A celebration of women at the heart of Bristol's diverse night life scene

Against the colourful backdrop of the Lost Horizon stage, five of the people who are pioneering positive change within the culture, hospitality, music and arts sectors discussed some of the issues that need to be addressed to ensure the city is safe, welcoming and inclusive for all.

The event hosted by Bristol24/7, in partnership with Bristol Nights, sought to shine a light on the women and non binary people who play a key role in making the city as vibrant, diverse and celebrated as it is.

“What I got from Bristol is how open it is to DIY space and DIY culture,” said Linda Devo, the co-founder of Kiki Bristol and member of Booty Bass DJ collective.

“There’s a tradition of people setting up their own thing.

“There’s room for improvement but, in the ten years I’ve been here, I’ve seen enormous leaps in the things being set up. The city is open to that spirit and culture but it’s thinking about how we support it.”

While the will to set up grassroots movements, organisations and collectives is strong, there is a lack of affordable space for people to test out new projects and ideas. Linda suggested using school buildings that are standing empty at night as places to foster community spaces.

Emma Harvey, the CEO of Trinity Community Arts, the charity that runs Trinity Centre, reflected on the “amazing richness and diversity of people” in the city, but agreed about the need for space in which to incubate grassroots projects.

Laura Lewis-Paul, the founder and creative director of Saffron said: “It’s about the council being able to invest in those organisations that are supporting people into those spaces to enable people to explore and change their audiences and change who they’re working with.”

Ola Poroslo, the founder of PHAT Bristol, said: “I can’t undersell how much Bristol has such a platform for acceptance – there’s so much acceptance and solidarity of people who looks a bit different from you or is a bit different from you.”

Full article at https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/celebration-of-women-at-the-heart-of-bristols-diverse-night-life-scene/

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