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Bristol Creatives Callout: The Future We Grow Together

Calling Bristol creatives!

What could a hopeful future for Bristol look, sound or feel like? Submit a piece inspired by “The Future We Grow Together” in one of five categories: Art, Writing, Music, Film, or Dance.

There is one £100 prize in each category. The callout is open to people of all ages and experience levels who live in Bristol. Judging criteria: This competition is open to all ages and skill levels. The following judging criteria have been chosen to increase fairness and to reward thinking outside of the box over perfection. We are looking for... - Creative Thinking: Pieces which encourage people to think outside the box or challenge their perspectives. - Hopeful Change: Pieces which are optimistic about the future. - Rootedness: Pieces which are rooted in community and reality. This could be inspired by your personal experience of living in Bristol today, and/or the reality of being apart of a marginalised community if that's relevant to you.

Enter by Sunday 1 November 2026 at 23:59pm.

Selected entries will be showcased at The Story Gathering in East Bristol on Saturday 14 November 2026. If you submit work, you need to keep Saturday 14 November free in case it is selected. We will contact selected entrants with further details. Submitting does not guarantee selection, a prize or an event ticket.

What is Thrutopia?

Thrutopia is a book genre which invites us to imagine a positive, but realistic future. It encourages us to explore how we could get there from the world we live in now.

Entrants can take inspiration from this idea, but they do not need to know the term or have any formal creative training.

Learn more:

• Manda Scott

What is The Story Gathering?

The Story Gathering brings people together through stories, creativity, nature, food and shared imagination. We'll be starting at the beautiful Haven at 10am to work on the land, have a fire lunch, and listen to stories. Around 3pm, we'll process through the nature reserve, along the Frome, and then into St Pauls where we'll celebrate, have dinner, and showcase some of the submissions.

Tickets can be booked on Headfirst — all ticket sales go towards covering the costs of this not-for-profit event. The final venue, timings, accessibility information and presentation arrangements will be confirmed with selected entrants.

Children and families are very welcome! Please feel free to invite your friends and family to join us.

Watch a film about The Story Gathering

If the video does not load, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/2sQJepLMqTQ

Who is MaFia Weekend?

MaFia Weekend CIC stands for Make a Film in a Weekend CIC. We are a Bristol community interest company bringing people together through participatory storytelling, creativity, food and conversation. We are passionate about community-led arts and are so excited to host The Story Gathering!

Website: https://mafiaweekend.com/

Follow MaFia Weekend on Instagram: @mafiaweekend