People / Young Bristol
The 24 most influential Bristolians under 24 in 2018
24 of the most influential Bristolians under the age of 24 have been revealed by Rife Magazine, based at the Watershed.
For the fifth year running, Rife have released the list of accomplished individuals as a way to celebrate young talent in the city. Some of Bristol’s leading young people, from musicians and spoken word artists to campaigners and the city’s Youth Mayors, have been selected to inspire and stimulate debate.
“This isn’t the be all and end all of lists – no, it’s a conversation-starter. It’s a list designed to get you thinking,” say the team at Rife.
is needed now More than ever
Here are the 24 from 2018:
Ella-Rae is a young actress, originally from Bristol, living in London. She is a BFI Film Academy alumni and works in modelling and acting. She has worked alongside Liam Neeson in blockbuster action movie The Commuter and in BBC 3 comedy series Clique.
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra has trained in Wadokai Ryu, a style of karate, since she was four. She has competed in international competitions such as the Wadokai European championship and Wadokai world karate championship and currently represents the England Karate Federation (EKF). Alexandra has been the British karate champion three times and the English karate champion twice.
Sam is a filmmaker and theatre director who won the British Film Institute’s ‘Most Promising Talent’ award in 2015. His film YANDASS.MOV was supported by Channel 4 and will play at the London Short Film Festival 2019. This December his debut theatre production, BIRD, will be performed by theatre group Bedlam Chorus.
Fenne moved to Bristol after finishing school and began touring and recording music three years ago. She is a self-taught songwriter, guitarist and singer who self-released her debut album at the age of 21.
Sir Hiss or Jeff Emmott is a 20-year-old DJ and producer who samples pretty much anything from old-school grime to sounds from the Middle-East.
Rachel runs the company GoVirtually, who create 360 degree, 3D virtual tours. She has been creating virtual tours over the past year to help those with autism reduce their anxiety when visiting new places. Rachel is currently working with Bristol Museums to create more of these tours and has made one for We The Curious.
Joseph moved to Bristol in 2014 to study Audio and Music Technology at UWE. He co-developed an interactive music dinner; a device for deaf people to feel sound. Joseph also co-founded Nusic, a company specialising in using music technology to develop tools to empower those with musical creativity.
Hannah is 16 and in February was elected as Youth Mayor of Bristol. Since then she has met with mayor Marvin Rees every month to discuss young people in the city, has helped organise a Time’s Up women’s march, and has organised a PSHE conference where she pushed the importance of the subject in schools to young people and teachers.
Emma has a degree in Drama from the University of Bristol and has been a production designer for several short films and music videos. She is creative producer for cultural virtual reality platform Limina Immersive. Emma produced the Limina VR Weekender: a sell-out VR festival that was hosted at Watershed in Bristol.
Elias, a Bristol-based filmmaker, graduated from UWE with a degree in filmaking and is now at University of Bristol studying an MA in history. He is also the founder of MANDEM, an online media platform that aims to provide a space for young men of colour to express themselves creatively.
Beth became the Gloucester Regional Roundhouse Slam winner this year and has been writing and performing poetry for 17 years. She hosts workshops helping people tell their own stories and works with a multitude of charities such as Bristol University Hospitals, Teenage Cancer Trust, This Mum Runs, and Arnos Vale Cemetery.
Samya is in her third year at the University of Bristol studying medicine, currently pursuing a degree in global health. She has volunteered with Off the Record as a young advisor and now works as the chair of the Wellfest committee, a wellbeing festival for young people. Samya is also a member of the NHS Youth Forum.
Ella aka HISANI has been writing songs and singing since the age of seven. She is now working on her debut EP and her first solo single will be released in 2019.
Tim has a degree in theatre and film and her passion is to connect with people through dance. She has performed in theatre festivals such as Mayfest and In Between Time festival and taken part in VR dance projects and short films. Tim is part of a team that is working with St Paul’s-based charity One25, to create a performance to raise awareness of female sex workers in Bristol.
Fiona works as a live sound engineer in Bristol after starting as an intern at the Colston Hall. She worked at Northside Festival in Denmark with musicians such as Björk and Liam Gallagher and is soon to go on tour with Lucy Dacus and Fenne Lily.
Adibah grew up in St Paul’s and now celebrates the sounds she heard there when creating music as a DJ by combining R’n’B, hip-hop, reggae and garage with Qawwali, Bollywood and Bhangra. In 2016, Adibah set up a support group called Safe Space for women and non-binary people who’ve experienced sexual violence.
Jaxon has been playing golf since the age of four. He competed in his first competition when he was five and since then has won multiple competitions including the Under 8’s Junior World Pairs in the USA when he was six. When Jaxon turned seven he was crowned European and British Champion. This year he retained his British Champion title at the Celtic Manor Golf resort in Wales, was crowned UK & Ireland Champion in St Andrews Scotland and placed second at the IMG World Golf Finals in San Diego USA (ages 7-8).
Parys has a degree in illustration and visual communications from the University of Westminster and is now a digital illustrator specialising in editorial illustration. Her art often portrays women of colour as main characters in a range of narratives. Parys is passionate about reclaiming the voices and representation of marginalised communities.
Yasmin is a Bristol-based artist who has had her work displayed in exhibitions including Spike Island’s Test Space. Her work focuses on themes of psychological trauma and body image after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour. Yasmin’s current project, Red Telephone, is a collection of acrylic tiles that were etched from people’s experiences of trauma. From the tiles, jewellery was made which meant the wearer became a part of the narrative.
Chrispin Lema
Chrispin recently graduated from the University of Bristol and is an actor and a writer. He wrote a theatre play, A Taste of Self-Love, which was performed at Wickham Theatre. Chrispin has represented his university against 22 others from the UK and Ireland at Unislam, and had the highest score of the night at the South West Varsity Poetry Slam.
Stefan is a filmmaker and keen extreme sportsman who is studying for a Gold Arts Award. He recently conducted a project with Knowle West Media Centre where he traveled to various snow domes in the UK and interviewed disabled skiers and the people who assist them. Stefan plans to inspire people with disabilities to try new sports and hopes to make more films.
Heather is an animation director who specialises in stop motion and drawn animation. She graduated from Cambridge School of Art with a degree in illustration and animation and has since created several music videos. Heather was recently listed as one of eight ‘Female Filmmakers to Watch’ by Stop Motion Magazine.
Tom began writing in 2015 and is a poet, playwright and workshop facilitator. He delivered a TEDx Talk about mental health, performed to Roundhouse in London and has had work featured on BBC iPlayer and BBC Radio. Tom was selected to close the Bristol Old Vic’s 250th birthday celebrations and works closely with them.
Imogen works as a workshop facilitator and has taught in venues all over Bristol including Bristol Old Vic, Tobacco Factory Theatres and various schools. She is also a writer, theatre maker and performer. She is a member of WILDERBEAST, a theatre company from Bristol Old Vic’s Made In Bristol programme and regularly performs at spoken word nights around the city.
All photos courtesy of Rife
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