Nottingham Contemporary

Tiger Community Enterprise CIC don’t centre one element of support - if anything their specialism is People and Planet. Tiger’s focus is on helping build skills, confidence, self-esteem and emotional resilience, with their vehicle for doing so being their projects and activities. Working out of All Souls Community Centre, Tiger runs several projects including a weekly community cafe. To find out more, please visit their website - Who are we? – Tiger Community Store.

Charlotte Tupper (she/her) is an artist with a practice rooted in participation and place making. She enjoys making work with people through a collaboration of ideas and social exchange that often explore hierarchies and rules of behaviour. Charlotte is an Associate Artist with Nottingham Contemporary and Artist Educator with The Hepworth.

Zesty's Collective is a group of Nottingham people hosting events that hold queerness at the heart, away from noise, substances, need for spending or nightlife. At Zesty's, attending our sessions is the LGBTQIA+ community (including those questioning and allies). Resilience, resistance and community are mentioned again and again as people find their community - show resistance just by being themselves, build resilience because they simply have to. Conversations about these stories often flow as their hands are busy making.

1525 Collective are a collaborative group of young creatives that meet up regularly at Nottingham Contemporary. They shape and help run programmes of events, courses and projects, developing useful skills along the way. Their ambition is to connect with people across the city, develop new and exciting ways of working together, and to take on the issues that matter to young people; taking a communal approach to expression through visual art.

Dizzy Ink develop, orchestrate and facilitate workshops to suit a range of creative outcomes. We have taught in art galleries, libraries, museums, schools, universities and even at festivals. Their studio programme also has a range of workshops to develop artistic practise and output.

Manjit Sahota (he/him) is the co-founder of Poets Against Racism (PAR) and a local poet, performing locally and nationally since 2016. Manjit has delivered workshops for several Nottingham based schools, universities and organisations, sharing his spoken word poetry to encourage others to write, read and perform poetry. Manjit has delivered several workshops for the National Literacy Trust, Nottingham Trent University, National Justice Museum and Refugee Week. In 2016, Manjit formed PAR to rally poets, spoken word artist and rappers to use their poetry to challenge the rise in racism and spread the word of unity, humanity and Love. ‘Poetry for me is the memory of our history, struggle and resistance’ Manjit.

Nila Shah (she/her) has trained in both Hindustani Classical vocals for over six years, including Sanskrit Mantra chanting. She holds a diploma and post graduate diploma in Hindustani Vocals studied at the Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan in West Kensington, London. Nila is trained in Sound Therapy with the College of Sound Healing for over three years and has been running group Sound Baths including Sanskrit Mantra chanting in the East Midlands and beyond.

Michael Henry (he/him) is the Strategic Director at Communities Inc. He is a passionate advocate for community development with an outstanding record in community cohesion and anti-racism work in Nottinghamshire. He brings extensive lived experience and is dedicated to fostering strong, inclusive communities and driving positive social impact.

Jagdish Patel (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, and researcher whose practice interrogates the intersections of social practice, anti-racism, and archival research. Jagdish’s interests lie in the role of visual art, performance, and memory in shaping narratives of resistance, care, and political agency.

Toni Jarvis (she/her) has spent most of her adult life running businesses, starting her first venture at 21 - The Shirt Workshop. She fell into the Third Sector 16 years ago, working for a Membership organisation. When she was made redundant she set up Tiger Community Enterprise CIC and has had community in her blood ever since.

Heather Ince (she/her) is an activist working with the Sumac Centre - a volunteer-run social & community space based in Forest Fields, Nottingham. Established in 2001, Sumac provides a space for groups and individuals working for positive social change in a spirit of co-operation and mutual aid.

Freya Peters (she/her) is the Volunteer and Befriending Coordinator at Refugee Roots. She manages all the volunteers and placement students at the charity who are involved in a variety of projects across the city. She also leads our Befriending Project which involves one-to-one support for participants from a volunteer which is catered towards their individual needs. Before she joined Refugee Roots, Freya’s academic research focused on how refugees and asylum seekers are exposed to, and resist, a spectrum of harms throughout their journeys, and upon arrival in the UK.

Refugee Roots welcomes all, helping those in need find friendship and a place to call home. Refugee Roots helps asylum seekers and refugees build relationships and navigate the complexities of building a new life in the UK. Based in Nottingham, our range of empowerment initiatives include befriending, advice and guidance, and supportive groups and activities, such as free English conversation classes.

Anna Ball (she/her) is a socially engaged creative practitioner and researcher specialising in narrative change within the migration arts arena. She is a longstanding organiser of Nottingham Refugee Week, and, via HEAL (Hostile Environment, Art-fuelled Learning) Collective, works as a consultant to Refugee Week UK and Counterpoints Arts, both dedicated to narrative and systems change in the migration landscape.

Refugee Week is the world's largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum. Taking place in the week around World Refugee Day (20th June) each year, it is a chance to connect, create and celebrate sanctuary as our shared right.

Tom Gardener (he/him) is a Passionate campaigner for animals and nature, with a background in systems engineering and the son of a dairy farmer. Co-Founder of Vegans Support the Farmers. Tom is also a keen kayaker, gamer and ice hockey fan.

Illy Parrwood (she/her) is a vegan and animal rights campaigner from Nottinghamshire. Vegan for nearly nine years, she was raised vegetarian and chose to align her actions with her values. Learning about co-ordinating and facilitating as a creative studying Theatre Arts, Illy has since worked on local and national animal rights campaigns, volunteers with local rescues, and now works at Veggies Catering Campaign. She recently founded Rescue Not Retail, raising awareness of animals exploited by the pet trade.

Pat Smith (he/him) is the co-founder of Nottingham’s 40 year strong Vegan catering company, Veggies. Veggies is a local volunteer-led, community-based social enterprise, providing vegan catering at events around the UK including prolific events such as Glastonbury Festival.

Dr Valentina Ananìa (she/they)is a lecturer, researcher, and activist. Her work explores creative ownership in the screen industries, and the idea that all media is education. She is a co-founder and curator of Nottingham Palestine Film Festival, where she puts into practice her commitment to cultural resistance and to realising the potential of screen media as spaces of social imagination.

Louise Regan (she/her) is a lifelong activist, immersing herself in both local and global social justice campaigns. She is the National Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and an executive member of the National Education Union (NEU).

Diala Isid (she/her) is a Palestinian architect, activist and runner from Beit Sahour, Bethlehem. She is co-founder of Right to Movement Palestine (RTM) and a key player behind its growth, as she inspires people, especially women, to be active in society and to fight for freedom.

Luca Collier-Wood (they/them) is a local activist and occasional artist. They have been working with Young Musicians for Palestine for over a year, organizing music events, drag gigs and stalls.

Richard Buckwell (he/him) attended the first Rock Against Racism concert (1976). He was a founder member of Spurs Against the Nazis, part of the Anti Nazi League (ANL). Active in successor groups to the ANL since, and currently joint secretary of Nottingham Stand Up To Racism. Richard has been a volunteer for Care4Calais supporting asylum seekers, and currently part of organising against the growth of the far right. “Always for the importance of unity in action!”

Michael Henry (he/him) is the Strategic Director at Communities Inc. He is a passionate advocate for community development with an outstanding record in community cohesion and anti-racism work in Nottinghamshire. He brings extensive lived experience and is dedicated to fostering strong, inclusive communities and driving positive social impact.

Jagdish Patel (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, and researcher whose practice interrogates the intersections of social practice, anti-racism, and archival research. Jagdish’s interests lie in the role of visual art, performance, and memory in shaping narratives of resistance, care, and political agency.

Nikita Shelar (she/her) leads the Communications Team at Communities Inc. With a background in the charity and voluntary sector in Nottingham, Nikita works and supports campaigns tackling hate crime, racism and misogyny, has experience in youth and community work in Nottingham, and is a registered Youth Mental Health First Aider.

Ismail Khokon (he/him) is a British-Bangladeshi visual artist based in Nottingham, specialising in socially engaged documentary photography that amplifies marginalised voices and supports vulnerable communities. He is a studio member at Primary and plays an active role in Nottingham’s creative scene. Ismail also serves as a trustee and environmental lead at BACKLIT Gallery and sits on the Steering Group for CVAN East Midlands, where he contributes to shaping regional arts practices and supports greater representation of diverse artistic voices across the Midlands.

Veggies has been promoting vegan catering since 1984, making us one of the oldest 100% vegan caterers, introducing thousands of people across the country to delicious, ethical food.

Nottingham Women’s Centre have a rich history of inclusive practice, offering a caring, welcoming space to all self-identifying women offering a range of activities, advice and guidance. Their aim is to support self-identifying women achieve their goals, reach their full potential, have their voices heard, and overcome barriers to create a better future for themselves and their children. offering workshops, courses, advice and more.

Young Musicians For Palestine are a collective of young creatives in Nottingham and Leeds. They run gigs, drag shows, community events and craft stalls to raise funds for groups and organisations that benefit the Palestinian people, including The Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led mutual aid initiative providing vital medical care, food and shelter for Palestinians in Gaza. As well as raising money, YMFP use their gigs to educate and encourage activism for a free Palestine.