You’re Invited: Rising’s 9th Birthday
Rising Arts Agency is turning NINE, come celebrate with us!
You may have heard that we’re having a party on 8th October 2025. And if you don’t know, now you know! 😉
We’ve got new community members, we’re turning 9 and good work is still happening! With everything that's going on in this wild, wild world, it feels like there's no better time to be in community.
It’s crazy what a month can do. The team are back from our 4th August of Rest and we’re feeling energised to get back to it. One of the benefits of closing the agency to all public-facing work for a month is that it gives the team a chance to reflect on the work we’ve done so far this year, and focus on what our ambitions are for the rest of the year.
August allows us to unearth deep questions about our work and approach that we don’t often get to ask and think critically about what is happening in the world. It has helped us to get real about our impact and what kinds of impact matter to us. Do we do everything perfectly? No. Are there things we could do differently? Absolutely(!) but overall, we know the work we’re doing is needed and is making a difference.
Our double-pronged approach provides our community with holistic pastoral and peer support led by our Community Producer, Ellayah, while creating genuine, paid opportunities for them to take up space in the city and sector creatives and leaders through our agency work. We fiercely advocate for our community in spaces, and use our expertise to challenge the sector to do better.
COME CELEBRATE OUR NEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS 🎉
Rising’s new community induction at Rising’s studio
Before we headed off on our August of Rest, we inducted 17 brilliant, young people from across Bristol into Rising’s community.Our latest cohort of newbies come from a range of disciplines, lived experiences and postcodes from across the city, but as with every year of community recruitment, it’s raised questions for us about who still needs our support and how we as a sector safeguard those who are falling through the cracks of support while remaining responsive to the those who need our work right now. It’s a balance that we’re constantly navigating and checking in about.
NOW MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED COMMUNITY…
There’s no denying the world is becoming an increasingly scary place - now more than ever, we need community and things that bring light, warmth and quite frankly, good vibes. As we settle into our 9th year of existence, we contemplated whether or not to do a party this year, but despite everything that’s going on, there is still so much to celebrate (our new community members being just one of them).
So whether you’re completely new and curious about Rising, an existing partner, a fierce advocate for Rising and our work, or young person we should get to know, we want to invite you to our 9th Birthday Party. Let’s be in community and celebrate all the good that’s in this city!
An attendee at our Community Film Showcase earlier this year at Unit 8 Studio
We’ll be taking over Strangebrew to showcase and celebrate the talent in our community in a fiery showcase. Expect performances, DJs, speeches and opportunities to meet and connect with like-minded creatives and change-makers. This is a chance to bring together our partners, our team and our community to celebrate 9 years of having our feet on the sector’s neck and we’ve got NO plans on letting up!
We’re looking forward to seeing you there! Let us know you’re coming by getting a ticket (or two) here ✨
