Art making becomes a tool to bring people together and find out what moves us. My role in community settings usually involves working with or setting up a group with a set of intentions…and for us to make something happen. Sometimes this may start with an idea or a need to be met and other times it starts with a blank canvas. As a facilitator, my role is often to hold or oversee a project, sometimes support training and upskilling, and aiming for each member of that group to be involved in us all building together.
I qualified as a JNC Youth & Community Development Worker in 2010 from Bradford College. Here I explored thematic lines of inquiry around identity, inequality, social justice, local/global movements and most importantly, had the opportunity to work directly with specific groups and develop my engagement skills across settings.
My practice has evolved to bring creative workshops to diverse community settings including schools, prisons, in urban and rural landscapes and working with people across age and backgrounds. Some of the themes and topics of this work are around Interfaith work with young people, Cultural identity, Community Relations, Workshops, Dialogue, Youth Work, Social justice and activism, Mental health and Wellbeing and Research. I have mostly carried out this work with voluntary sector organisations in Bradford/Keighley area.
Uzma Kazi 2024 