The Nightjar Project
An emerging creative programme exploring belonging, identity and place- brought to you by African Activities Cic
Vision
The Nightjar project has emerged in direct response to sustained requests received by African Activities CIC from libraries, community groups, African associations and small local festivals across the New Forest. These requests relate to culturally relevant creative activity that cannot be delivered through existing provision or full-cost recovery models.
While African Activities regularly delivers commissioned work nationally, local partners have consistently approached the organisation seeking accessible, place-based creative activity that reflects the lived experience of global majority communities in the area. These requests predate this funding application and informed the development of the Nightjar pilot.
A pilot exhibition delivered in March 2025 in partnership with SPUD and the New Forest National Park Authority demonstrated both demand and appetite for this work. Attendance exceeded expectations, with a significant proportion of participants new to arts engagement. Feedback highlighted the lack of comparable opportunities locally and the value of culturally specific, welcoming creative spaces.
How It Began
Nightjar began with a simple idea: this small migratory bird could give voice to a lived reality too often unseen. It is natural to move. Migration does not mean abandoning the place you leave, and it does not mean you do not belong in the place you arrive. Nightjar makes visible how so many of us live — between worlds, yet fully at home in both.
From the start, Nightjar has grown through community — gatherings, exhibitions, festivals and conversations in the New Forest and in Gonja. Each step has been shaped not by us alone, but with the people who join the journey. Nightjar is more than a project: it is a movement carried forward by stories, voices and creativity across two homelands.
Stories of Belonging
An older gentleman of mixed heritage told us how unwelcome his sister had felt in the New Forest. After seeing the Nightjar sculpture, he took photos to show her — so she might feel she could visit him, knowing there were others here too.
Families told us their children were ‘Nightjars too,’ grateful for a new way of framing dual identity with pride. Visitors described the drumming and storytelling as a ‘haven’ — a pause of joy and connection amidst the busyness.
Mission and Approach
The mission of the Nightjar Project is to raise the visibility of both long-settled and newly arrived communities, to support and celebrate those individuals and the cultures they hold, and to share the richness and pride in the stories their experiences have created through meaningful art in all forms.
Through sharing our stories, we find connection. By listening to the lived experience of others we build bridges across cultures and perceived differences. The Nightjar sees no human made borders and neither should our humanity.
Building bridges takes all of us and we invite you to join us.
Our approach ensures Nightjar grows with, not for, the people it seeks to serve — centring equity, joy and long-term sustainability.
Nightjar is not a top-down project but a movement co-created with communities.
Co-created with artists, young people, and community members.
Rooted in indigenous knowledge, ecology, and lived experience.
Made visible through art, performance and storytelling across borders.
Featured Blog Posts
Nightjar Youth in Action: Rhythm, Art, and Connection
The room was packed with young people and community members all getting stuck in — drumming, stamping Adinkra symbols, and sharing big smiles and even bigger rhythms. The energy was real. The session took place at Wessex Hall, Southampton University, as part of their...
A walk with Nightjars
Nightjar dusk walk with Maxwell Ayamba We were delighted to welcome environmental campaigner Maxwell Ayamba to the New Forest for a Nightjar evening walk, hosted with colleagues from the New Forest National Park Authority. Joining Maxwell were Kwame Bakoji-Hume,...
Nightjar Youth Board
Launching Nightjar Youth Work Nightjar is growing — and young people are at its heart. We’re thrilled to launch our new Youth Board, led by Nayah, to help guide Nightjar’s future. Alongside this, we are beginning three...
Drums, Stories, and Belonging: Nightjar at Summer Festivals
This summer, Nightjar took to the road, travelling from Thrive Festival to the New Forest Show, from the Mela to Camp Bestival. Everywhere we went, people joined us to drum, dance, and share stories. Highlights included: Families at the New Forest Show telling us “we...
A Movement Hatches: Nightjar Launch Exhibition
Exhibition & Nightjar Launch When we opened the doors to the Nightjar exhibition at SPUD, we hoped it would spark conversation. What happened went far beyond our hopes. Visitors told us: “It was the best exhibition opening we’ve ever been to.” “For the first time,...