Lincoln Green Mabgate Burmantofts Zine 01

THE MABGATE LINCOLN GREEN BURMANTOFTS

ZINE

Issue 01 Nov 2020

“It was nice because you have no idea what’s inside, it’s a nice surprise!” Violet, Burmantofts

Banana: Damian Spellman / Flowers: Renate

Hi, we’re Kat and Dahab, two Leeds based artists who will be spending the next year working with East Street Arts in creating a Lincoln Green, Burmantofts and Mabgate Neighbourhood Plan. We’re here to listen to your voices and work with you to bring together a Neighbourhood Forum who will make changes, decisions and ideas that will benefit everyone living and working in the area.

At the very core of what we do, we want to amplify and share the ideas and knowledge of people living in Lincoln Green, Burmantofts and Mabgate. We hope this Zine will become something that belongs to you and your neighbours, created by you and your neighbours. We also hope to form a sense of community and connection during this challenging time when communication has become less physical and more virtual.

For this first issue of the Neighbourhood Zine, we’re excited to be connecting voices, thoughts, creations and ideas between the local community and residents and sharing them with 5000 people across Lincoln Green, Burmantofts and Mabgate. From resident-created stories, recipes, artwork and news, to information and resources to help your daily needs, we hope to spread some neighbourly care and joy in a turbulent time.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about our first Neighbourhood Zine! We’ll be working on the next Neighbourhood Zine soon and your feedback and ideas from this Zine are invaluable to us. Head to page 15 to find out how you can get involved in the next one.

Get in touch with us!

Call/ text us 07549 609 443 Email us katanddahab@esamail.org.uk Head to our Facebook group by searching; ‘facebook.com/groups/blgmplan’

Ruth Gebal

Meet our cover artist...

Did our cover make you look twice?

That’s thanks to Ruth Gebal, our Mabgate-based cover artist for our first issue of the Neighbourhood Zine. A long-time resident of the area, they spend their days stitching and weaving and drawing.

For this Zine’s cover, they created a mixed media collage using different fabrics, felt and drawing to show a person shopping in Freshways during Covid-19 restrictions.

Hi Ruth! Thanks for chatting with us. Can you tell us what message you wanted to create with your cover artwork?

I wanted to depict something that would be familiar to a lot of us who have lived in this place during this time. Browsing the jars of pickles lining the shelves of Freshways with your face mask on seemed like it would do that. I feel like maybe the different foods from all over the world, all together on the shelves, are a bit of a metaphor for the diverse community that we belong to here.

Why do you think this is an important message?

I thought maybe it was important to try and show something which might be a shared, unifying experience. It’s a scary, stressful time; familiar food is comfort and connection. I felt like if I was craving kasha and sauerkraut to feel nostalgic and safe, then other people probably were too.

How do you think that your

artwork and you being this Zine’s cover artist might inspire others?

I suppose it demonstrates that anyone can make art? That you don’t need special tools or education, there’s no secret initiation that makes you “a real artist”; you can just put colours and shapes together until it looks right to you.

Why do you love to create?

I have been ill for a long time and sometimes my world feels really small. It can be lonely and bleak and it can feel like I’m completely powerless to change anything. But I am totally in control of my art.

It can be anything I imagine; I can invent stories about strange animals and landscapes and people, in vivid colours, and I can make my thoughts exist outside myself, just with scraps of fabric and paper.

That feels kind of like magic.

What do you love about living in Mabgate?

I love that it always feels alive here. All day and night, it’s never still; sometimes it feels like a soap opera unfolding outside my window.

I like that it’s a place that people are doing things, not just somewhere to sleep, if you know what I mean?

I love that I can watch the glowing tubes of neon signs being shaped in the workshop opposite, that I can hear the music from the practice studios, smell the cooking from the cafe next door, singing, shouting, playing. It’s busy and noisy and full of lives.

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Karina Kruk is a Mabgate based art student and employee at The Old Red Bus Station who is extremely passionate about social justice.

Karina adores everything creative and is loving getting more involved in our neighbourhood, and that this involvement creates new possibilities to help out and give back any way she can. It has been a great outlet during the current pandemic and social distancing measures.

Take a postcard... but first, meet one of the artists!

A postcard for the neighbourhood by Marylin, a Burmantofts based teacher

Get to know Marylin, a Burmantofts based teacher and creator who is one of two artists who created the artwork for these Neighbourhood postcards.

You’ll see these postcards around Lincoln Green, Burmantofts and Mabgate very soon!

Hi Marylin, tell us about yourself!

I am a teacher who loves helping people achieve and learn and has lived in the area for almost 20 years now. I love being creative and always have some sort of crafty and arty project (or three!) on the go.

I strive to be my true self and am a great advocate for mindfulness, colour, authenticity, diversity, equality and the like.

What message did you want to create with your artwork?

I wanted it to depict and celebrate the diversity of Burmantofts. The central grey parts are indicative of the many high rises in the area. The

diverse people are indicated in the top left corner. The bottom right is a nod to the patches of green in our area. Then it’s all brought together by a rainbow of love, family, history, experience, etc. The colours are also a homage to the Burmantofts Pottery and all the different forms and colours that used to take.

Why do you think this is important?

Burmantofts is an area that is often overlooked and in-between very dominant areas in Leeds.

I bet most people wouldn’t even know where it is. It’s a nice and reasonably quiet area, with a mix of people, housing...

Why do you love to create?

I love to be generally creative. I particularly love mixed media art, knitting, colouring-in, sewing (made a lot of face masks recently) and I love meditative drawing zentangling (I used this to create my artwork).

What do you love about living in Burmantofts?

Burmantofts is a nice and quiet area. Nothing much happens and most people are friendly. It is also diverse and multicultural. It is a nice place to live.

This summer, residents of Mabgate, Lincoln Green and Burmantofts took part in a secret Gift Exchange. Each person was paired with a ‘match’ who they would create a crafty gift for. Every participant made and received a gift from their match. Here’s a glimpse of what happened…

The East Leeds Gift Exchange

“The gift I received from my gift match was lovely. I opened it when I was surrounded by family friends and they all raved about how lovely this program is. I found the creating of the gift a lot of fun. This is because it restarted my artistic drive which began to lack over lockdown. It was lovely knowing that I was creating something for someone in the same position as myself.� - Karina, Mabgate

“I really liked that it made me feel a different connection to my community. I drew and stitched it, sitting at my open window and listening to the voices and car radios and sirens below, and thought about how I was making a present for one of them, that one of them was thinking about what to draw for me too. It was good to feel like there was a thread connecting me to another human being like that.� - Ruth, Mabgate

“The gift making process has raised my confidence, and being encouraged to make something felt wonderful.

It’ll be a memorable experience.” Farhia, Burmantofts

...we have used other images and texts from the Gift Exchange throughout the Zine :)

Untold Stories of Burmantofts and New Briggate

Did you know that Burmantofts is known around the world for its history of making pottery and ceramics?

Over the next few months, you can get involved in activities from your own home, exploring the history of Burmantofts pottery, where you can find it in Leeds City Centre and how it influenced the world!

We will send you fun free activity packs and invites to workshops where you can learn more about local history and create your own artworks.

This is for all age groups and there are limited places so if you are interested in getting involved then... please contact; helen.moore@esamail.org.uk or call 0113 248 0040 to find out more.

Get involved in your next Zine!

We hope to see the Neighbourhood Zine grow, with your voice at the very forefront of how it looks, reads and feels.

Whether you want to share your ideas, creations, words or anything at all, we’d love to hear from you and have you involved in the next Zine.

We’re also offering paid opportunities for Zine contributors. If you’d like to be a contributor, please email us; katanddahab@esamail.org.uk or call/text 07549609443.

Take a postcard...

Meet our next postcard artist, Marlene!

Get to know Marlene Barbara Olivier, a Lincoln Greenbased artist who created this artwork for our limited range of Neighbourhood Postcards.

Remember to look out for them in spaces in Lincoln Green, Mabgate and Burmantofts very soon! You can take one to write a lovely message on and post through a friend’s letterbox, or for some decor in your home!

Hi Marlene! What message did you want to create with your artwork?

The message I want to create with my postcard is (“live together and

love each other”). I think this message is important because love is the base of tolerance and accepting other people’s differences.

Why do you love to create?

I love to create, because as an artist is important to me to create artworks that speak to me and to others.

What do you love about living in Lincoln Green?

I love being close to the city centre. I also love to meet people from different countries.

We hope you enjoyed our first issue of the Neighbourhood Zine!

We’ll be working on the next Neighbourhood Zine soon and your feedback and ideas from this Zine are invaluable to us. We’d also love to know if you’d like to receive a copy of our next issue!

Get in touch with us and let us know your thoughts!

Call/ text us 07549609443 Email us katanddahab@esamail.org.uk Head to our Facebook group by searching ‘group name here’ The Neighbourhood Plan and the Neighbourhood Zine have been created

by East Street Arts, to one day hand over to you!

“I’m very glad I took part. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the gift and would definitely like to do more arts and crafts from now on. Used to do lots as a child but had forgotten all about it. Life, eh!” Renate, Burmantofts Drawing: Joe Manda