Neighbours Group

Made up of nine members of our local community, the group explores the role of arts and heritage in creating social and civic change through art making, research, power analysis and community building. The group also plays an important role in advising Studio Voltaire on our wider activities, particularly those which engage with our immediate locale. 

Selected via an open call, group is an intergenerational cohort that intends to reflect South London’s varied communities, perspectives and audiences. All members of the group have strong personal ties to our local area, a desire to creatively collaborate with people in our community and a unique perspective on, and understanding of, individual, collective and institutional civic responsibility. 

The Neighbours Group are: Asiah Ali, Bukola Awoyemi, Else/Xun, Iain Dewar, Lloyd Curtis, Nadine Peters, Nikky Catto, Samantha Russell and Tracey Fahy. 

The group meets monthly to collaborate on a series of creative outcomes. Engaging with various community groups, creative practitioners, members of the wider community and Studio Voltaire staff, they are interrogating and creatively exploring these questions:

• What is the civic role of an arts organisation? 
• What happens when local people are resourced to co-produce outcomes and develop a socially engaged creative practice? 
• What does ‘civic’ mean and to whom? 
• How can various understandings of civic responsibility be applied to creative engagement? 

The paid group engages with and reflects on our organisation’s programming and ways of working, supporting us to deepen our commitment to social, civic and creative change.