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Confetti Has Been Inspiring Our Young Ones for 25 Years Now

All the cool kids go to Confetti. Everyone knows that. These days, though, it’s so much more than a college; Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies is just one arm of the monolith of organisations that make up Confetti Media Group. There’s learning-space design company Constellations, Spool Films, Antenna Media Centre, Denizen Recordings, Notts TV, and most recently the hottest venue in town, Metronome. This year, CMG is shining silver after turning 25 years old, so here we take a look at just some of the bricks that’ve built up the kingdom over the years...

We're Helping to Bring Back Nottingham's Lost Culture Mag from the 90s

Nottingham's 1990's culture magazine Overall is being brought back to life over two decades after it folded, thanks to a regeneration project by LeftLion, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund...

Author Kristina Adams: "If you're not willing to market your book, you're not going to get anywhere."

Local author Kristina Adams on her latest novel Behind the Spotlight, self-publishing, and what it’s like to deal with fibromyalgia as a writer…

Live Music Review: Melt Yourself Down at Metronome

There ain't no better venue than Metronome for a Friday night encounter with purveyors of avant-garde funk jazz, Melt Yourself Down...

12 Nottingham Organisations To Support You Through a Tough Time

Life can be flipping hard sometimes. Living in a city like Nottingham, we’re lucky to have a community that can get us back on our feet when things get tough. This place is home to a multitude of support groups and organisations whose sole purpose is to help people through hard times, no matter what they may be… 

Friends of Chernobyl’s Children Gives Respite to Hundreds of Young Belarusians Affected by Radiation Poisoning in Hucknall

After the worst nuclear disaster in history decimated the Eastern European landscape in 1986, one group in Britain decided they wanted to make a difference to the young people in the worst-affected areas. Since then, Friends of Chernobyl’s Children has set up a number of regional groups throughout the UK in order to help hundreds of young Belarusians receive respite from the poisonous contamination that still lingers in the air, water and food with month-long stays in the UK. As one of the host families at the Hucknall group, David and Barbara Palmer have been taking children affected by the disaster for the past fifteen years... 

Push Forward: NTU's Community Bike Hub Wants You Lot Back in the Saddle

Ernest Hemingway once said that, “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.” In Britain, over 70% of the population confess to never riding a bike. With the climate crisis reaching fever-pitch and obesity levels on the rise, Nottingham Trent University’s Push Forward scheme aims to increase the number of cyclists in the city by providing reasonably-priced rental bikes and support from experienced hands. We talked to Paul Hook, who has recently taken over the community bike hub...

Wilted Flower: A Local Musician and Poet You Need to Know

Talented local musician Wilted Flower releases her debut album Grow in the Dark this September. We caught up with her ahead of the big release…

Beatboxer Jason Singh: "If you can't sing, or don't want to speak about your issues, it gives you an ability to communicate something with your voice."

In taking inspiration from the natural world, Jason Singh has established himself as one of the most innovative and well-respected beatboxers in the country, with his vocal recreations of birdsongs and entire forestry environments leading to his work being featured on BBC shows Imagine, Springwatch and CountryFile. We sent Notts beatboxer Alex Motormouf Young to catch up with Singh...

Have I Got Newstead For You: Ian Hislop On His Satirical Exhibition Showing at Newstead Abbey

Private Eye Editor and Have I Got News For You panellist Ian Hislop is no stranger to satire. He was in Nottingham recently to launch an exhibition of satirical art at Newstead Abbey. It’s an offshoot of the British Museum’s 2018 exhibition I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent. Together with British Museum Curator Tom Hockenhull, Ian has selected nine of his favourite British satirical prints by Gillray and Cruikshank, among others, which are on display all summer...

The Moonshine Sessions: This World Will Break Your Heart by Ogikubo Station

The Moonshine Sessions are a collaboration between Gigantic Tickets and Alchemistic Records borne out of a shared commitment to live music. They aim to provide a platform for cutting edge global talent as well as showcase the best of the vibrant music scene in our home city. This week's release sees Ogikubo Station play This World Will Break Your Heart...

Young, Gifted and Focused: Meet Notts Mod Band SubCulture

At this month's sold out This Feeling gig night at The Chameleon, Simon Wooldridge caught up with SubCulture frontman Oli Orton, the Notts answer to The Jam...

Notts to Host Festival of Skate Culture

Skateboarding will become an Olympic sport for the first time in Tokyo next summer.  Nottingham is one of the sport’s original homes in the UK, with a vibrant community and culture going back more than fifty years, including internationally known professionals such as Carl Shipman in the 1990s and now Alex Hallford, who is one of just five skaters nationwide to be supported to compete in global Olympic qualification events in the run-up to Tokyo.

ArtSpeak are Working to Engage Older People in Cultural and Art Activities in Nottingham to Combat Social Isolation

ArtSpeak is a funded outreach programme from Radford Care Group which opens to get people aged sixty plus to get involved in arts and culture in Nottingham. Through the development of community hubs and a diverse programme of events and workshops, they hope to decrease social isolation among the older generation in our city. We spoke to Sharon Scaniglia and Hannah Stoddart to find out more… 

Circle of Light Gives Young People Chance to Work With Music Biz Pros

The charity project helps 18-25 year olds explore mental health by getting creative and there’s not long left to sign up. Here’s why you shouldn’t ‘ang abaht...

Talent 1st is a Free-of-Charge School for Young Actors in Nottingham Focused on Social Mobility

Hidden in the heart of Hockley is one of Nottingham’s best industry secrets: Talent 1st, a free-of-charge school for young actors that works to upstage the lack of social mobility in the entertainment industry. We spoke to the community interest company’s founder, Martin Arrowsmith, to talk about the recent decline in membership, and why Martin’s so passionate about reversing the trend...

The Princes Trust Want to Help Nottingham's Youth Explore Enterprise

The Prince’s Trust is a youth programme designed to help young people discover their potential within the big wide world of business...

10 Nottingham Podcasts You Should Check Out

There’s something strangely addictive about listening to podcasts. While most of them aren't glossy or scripted, that’s exactly what makes them so listenable. We’ve seen podcasts change lives (Serial Series One), spawn TV shows (Dirty John) and attempt to solve crimes that the police have long forgotten about (The Teacher’s Pet).

With many podcasts being recorded by random fans in living rooms all over the world, it all feels a bit DIY. It’s a culture that, when done well, can be incredibly fun, and seems to be having something of a resurgence of late. Don’t like the radio DJ? Change the station or, in this case, the app. It’s now possible to find a podcast on every subject, from gardening to grime. If its niche, you can guarantee there are nerds with mics discussing it.

With a decent number of podcasts coming out of Notts, and even more with strong links to the city, here’s a rundown of some of the best…

The Pythian Club are Using Theatre to Engage Young People in the Fight Against Knife Crime

In a bid to fight back against an increase in knife crime, The Pythian Club set out with the aim of engaging a generation of young Nottingham residents in creative projects. The result? Double Edge, an interactive theatrical project, written and directed by Syed Ali. We caught up with Syed and Ben Rosser to find out what impact they want the project to have…

Emily Leary on Her Cookbook Get Your Kids to Eat Anything and Her Five-phase Programme

Local woman Emily Leary has written Get Your Kids to Eat Anything to help parents do exactly what it says on the tin with her five-phase programme...

Street Artist Kid 30 on His Latest Exhbition Misspelt Youth

You might not know his name, but if you’ve ever walked around Nottingham, you’ll definitely be familiar with his work. Whether dominating Hopkinson by the station, covering the outside wall of Brass Monkey or brightening up The Avenues in Sneinton, Kid30’s bold, iconic cartoon characters have helped shape the visual landscape of the city. We caught up with the street artist to talk about his latest exhibition, Misspelt Youth…

Rebooting Your Wardrobe: Fashion Re:Boot Bring Their Sold Out Event to Nottingham

Clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery… Prosecco? Thursday 28 February saw the spectacular Fashion Reboot event come to Nottingham's Rough Trade. The concept? Pretty simple: shoppers can purchase from the wardrobes of bloggers, Instagrammers, journalists and all-round style superstars and bag their garms for bargain prices. Imagine eBay, but in real life….

Film Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

It might not have won any of the three Oscars it was nominated for, but we still loved Marielle Heller's new film...

UK Young Artist City Takeover in Photos

The UK Young Artist City Takeover took place around Hoodtown from Thursday 7 to Wednesday 13 February. We got down to as many events as we could to take some snaps...

Nottingham Fixers' Guide to Saving Your Household Wares

According to a study by the North London Waste Authority, fewer than one in ten people attempt to repair their broken items, despite 42% saying they’d prefer to mend the thing than throw it away. That’s where Nottingham Fixers come in; their volunteers share skills, helping to build the confidence of anyone who wants to start repairing for themselves. In a year, they’ve held multiple Repair Cafes that have helped over 200 people save 865kg of carbon from our atmosphere, and 73kg of waste from the bin. And that’s just for electrical items alone. Here, the team have given us a few tips on fixing household bits that you might ordinarily ditch.