Our Work
a movement for belonging, creativity, and change across homelands
Join the movement
1 Exhibition, 6 Festivals and 1000’s of connections
Our Work
Nightjar grows through the work we do with communities — in the New Forest, in Gonja, and across West Africa and the UK. Our work brings people together to create, to share stories, to nurture youth leadership, and to connect ecological and cultural knowledge across borders.
1000’s of people engaged at festivals and events across the South
Festivals and Public EventsÂ
Delivering interactive spaces at festivals and community gatherings — with the Nightjar sculpture, drumming, storytelling, and making bottle-bird Nightjars. These moments bring people together in joy, visibility, and shared belonging.
2 Stakeholder meetings, 1 Creative Network, 1 Youth Board
Creating Connextions
This strand includes stakeholder meetings, youth board development, support for African associations as cultural anchors — and the Nightjar Creatives Network.
The Creatives Network began as a simple WhatsApp group linking artists, writers and makers. It has since grown into a dynamic space for sharing opportunities, testing ideas, and co-creating the future of Nightjar from the inside out.
Creative LearningÂ
Developing the Nightjar Curriculum for Afro-Caribbean societies in colleges and universities, and New Forest Primaries at Key stage 1 to maxmise oppertinties for connection in an increasingly polarised world. Workshops and circles in community spaces build wellbeing and community through art, story, and ecological knowledge. Nightjar creates spaces for learning that centre lived experience, reframes narratives and builds connections.
2 films sharing indigenous knowledge
Shared Knowledge and Exchange
Nightjar bridges the New Forest and Gonja through exchanges such as the sustainable burning film project, youth-led film nights, and cross-continental dialogues on ecology, land care and belonging.
We recognise that cultural exchange is never neutral. Too often, power imbalances have meant that knowledge flows one way, causing harm to those who share it. Nightjar works differently: we begin by listening, we honour lived expertise, and we strive to level the ground so that exchange is deep, reciprocal and meaningful.
Exhibitions, commisions, careers and
trainingÂ
Artistic DevelopmentÂ
Working with artists (sculptors, writers, musicians, storytellers) to co-create new works inspired by Nightjar — from sculpture trails to performances. Nightjar nurtures artists as well as communities, ensuring the movement grows creatively.
Upcoming events
Funquay Town
24 August 2025
West Quay Southampton
Learn to drum and dance the story of the Nightjar with African ActivitiesÂ
Andover World Street Party
25 August 2025
Andover High street
Help us make Nighjars from 12-3
Join our band from 4-4.45
Nightjars - Stakeholders
2nd September
10.30 @Spud
Join us to vision the future for the nightjar
Southampton University
29 October 12.00-16.00
Join us to drum, dance, and imagine the future of Nightjar with Afro-Caribbean associations in colleges and universities across the country. Together we will celebrate heritage, share stories, and co-create a movement of belonging for the next generation.
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