own hands by challenging mainstream narratives while offering young men of colour an alternative platform to express their creativity. They also believe it is important for everyone to see the media narratives surrounding people of colour in a new light and so invite everyone to engage with their platform.
Millions Missing Bristol (MMB) is a regional contingent of the international ME Action ‘Millions Missing’ awareness campaign. It campaigns for health equality for sufferers, most of whom are largely neglected by the medical profession and society. It also campaigns and fundraises for more biomedical research. Each contingent is arranged and funded independently from ME Action by local volunteers, who just use the branding to aid the reach of the event.
The group of volunteers consists of ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) sufferers, and those who know or who care for sufferers in and around the Bristol area. Many have been forced to give up our previous lives and each have unique stories. They’ve also experienced discrimination at multiple levels because of inaccurate perceptions of our illness.
No More Exclusions is a black-led grassroots coalition group striving for an inclusive education for all and the total abolition of exclusions in schools in all its forms.
They want to end the systemic inequalities faced by black children within this system. The disproportionality is clear and marginalised groups such as BME and SEND continue to be most affected by these practices. They are also challenging the school to prison pipeline, not wanting to be complicit in a system that imprisons our young people and destroys families. They don’t want any more of our young people to be left to rot in prisons!
Unashamedly, their focus is on BME families, but as an inclusive group, they’re also about supporting all those affected by draconian educational practices. Right now, the work has four strands: talks, seminars, speaking events and contributions to reports.
They offer advocacy and support to individuals and families, working closely with community groups to support young people and families. They are challenging the current curriculum model for teacher training and what is taught to our children, while also trying to develop a youth voice.
Phoenix Song Project therapeutic voicework groups provide a space for trans and non-binary people to explore, experiment, and play with their voices in a safe environment, away from binary and cis-normative expectations encountered in wider society.
The project also plays an important role in developing creative therapy provision for the trans and non-binary community, which is explicitly inclusive and affirmative, and which takes steps to be accessible financially. There are a lack of trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse therapists, and it is important for therapists from the community to (co-)lead the development of therapy and to do so in collaboration with others from the community.
Trans and non-binary people experience widespread discrimination, exclusion, and abuse across different areas of our lives. The voice is often a factor which is used to call their gender into question, face-to-face and over the telephone. The voice through these experiences can become a source of anxiety. The voice is at once so everyday and so deeply connected to our sense of self and our self expression. It is therefore a strong theme for a focussed programme of therapeutic work.
Vision BAME
(£500)
VISION BAME (which stands for Visual Society in One Network) aims to be the representative and collective voice of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community of Hartcliffe & Withywood and Knowle West.
They encourage participation from – and are a voice for – the minority and ethnic communities who are currently under-represented in South Bristol.
Hartcliffe and Withywood are situated in one of Bristol’s 20% most deprived neighbourhoods, there are many challenges that are both economical and social in the area and the high hate crime statistics compared to the other South Bristol wards are a clear reminder of this.Residents that are new to the area have a tougher challenge of being relocated to an area they are unfamiliar to without a support network of friends and family.
Vision BAME aim to address this by programming a series of social events throughout the year for new members to get to know each other, share advice and experiences and offer a much needed support network in the area so that residents do not feel so isolated.
They would like to run another Community Supper Club so that they can share the foods of their individual cultures with new members and other community groups to increase partnerships within the local community and strengthen the bonds between members as they continue to challenge hate crime and racism within the city.
Bristol Redistro 