The idea
Somali originated African centred; Numbi Arts are an organisation lead by creatives and educators. They have been a stalwart presence on the East London cultural scene for three decades & have a back catalogue of inclusive and exciting programming, education workshops and creating opportunities for local people.
A global conversation locally - their aim is to build a cultural heritage for the people that live in Tower Hamlets and beyond. By focusing on building the first Somali archive in England, they aim to unite the local diaspora communities in their local history therefore giving people a sense of belonging and identity that they can call their own.
Numbi's approach is creative, holistic and inclusive with a focus on solidarity among artists, art-lovers, creatives & dreamers of all stripes.
After losing their residency last year the team have been moving from space to space around the borough but are now looking for a permanent home in order to continue their projects.
What we'll deliver
- A space for the Numbi Arts team to work in, build their archive and create a permanent exhibition.
- A place for the community to visit and build relationships with other local people
- A community kitchen to continue to fund the space.
- A space to host History Lab: Schools and inter generational workshops
Why it's a great idea
Numbi Arts is already a well established organisation and is relied on by hundreds of people in the community already. At the moment a lot of the team's time and energy is spent on moving around and finding short term spaces but once they have a permanent home they can begin to build on the great work they have already started.
The work they are doing is incredibly important as it creates unity in a displaced group of people through creativity and joy. The next stage in their project, to build an archive, gives the people they work with a sense of ownership and belonging by contributing their personal stories to a permanent collection.
They will also have a chance to continue to the excellent work that they do which is to provide creative education workshops, events and community projects. All of these have touched peoples' lives for the better by uniting people, providing work experience and volunteering opportunities or simply just spreading joy to those who need it.
Steps to get it done
- £1000 for Fareshare project, means we can run pantry for 1 year.
- £2500 will pay for workshops for the community.
- £5000 will pay half a year's rent
This funding will be the start of the future for Numbi. The aim is for us is to be self sufficient by having a pay-what-you-feel cafe on site that continues to fund their projects.
The cafe will provide work experience opportunities and will work with a surplus food redistribution organisation which is in line with Numbi's values to promote sustainability and wellbeing.
