Neighbourhood Creatives

What have we been up to so far?

As we’ve entered the first year of the project, the China Plate team have been spending time getting to know Washwood Heath.

Following on from these conversations, we’ve identified 4 local partners who we’ll be working with from Autumn 2025 – Spring 2026 to host 3 artist residencies during this period. Our 4 partners are Braidwood School For The Deaf, Hodge Hill College, Hodge Hill Arts Forum and the Washwood Heath Adaption & Sustainability Hub (WASH). These partners are already working with people across Washwood Heath on initiatives from arts cafes to allotments, and are always looking for new ways to connect with the local area.

Together with each of these partners we’ve been designing what an ‘artist residency’ would look like and how it might work best with their communities. This includes thinking about what creative activity their communities would be interested in, how this supports with their wider aims as an organisation and what artist would be most suited to lead on this with them.

You can find out more about the partners and their residencies by checking out the next three tabs in this block.

We’ll be working with the Washwood Heath Adaption & Sustainability Hub (WASH) who are a new environmental project delivered by Norton Hall aiming to connect with nature, enable climate change action, and create more green jobs for local people. They’ll be working with Artist & Curator Nilupa Yasmin to host workshops that invite current participants who have already interacted with them and those in the area who haven’t yet had the chance to do so, to take part in a series of crafts-based activities.

From running allotments, to forest schools for young people and outdoor learning programmes, the WASH have a range of activity which promote local communities to come together to understand and care for their green spaces. This residency will provide an opportunity for their participants to work with Nilupa to explore themes of ‘community space’ and ‘sustainability’.

‘I’m excited to be part of this project and to spend time creating with a community that’s passionate about coming together and building something meaningful. Collaborating through craft and conversation is central to my practice, and I’m really looking forward to what will unfold during this residency. Creating space for genuine exchange and shared making is something I care deeply about. It’s also a pleasure to be working with China Plate again, they consistently champion socially engaged work that puts people and process at its heart, and they meaningfully support artists working in community settings. I’m really glad to be on this journey with them once more.’ – Nilupa Yasmin

To find out more about WASH and their upcoming activity in the area, please visit: nortonhall.org.uk/wash-project

To find out more about Nilupa, check out her artist profile.

We’ll be working with Hodge Hill Arts Forum – a volunteer-led grassroots organisation who are passionate about making arts and cultural activities accessible to their local community – to join their series of bespoke Arts Cafes. The residency will build on their existing Arts Cafe programme which invite residents to bring along a craft and share this with other people in the group. Hodge Hill Arts Forum’s Co-ordinator Lucy Poulson will collaborate with Writer & Theatre Deviser Rochi Rampal to explore what it means to be part of an artistic community in Washwood Heath.

To find out more about Hodge Hill Arts Forum and their upcoming activity in the area, please visit: www.facebook.com/HodgeHillArts

To find out more about Rochi, check out her artist profile.

We’ll be working with Braidwood School For The Deaf & Hodge Hill College to deliver two half-terms of activity which bring together a cohort of Year 9 students from each school every week to interact and explore themes of ‘community’ and ‘connection’ in collaboration with artist & facilitator Maral Mamaghanizadeh.

“We are absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured to be partnering with China Plate & Hodge Hill. This partnership has given us a vital opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our co-located neighbour, Hodge Hill School. We have been actively working to build closer connections, and this project provides a meaningful, shared goal. It is particularly important for our pupils to collaborate directly with their hearing peers, fostering understanding, building relationships, and creating a truly inclusive legacy together. We are confident this experience will enrich the lives of everyone involved.” – Jo Blackwood, Braidwood School

“At Hodge Hill College, we are very grateful to have been extended this opportunity from both Braidwood School and China Plate. Our students are heavily involved with their local community and hold valuable insights in what it is like to live in the Hodge hill and wider Washwood Heath area. We are extremely proud of our CARE brand [Courtesy, Achievement, Respect and Excellence] – these workshops serve as an excellent opportunity for our students to develop these attributes and to make meaningful connections with their peers from the deaf community.” – Molly Needle, Hodge Hill College

Both schools have a keen interest in developing their relationship to provide more opportunities for their students to connect with peers and the wider Washwood Heath community. We’ll be looking to create opportunities for the participants to take trips in and around their community – exploring ways for them to interact with our other residency partners in the process – as well as visiting arts/cultural events outside of Washwood Heath.

To find out more about Maral, check out her artist profile.