The Collabor-8 Collective

We were really excited to be asked to design the LeftLion cover for the November issue. We had a pretty eclectic designing process, and although we were given total creative freedom, we were keen that our design reflects both us as a collective, but also some of the wonderful things featured in this month’s issue as well as Nottingham city itself. To get our creative juices flowing, we visited Lakeside Arts to see Collected Words, an exhibition that highlights Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s brightest literary talents throughout the centuries.

We were drawn to the nature that surrounds the gallery – especially the lake outside – where one of our members snapped a few pictures, which formed the basis of our design. We knew we wanted to use photography as the main medium for the cover, as we were super inspired by all the bold and innovative photographs in States of America, Nottingham Contemporary’s latest exhibition. So, with the photos taken and the inspiration absorbed, we spent a few sessions experimenting with the images: printing, folding, drawing and photographing. We threw the whole thing into Photoshop and out came our design. We think it really embodies our creativity and our love for all things Notts.

If this sort of collaborative, creative process sounds up your street, you should consider joining us at the Collabor-8 Collective. We’re made up of a bunch of bright young things from in and around Nottingham, and would love to welcome you into our group. Our interests are very diverse, from music to politics and computer science, but we’re all passionate about effectively connecting young people throughout the city with art and culture, and acting as a voice for the wider youth sector.

We work on regular events and creative workshops within our gallery and outreach projects throughout the city, developing invaluable skills along the way. We run events that include everything from printing courses to dance workshops, and all that good stuff in between. We’re young, honest and ambitious, and we want our voice to represent the arts, culture and communities throughout Nottingham.

If you’re 15-25 and looking to gain new skills, make new friends and have a bit of a laugh, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us an email at collabor8@nottinghamcontemporary.org and we’ll let you know how to get started.

Also, if you’ve already set up your own collective and would like to work with us, please holla. We’re always looking for other groups to help us run our Exhibition Closing Events.

On that note, we’re working with Fan Club for a big event on Friday 24 November, so keep tabs on our social media channels for all the info.

The Collabor-8 Collective on Facebook