WHO ARE WE?
Sheba Arts CIC is an artist and migrant-led organisation established in 2018 in response to the challenges of misrepresentation, or lack of representation of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in the arts and culture.
As the only migrant arts organisation in Manchester, we platform, co-create, and develop projects with people from different backgrounds. We promote social cohesion through cultural and arts programmes.
As the only migrant arts organisation in Manchester, we platform, co-create, and develop projects with people from different backgrounds. We promote social cohesion through cultural and arts programmes.
OUR AIMS:
- To challenge preconceptions and barriers experienced by people from migrant communities through high quality performance, education projects and research.
- To harness the energy of diverse participants into coherent and life-affirming creative projects.
- To promote emerging artists from migrant and refugee communities.
These aims help us to achieve our vision: to have an inclusive, equally represented and just society.
Board of Trustees
Our Core Staff
FERESHTEH MOZAFFARI - ARTISTIC DIRECTOR |
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Fereshteh is a writer, theatre maker, and the founder and Artistic Director of Sheba Arts. With a background in political journalism in Iran, she started a new life in the UK as an artist and cultural activist. Her short stories and plays have been published in Persian and English. She has made three solo shows and directed two participatory theatre productions.
"Sharing my story onstage changed my life. There are millions of stories that need to be told. By sharing our narratives, we will become the facilitators of change." |
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HALA AL JBAWI - FINANCE MANAGER |
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Hala is passionate about numbers. She has a degree in Business Management from Damascus University- Syria. She has 18 years’ experience in finance. This includes 3 years as an accountant and 7 years as a banker in her home country Syria. Hala moved to the UK in 2014, and since, she has been working in the charity sector as a finance manager and book keeper.
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Photograph by Sarah Brittain
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AMIE KIRBY - ENGAGEMENT & MARKETING MANAGER
Amie (she/her) is a queer, disabled, working class woman born and raised in Manchester. She is a writer, researcher, activist, and cultural producer. Her interests lie in connecting people of all communities with art, culture, and heritage. Her practice involves looking at museums, galleries, and large institutions as sites of protest and resistance. Through Amie’s work with various organisations, mostly community-based and grassroots, she hopes to use creativity as a vehicle to disrupt, discuss, exchange, and connect. Amie joins Sheba Arts as Engagement & Marketing Manager, where she hopes to continue engaging with Sheba's wonderful community of women: "Having gotten to know the Sheba Arts team through my work with groups like No Borders Manchester, I'm really excited to now be part of such a vibrant and caring organisation." |
LAUREN AITKEN - ADMIN & COORDINATORLauren (she/they) is a queer woman based in Manchester but originally from Nottingham. She studied modern foreign languages at university, specialising in 'postcolonial' Algerian and Mozambican literature and surrealism, and spent a year at the Universite des Antilles where she studied creole and Caribbean history. They are also a dancer currently focusing on vogueing, and Afro-Brazilian and carnival dance, and studied a year-long carnival arts dance course with Global Grooves. She has extensive experience as a stage manager and producer in grassroots and community theatre.
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NURIA LÓPEZ DE LA OLIVA - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER |
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Nuria is originally from Spain and has lived in Manchester for the past decade. She holds an MA in Contemporary Curating from the Manchester School of Art, and a Sociology Degree from Complutense University of Madrid. Nuria is an advocate for human rights, diversity and equity and believes arts and culture are powerful tools for social change.
"As a migrant myself, I faced many barriers in the UK cultural sector. That is why, when I was asked to join Sheba Arts in 2019, I didn't doubt it for a second. I knew an organisation like us was needed to represent refugee migrant creatives and communities in Greater Manchester". Nuria is the founder of the artist film programme MIRA Film Nights, which showcases the work of underrepresented artists in the region. She has also worked with many local organisations and cultural venues such as HOME, the Portico Library, the Lowry, Asia Triennial Manchester, ArtReach and Paradise Works. She has taken part in international curatorial residencies and curated exhibitions in Spain and Portugal. |
VOLUNTEERS
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Marketing Assistant - Milana Bout
Milana grew up in a family of musicians so it was inevitable that from a young age, she became interested in music and started to learn how to play the flute. Also, she is interested in creative activities like making origami and cards, dance and art. Advocating for mental health is another important aspect of her life as she knows from personal experience, the difficulty of leading a normal life while experiencing mental health problems. That is why she wants to study Psychology at University but she is experiencing some barriers like not being able to get a student loan because of her status. Yet she actively works on overcoming this barrier and also helping other young people in a similar situation. Currently, she finds joy in volunteering for different organisations and trying new tasks and responsibilities. |
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FREELANCE & PROJECT STAFF
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Jasmine Gardner
Project Coordinator for the Haideh & Nejad Project Jasmine (she/her) joins us as Project Coordinator of our Heritage Lottery Funded 'Haideh and Nejad' project, which will work with Iranian and Kurdish communities to explore the legacy of the founders of the Iranian National Ballet. Having been born in China and adopted into a white family from Essex, UK, from a very young age, exploration of cultural identity has been an ongoing subject in both her artistic and academic studies. In her art practice, she pairs her BA in Fine Art and Art History and MA By Research with contemporary sociological issues to create an interdisciplinary body of work which adopts traditional Chinese craft and art forms. She applies her research degree and lived experience when engaging and working with local artists through her Greater Manchester-based arts information hub, HappeningInMCR, to create a genuine inclusive space for creatives alike. Jayran Lear
Jayran Lear is a theatre maker, arts facilitator and performer working in Manchester. Previously, she had worked with organisations such as The Dukes theatre, National Youth Theatre, Three Left Feet and the Royal Exchange as an inclusion facilitator and creative practitioner. She also works closely with Manchester Art Gallery as a drama practitioner delivering various workshops, including sessions on Greek Mythology to school children. Jayran believes that art should break boundaries and create culture, and was thrilled to work as a producer for Sheba Fest 2023 and resonates with Sheba Arts Policy to celebrate migrant and refugee people whilst ensuring art is accessible to everyone. |
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Dipali Das
Dipali is a British Bengali writer and educator. Her writing has featured in a number of anthologies and her plays have been performed at Dundee Rep, Royal Court, Birmingham Rep and the Royal Exchange. She was the first Writer in Residence at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre, at Manchester Central Library. She is Chair of Southern Voices, an organisation dedicated to the creation of socio-historical educational materials from a global south perspective. She has an MA in Film and Media, which examined the representation of women in Indian cinema. Currently, she is a co-curator of the South Asian Gallery at Manchester Museum. |
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Maryam Alsaeid
Maryam is a poet, performance artist, facilitator and pharmacist. She was one of the artists who received a commission from Sheba Arts Diversity Festival last year to create a spoken word video (available on our YouTube channel) and she is a member of our co-training programme offered to 8 artists and community activists from Greater Manchester. The programme designed to enhance knowledge and skills on project management, digital skills, live streaming on social media, web design and other area of community work. Maryam was invited to join our freelance team. |
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Beena Nouri
Beena is a visual artist and designer who is passionate about representing and highlighting the plight of refugee people through her art. She recently graduated with a Masters's in Architecture from MMU where she was focusing on the design of refugee housing and the relocation of refugees within the UK. In 2019, she received a commission to create a painting for our Celebrating Diversity Festival. She then took part in our co-training programme and became a valuable member of Sheba Arts. |
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Amang Mardokhy
Amang is a visual artist, photographer and filmmaker based in Stockport. He was born in Kurdistan where he trained as an artist. He graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2012 and was awarded the Ken Billany prize for his outstanding work. Find more of Amang's work here . |
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Sophia Gardiner
Sophia is a photographer, facilitator and a community activist based in Tameside. With a degree from Manchester School of Art, she has worked in the refugee and arts sector for many years as a volunteer, an ESOL teacher and artist. Sophia works with Migrant Support in Manchester as a volunteer coordinator and she is helping new migrant and refugees settle in their new homes in the UK.
Sophia is a photographer, facilitator and a community activist based in Tameside. With a degree from Manchester School of Art, she has worked in the refugee and arts sector for many years as a volunteer, an ESOL teacher and artist. Sophia works with Migrant Support in Manchester as a volunteer coordinator and she is helping new migrant and refugees settle in their new homes in the UK.
Ways to support Sheba Arts
Do you believe in the work we do? Why not consider starting a fundraiser for us?
You could do this for a special occasion, i.e. in place of a birthday or wedding gift.
Please contact admin@shebaarts.com to discuss your ideas and see how we can assist you with fundraising.
You could do this for a special occasion, i.e. in place of a birthday or wedding gift.
Please contact admin@shebaarts.com to discuss your ideas and see how we can assist you with fundraising.
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Registered Office: Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 7HR