ABOUT US

Sheba Arts CIC is an artist and female-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.  

               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.​

              Our Vision:
  • To have an inclusive, equally represented and just society.
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Our Directors 

STAFF
Artistic Director: Fereshteh Mozaffari
Executive Producer: Nuria Lopez de La Oliva
Finance & book keeper: Michael Flynn

            Milana Bout, volunteer marketing manager
​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.

FREELANCE TEAM
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Lisa Meech

Lisa is a Manchester-based violinist and music facilitator. She is particularly interested in how music can be used for social change and to bring communities together.
She believes that music can be a powerful tool for communication and confidence within communities. ​
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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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. 
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    https://www.amangmardokhy.com/about
​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 desinged to enhance knowledge and skills on project management, digital skills, live streaming on social media, web design and other area of communitiy work. 
Maryam was invited to join our freelance team.
​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. 

Ways to support Sheba Arts

​Did you know that you can support Sheba Arts in lieu of your upcoming birthday, wedding or any special occasion?
You can even support simply because you believe in the work we do!
Please contact    admin@shebaarts.com    to discuss your ideas and how we can assist you with fundraising.
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Company limited by guarantee, Registration No 12456940 England and Wales
Registered Office: Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 7HR

www.shebaarts.com
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