The Hong Kong Experience project is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) at University of Nottingham and works in collaboration with representative members from Nottingham Central Library, Visit Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City Council.
The project leads by Dr Carol Zhang, the deputy director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre at University of Nottingham. The project aims to support Nottingham in becoming a UNICEF Child-Friendly and inclusive society. Focusing on the growing population of immigrants from Hong Kong, the project documents the collective memories of this community to develop publicly available collections.
In total, this project interviewed around 29 families with young children. The project includes three multi-collage creative workshops open to both Hong Kong children and local children. Forty artworks will be exhibited at Nottingham Central Library from 17th September to 31st October and will be open to the public. The documentary created during the project will be available on the library website in late 2024. The project activities and the open exhibition will attract thousands of online and offline visitors.
Through showcasing underrepresented communities’ artworks and immigration journeys, Lynda Naylor, Nottingham Local Studies Librarian at Nottingham Central Library, said:
“The results of this project will be added to our collection for current and future generations and will allow us to highlight this community’s impact on Nottingham, e.g., in school packs. This project also enables us to support the city’s initiatives in becoming a UNICEF Child-Friendly City and fosters intercultural understanding, making Nottingham a welcoming place to visit, live, and work.”
Megan Powell Vreeswijk, Chief Executive of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said:
“This project provides opportunities for us to engage with our communities and emerging visitor market, as well as to provide insights for our destination management plan. We look forward to making Nottingham a welcoming and family-friendly destination for all.”
Ekua Ghansah, Child-Friendly City Nottingham Programme Lead at Nottingham City Council, said:
“This project provides opportunities for us to engage with our underrepresented children group—new Hong Kong immigrants—as well as to provide insights for our Child-Friendly City strategies. We hope we can build Nottingham into an inclusive Child-Friendly City for all.”
The project celebration event is now scheduled on 25th October between 2-5pm at Nottingham Central Library. Let’s create an inclusive and child-friendly Nottingham together.
Register for the event here.
Posted on 11 September 2024
