Sparks International Cultural Festival © Sam Phat Production
Eight amazing community projects came to life thanks to crucial funding from the UWE Bristol Community Grant this year. In total more than £20,000 was awarded to projects which all had Bristol communities at their heart.
Each project centred on building relationships between staff, students and local communities, and provided student volunteering and practical learning opportunities.
Here are some of 2025’s highlights…
The Bristol Dance Extravaganza celebrated diversity and multiculturalism through a community dance show this February in Bristol, organised by South Gloucestershire Chinese Association.
The show brought together seven local groups and over 300 participants, fostering cultural integration and intergenerational connections while raising £1,000 for Southmead Hospital Charity.
UWE Bristol students played a pivotal role in planning, marketing, and delivering the event, designing posters, creating a ticketing website, managing sound and lighting, and filming performances. One Digital Media student volunteer reflects,
“After months of hard work, watching the event sell out felt incredibly rewarding and waiting as the theatre filled up was a moment I will never forget. I will always treasure and value this experience going forward as a graduate and professional.”
Watch the video montage of the event and see who was involved on the Bristol Dance Extravaganza website, created by student volunteers.
The Sparks Bristol project delivered a series of vibrant, free cultural events in the heart of Bristol’s Broadmead. Events were all held at Sparks – the vibrant centre for creativity, sustainability, social impact and education in the old Marks and Spencer’s building in Bristol’s city centre.
Thousands of locals got involved with events such as such as the International Cultural Festival part of Bristol Refugee Festival. Sparks co-founder and recent UWE Bristol honorary graduate Jenny Foster talks about the festival on the BBC website.
Designed to foster cultural exchange and sustainability awareness, these activities established Sparks as a local inclusive hub. Not only that, but UWE Bristol students gained hands-on experience in event planning, marketing, and community research.
Empowering Refugee Voices Through Drama began as a drama club led by UWE Drama. Through support from the UWE Bristol Fund it became Bristol Sanctuary Theatre – an artistic and educational initiative bringing together UWE Bristol, City of Bristol College, Cotham Parish Church, and Bristol Beacon.
The work of the theatre builds on the foundation of welcome and support demonstrated through both UWE Bristol’s status a University of Sanctuary and Bristol city holding Sanctuary City status.
The funding helped develop the project, supporting initial workshops led by UWE Drama staff and students, working closely with young refugees and migrant students from the City of Bristol College. Through the medium of drama, participants share their stories, challenge misconceptions, and promote solidarity and respect.
Find our more about alum and founder Renata Medes and the work of Bristol Sanctuary Theatre.
Other projects supported by The UWE Bristol Fund Community Grant in 2025:
Wildflowers and Wellness Day – a community gardening event in Easton led by Global Majority communities with Nature Rising, focusing on skills sharing and pollinator habitats. With the funding they also planted a medicinal garden.
Printing the Commons – a creative collaboration partnering with Bristol Commons and six MA Printmaking students to explore social transformation, socio-ecological justice and collective action through print.
Cables and Camera’s 6sense – alum founded Cables & Cameras hosted an evening celebrating diverse and ground-breaking cinema, music, and storytelling at the independent Cube Cinema in Bristol. The screening included two documentary short films from South Africa with a Q&A session and was supported by student volunteers doing promotion, social media, video and audio.
Ashton Park School Mural – a colourful mural celebrating diversity and inclusivity brightens a Bristol city underpass thanks to a collaboration between students from Ashton Park School and UWE Bristol Illustration and Fine Art students Bristol.
Wisdom for the Global Majority – UWE Bristol MA Journalism students have developed a podcast series, ‘Wisdom from the Global Majority’. It tells the stories of migrants and refugees in Bristol through their own words. Students worked in collaboration with not-for-profit social enterprise ACH, pairing up with refugees and migrants who have been supported by ACH and using their storytelling skills to explore and celebrate successes often overlooked by mainstream media.
More information
The UWE Bristol Community Grant is jointly funded with the Quartet Community Foundation.
Thank you to all supporters of the UWE Bristol Fund. For more information about the Fund and how to donate visit our UWE Bristol Fund webpages.