Creative Communities

We’re delighted to showcase the work of the Creative Communities that took part in the project funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, the Upper Norwood Library Hub worked with Tony Cealy, theatre practitioner and cultural producer and Asma Istwani, visual artist and illustrator alongside Chloe Bowman, Lola Oteh and Jackie Rogers and local volunteers to research and visualise positive changes communities want locally, across the themes of Equity, Environment and Wellbeing. Youth Sound Engineer and Photographer Isaiah Royal interviewed and photographed participants across the project to explore how people felt about trying new things and being creative people. 

You can view the results of the project here.

Read the blog post by ClearCommunityWeb, one of our community partners on their involvement in the project.

From October 2022 to October 2023, the Upper Norwood Library Hub (UNLH) collaborated with the Responsible Technology Institute (RTI) at University of Oxford and ORBIT RRI Limited to deliver a pilot community lab exploring applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as they may affect society and the local community. 

This pilot community lab aimed to go beyond traditional public engagement by connecting leading AI researchers directly with a broad representation of the community in their local library. 

“The project was important for community members as it gave a voice to communities and people who may not otherwise be present in decision-making in the AI field.” - Jenny Irish, UNLH Director

Read more about the project here.

We are delighted the project was published on the Oxford University Computer Science site:

Pioneering hub at local library unlocks potential for community decision-making in AI (ox.ac.uk)