Compass Collective is delighted to support 'Voice Notes’, an international creative writing and sound arts project led by Nottingham Trent University. Alongside poet Sarah Jackson and sound artist Hardi Kurda, Compass is running a series of creative workshops with displaced communities in Nottingham and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
'Voice Notes’ is an international creative writing and sound arts project, working with displaced communities in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Nottingham. Working with young people across cultural and national borders, 'Voice Notes' explores the changing ways that we use the telephone. The project invites participants, artists and members of the public to contribute to co-creating a digital exhibition, sharing their stories through voice notes and exploring the relationship between technology, creativity and exile.The project ‘Voice Notes’ is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
Led by poet Dr Sarah Jackson from Nottingham Trent University, in collaboration with sound artist Hardi Kurda and refugee arts charity Compass Collective, the project is delivered in partnership with Counterpoints Arts, New Art Exchange, Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, Refugee Roots, Slemani UNESCO City of Literature and STEP.
Upcoming Events
15 April - 6pm
Hold to Record: Voice Notes from Refugees (London)
Published by Palewell Press, this anthology features new writing from refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
There will be special readings from the anthology by the contributors. Some drinks and light snacks will be provided.
A collaboration with Compass Collective and Counterpoints Arts, Hold to Record is part of the Voice Notes project, funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
Workshops
Exhibitions
Voice Notes explores how creativity, phone technology, and exile connect. Through workshops with young refugees in the UK and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the project looked at new ways to write, perform, record, and listen together. Sessions took place in Nottingham, Arbat Refugee Camp, and online, with over fifty participants sharing how phone technology helps—and sometimes limits—them in expressing their experiences of displacement.
The workshops focused on working together creatively. As well as building skills in writing and performance, participants recorded sounds and voices from their surroundings to help shape a shared soundscape.
Our live events and exhibitions are co-created with young people who have experienced war, violence, and persecution—and who still choose to share stories of hope and solidarity. At the centre of the Voice Notes audio installation are ultrasonic speakers arranged to create a web of overlapping phone messages. As visitors move through the space, they hear personal reflections on home, belonging, loss, and connection. They are also invited to add their own voice notes, contributing to a growing soundscape of shared experience.
Voice Notes has been shown internationally, with performances and installations at Arbat Refugee Camp (Kurdistan Region of Iraq), Space21 Sound Festival (Slemani), New Art Exchange (Nottingham), Yorkton Workshops (London), and an upcoming exhibition at Dr Guislain Museum (Ghent) in November 2024.
MEET OUR ASSOCIATE ARTISTS
Ganna Belcheva
Associate Digital Artist
Ganna’s creative journey spans various domains, from crafting logos and branding materials to layouts for reports, presentations, complex books, accessories, product design, and more. She even ventured into UX design for iOS apps and web projects, working closely with developers.
Olja Mladjenovic
Associate Artist
As a Bosnian refugee her work explores themes of belonging, identity and lost relationships.Olja’s acting, writing and visual art has been featured in the London Literature Festival - Southbank Centre, Wallpaper*, Summerhall, The BBC, ArtMag, Entertainment LA and My Theatre Mates.
Anan Tello
Associate Artist
Anan is a journalist, artist and writer with over ten years of experience, six of which were spent in Damascus, Syria.
Her creative practice is focused primarily on Syrian experiences, as well as human displacement and migration.
