Culturally Mindful

Asma is a London-based artist and cultural producer focused on inclusive workshops, community engagement, and creative events. She has worked with TATE, Somerset House, and Wellcome Collection and is founder of RIOT SOUP, a collective uplifting Black and Brown artists. Her collage and photo montage work explores personal and political connections, often disrupting dominant narratives with playfulness and power. Asma’s practice is rooted in care, creativity, and rebellion—creating space for voices historically excluded from the arts, and inspiring audiences to reimagine what inclusive and equitable artistic landscapes can look like.

Shiza Naveed is a London-based artist, researcher, and facilitator passionate about community engagement and creative archiving. Her work includes public murals in Wandsworth that reveal untold histories through collaborative, accessible storytelling. Shiza co-founded azl, a digital platform for collective knowledge exchange. She is currently engaged with Transformation By Design and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, exploring migration and migrant justice. Her practice challenges traditional knowledge hierarchies, nurturing counter-memories and new ways of relating. Rooted in care, her work uses creativity as a tool for liberation, visibility, and transformation.

Ken Nwadiogbu is a Nigerian-born, London-based multidisciplinary artist exploring identity, migration, and social structures. A Royal College of Art graduate and Global Talent Visa recipient, his work bridges art and wellbeing through mural-making and workshops in UK mental health settings. Ken has exhibited at the Royal Academy and Somerset House, and collaborated with brands like Netflix and GANT. He co-founded Artists Connect Africa and mentors young leaders in arts and health. With a focus on empathy and cultural representation, Ken aims to challenge perceptions and foster inclusion through powerful, socially engaged artistic practice.

Roopa Basu is a London-based multidisciplinary artist working across painting, mixed media, and design. Raised on three continents, her work explores memory, light, and belonging using layered materials that reflect the beauty of transience. She creates visual stories through public art, installations, and workshops, collaborating with communities to amplify underrepresented voices. Roopa also runs a graphic design studio and partners with schools, councils, and cultural institutions. Believing art builds bridges between cultures and the self, her practice is rooted in connection, accessibility, and the transformative power of creativity.

Rebecca Olajide is a visual artist and maker whose work explores domesticity and beauty in everyday life. Based in London, she creates in her home studio using paint, charcoal, and print to develop research-driven, material-focused pieces. With over a decade of experience in the cultural sector, Rebecca has led community arts projects with people affected by dementia, mental health issues, and social isolation. Her practice centres empathy and expression, using art to connect with diverse communities and challenge ideas of where and how meaningful creativity takes place.

Tsipora St. Clair Knights is a South London-based multidisciplinary artist, facilitator, and producer working across poetry, dance, photography, and film. Her practice explores identity and lived experience, using creativity as activism to challenge elitism, displacement, and marginalisation. She is a board member for Rising Arts Agency and Purple Moon Drama, and part of Chisenhale Dance Space’s Artist Committee. Recently certified in breathwork and meditation, she is also part of Pointe Black ballet school. Tsipora’s work centres wellbeing and representation, creating healing spaces where diverse voices can be heard and celebrated.

Youyang Song is a multidisciplinary artist and facilitator from China, working across acting, writing, clowning, devising, and theatre-making. She has performed at Donmar Warehouse, Almeida Theatre, and Southbank Centre. A native Mandarin speaker, Youyang brings global perspectives to her practice. Trained in creative facilitation with Purple Moon Drama and the National Youth Theatre, she designs drama workshops that centre empathy and empowerment. She is passionate about using the arts for wellbeing, and values collaboration that fosters connection and transformation. The Culturally Mindful Programme aligns with her belief in creativity as a tool for social change.

Francis Augusto is an Angolan-born visual artist whose work explores identity, memory, and connection. A former youth worker, his socially engaged photography is shaped by his experience of displacement and belonging in South London. Working primarily with medium-format film, Francis captures vulnerability through intimate portraiture. His recent projects Ghost Notes and WATER delve into punk culture and embodied wellbeing. He is also founder of The Mandem, a group fostering emotional support for men. Francis bridges artistic and social impact through participatory methods that foster healing across cultural generations.

Saira Niazi is a London-based writer, renegade guide, and founder of Living London. Her work uncovers the hidden stories of the city through essays, guided explorations, and community workshops. Published in Huck and the New Statesman, she explores themes of belonging, mental health, and transience. Her books include On Belonging and Renegade Guides, the latter emerging from her Churchill Fellowship research into guiding and community allyship. Saira has created place-based programmes with organisations such as Tate, Museum of London, and the Creative Society. Her practice celebrates wonder, connection, and inclusive storytelling.

Tanya Acquaah is a multidisciplinary artist, facilitator, and founder of TIA – The Inner Attitude, a platform using the arts to promote emotional wellbeing for women and girls. Her work combines spoken word, dance, theatre, and music to create transformative community-led projects. Tanya helped establish Black Minds Matter with the Community Empowerment Network and is Lead Facilitator for The Agency, empowering youth-led innovation. Her creative journey is rooted in healing, storytelling, and cultural reclamation—using the arts as a catalyst for social justice, self-expression, and change.