ArtUnity

As part of an international cohort of 12 artivists, Rawz received the 2024 Bertha Artivism Award.

The award recognises artists nominated by their community who use their creativity to catalyse social change. This recognition afforded Rawz the opportunity to create ArtUnity, a year long project rooted in the power of art to break down barriers and initiate social change. ArtUnity aimed to address the sharp socio-economic and racial divides in Oxford - one of the UK’s most unequal cities.

The overarching goal of ArtUnity was to create and curate spaces for understanding, solidarity, and a unified movement for social change. Rawz commissioned work from Oxford artists with diverse life experiences, curated an exhibition and film screening, and organised and contributed to several other events across the city through out 2024 that brought artists, activists, and community members together around art appreciation, ideation, and collaborative action.

Find out more below.

LIFE IN OXFORD Film Collection

This series of short films offers a window into life in Oxford, as seen through the eyes of its filmmakers, curated by Rawz as part of the ArtUnity project.

Each piece brings a unique perspective on identity, space, struggle, resilience, and belonging in Oxford. From grassroots storytelling to poetic visual statements, this collection brings together the lived experiences of people rarely seen or heard in mainstream narratives of a city synonymous with elitism and privilege.

This collection contains the work of several Film Makers. 00:00 City Of Cycles – Samuel Mansell  https://www.dropallwordsmedia.com/ https://www.instagram.com/samuel_mansell https://www.instagram.com/dropallwords/ 03:52 News Item – ATV Today  https://www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-20061978-oxford-community-centre 07:51 Spaces & Places – Asher Dust  https://www.instagram.com/asherdust1 09:27 Spaces We Made Our Own – Ruel-Eli James  https://www.entouragemediashots.com https://www.instagram.com/reuel.eli https://www.instagram.com/entouragemediashots 16:03 Truth of the Youth – Samuel Mansell  https://www.dropallwordsmedia.com/ https://www.instagram.com/samuel_mansell https://www.instagram.com/dropallwords/ 25:09 Homeless Woman Sleeping Rough in Oxford, England Died Sleeping Outside – Invisible People  https://invisiblepeople.tv/ https://youtu.be/qz3cAS84lSY?si=-HjbA_xx1flHkVFy 31:20 The Tales Of Colin the Clowncillor – Joe Coleman & Family  https://www.instagram.com/joe.coleman.1905 38:33 F*ck Your Policies – Mya Fraser  https://www.instagram.com/mya.fras3r 40:41 Interview with Jabu Nala Hartley – Rawz https://www.rawzcreates.com https://www.instagram.com/rawz_official 48:34 Style & Spaces – Asher Dust  https://www.instagram.com/asherdust1 50:33 Kamwokya vs Oxford – Mkhulule Foundation https://mkhululegirlchildfoundation.wordpress.com/ https://www.instagram.com/set_me_free_project/ 56:41 The Soil That Watched Us Grow – Ruel-Eli James  https://www.entouragemediashots.com https://www.instagram.com/reuel.eli https://www.instagram.com/entouragemediashots

LIFE IN OXFORD EXHIBITION

In September 2024, the Life in Oxford exhibition opened at OVADA gallery in Oxford as part of the ArtUnity project, offering an evocative exploration of life in the iconic yet divided city. Curated by Rawz, the exhibition brought together an inspiring collection of work from 14 Oxford-based artists and community groups.

Through painting, photography, sculpture, sound, and interactive installations, the exhibition highlighted a rich diversity of perspectives on what it means to live in Oxford - capturing beauty, contradiction, and deep-rooted social challenges.

The exhibition’s goal was to promote community cohesion and awareness by creating a space for open reflection and dialogue. It invited visitors to consider Oxford beyond its postcard image, and instead encounter the lived realities of its residents.

See photos from the exhibition and view a video tour below.

Life In Oxford Exhibition Photo Gallery

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Photo credits:

Sharmaine Sepehr

Izabela Jaroslawska

Life In Oxford Exhibition Video Tour

Rawz gives a video tour of the Exhibition.

Paper Jam

Initially funded through the ArtUnity project, Paper Jam is an on going series of public social events that blend live music with visual art. Held in various pub venues across Oxford, it features an open mic, and bespoke performances from musicians, while providing free art supplies for the audience to express their creativity inspired by the environment, the conversation and of course the music.

Over the course of the events the Paper Jam sketch books have become full of people’s, doodles, sketches, poems, thoughts and drunken scribbles. At some point there will be a special auction event where the sketch books and other Paper Jam creations will be sold to support more Paper Jams and other public art projects.

This unique fusion of sound and vision aims to build a collaborative atmosphere and sense of community between Oxford’s music and visual arts communities and beyond. In that spirit Paper Jam is itself a collaboration between Rawz, Urban Music Foundation, In-Spire Sounds, MES Graffiti Crew, Drop All Words Media and several pub venues across Oxford.

Tekano Fellowship Solidarity Tour

As part of ArtUnity Rawz curated and lead a solidarity tour of Oxford for visiting members of the Tekano Health Equity Fellowship based in Western Cape, South Africa - a leadership development programme aimed at strengthening the capacities of progressive social change leaders to tackle the deep social and economic inequities that characterise South Africa and that impact the health of its citizens.

The group spent a full day visiting community based social justice and arts projects across south east Oxford, culminating with a gathering at a repurposed garage space just outside Oxford city centre where local activists and artists shared their work and built connections with the visiting South African change leaders.

Events In Oxford WhatsApp Group

To help people in Oxford find out about and share events, Rawz started the Events in Oxford WhatsApp Group as part of the ArtUnity Project.

You can join the group by scanning the QR code below. Please read the group guidelines before posting.

GROUP GUIDELINES

Please limit posts to flyers and information about upcoming events in and around Oxford. This group is not for conversation.
Suggested format for posts is a single image with a short description. Links for further info are encouraged. All posts should include a time, date and location in some form.
Long videos, excessive posting of the same event, posts about speculative or intended events will be deleted.
Enquiries/comments about events (“where/when is it?”, “this looks good!” etc.) will be removed from the main thread by admin. Send a private message to the event poster for more info.
Events of all kinds may be promoted in this group, events may not always align with your own tastes and political beliefs.
Consider other people’s feelings when posting imagery and words, and make reasonable attempts to avoid causing offence or distress.
It doesn’t need to be “your” event for you to post it, if you see something interesting let everyone know!
Admin will delete posts and may remove participants not using the group for its intended purpose.

Thank you.