In conversation with Chinnar Najib

Chinnar Najib is one of the amazing women with whom we had the pleasure of working since the beginning of the pandemic. Chinnar is based in Stockport and is originally from Kurdistan, Iraq. She has worked as a volunteer with many charities and advisory organisations and she has been managing Culture Bridge since 2018. In 2020, Culture Briidge joined Sheba Arts as an associate member and in 2021, became constituted as an unincorporated organisation. 
Read our brief interview with Chinnar about her experience working with us. 

Please introduce Culture Bridge 
Culture Bridge was established in 2018​ to support Kurdish community and promote Kurdish arts and culture in Greater Manchester. Our aims are to build trust, enable collaboration and create benefit. We work with people seeking asylum, refugees, and migrants; to ensure that their voices are heard, they can integrate, and feel included in the community. We want to bring all cultures together and create some amazing spaces.

When did you start working with Sheba Arts ?
In April 2019, we participated in Sheba Art’s 'Garden of Babylon' project. Then the same year, we joined the celebration of the refugee week project, “ Celebrating Diversity festival,” in Stockport. We became a Sheba Arts associate group at the beginning of lockdown in 2020.

What projects did you do in partnership with Sheba Arts? What type of support did you receive? 
With mentoring support from Sheba Arts we received our first funding from Lankelly Chase Foundation and Stockport Local Fund for two pojects in 2021. We also received mentoring on project management throughout: 

• Sharing & Caring  project on Zoom. 16 sessions of arts and crafts with 25 women from different backgrounds.
• Women’s Cooking project, in collaboration with St Peter's Parish centre 

As a community leader, I’ve learned how to improve my leadership skills and build my admin and community-collaboration skills . I really enjoyed working with Sheba Arts and I appreciate their support very much.
 
What is culture bridge doing now? What are your plans for future
We currently have our Culture Bridge women’s multicultural workshop, “ Our Stories,” funded by the Stockport ARC & gallery Centre. The second project is  “Connect” in partnership project with Hazel Grove St Peter’s Church, funded by All Churches Trust. ​We’ll start our new project funded by the Stockport CAN Local funds in early March.  
Our plan for future is to improve our skills and our community group through more training, and collaborations within the community groups in Stockport and in the wider community in Manchester area. We hope that we’ll be able to offer more support to the refugee, migrant, and asylum-seeking people to integrate into the community. At the same time, to build  strong bridges of communication through sharing our multicultural art activities and experiences.
Sheba Arts supported our work in the past two years; we appreciate their help and guidance very much and wish them All the Best for the future.
 
Chinnar Najib
Director
 https://www.facebook.com/culture.bridge.3
Instagram@culturebridgemcr
Twitter:@culturebridgeuk

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