In this exhibition, designer and Near Now Fellow Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad, explores an ambitious citizen-led project that emerged in NAE's local neighbourhood in the 1970s; The Hyson Green Workshops.
The Hyson Green Flats were a residential tower block that stood on the site behind NAE where ASDA is now located. Faced with ill-considered planning and architectural flaws of mass social housing, the active citizens of the flats, spearheaded by the Hyson Green Development Tenants' Association, reacted by co-designing alternative solutions in their environment.
Together, the group fought to transform the disused and problematic garages, situated underneath the flats, into spaces for cultural expression, community activity and economic growth.Following Hashemi-Nezhad's interest and practice in participatory design methods, the exhibition brings together new and existing archival materials, oral histories and artefacts, to present for the first time a comprehensive overview of this movement.
In addition, the gallery will transform into a creative space through hosting a programme of community-led workshops and will host a panel discussion to explore the social role of citizen design activism and maker spaces today.