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Alex Hale and the Private Sector talk new name and new music

Alex Hale is a well-known name for anybody versed in the Nottingham music scene. In the newly-named Alex Hale and the Private Sector, joined by bandmates Daniel Barradell, Dominic Brady, Luke Gilborn, Stephen Marsh and sometimes (when he's not busy running The Grove) Cam Worne, he is embarking on a new era…

Exhibition Review: Country Lives at Lakeside Arts

Over at Lakeside Arts, the current exhibition ‘Country Lives’ explores the use and depiction of the English countryside over the last 200 years. We went down to check it out…

Country Lives Exploring the English Countryside From 1800

Switch Up founder Marcellus Baz talks about changing the lives of disadvantaged young people

The story of Dr Marcellus Baz BEM is stuff of Nottingham legend. From a kid weighed down by poverty to the leader of an internationally recognised social enterprise, he’s lifted countless people out of disadvantaged backgrounds while inspiring others along the way. Having started collaborating more often with businesses and charities across the city, he made time in his busy schedule to chat with us about the credo behind his long career.

The Spys Who Ruined Our Lives

Emzae Performs Livestream Gig for Nottingham Hospitals Arts Programme

On 17 December, Emzae performed a livestreamed set on YouTube to raise money for the Nottingham Hospitals Arts Programme...

An Inspired Christmas - Livestream

Bettina Wallace: Voices from Nottingham's Windrush Generation

To celebrate Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of Windrush we have been working with the New Art Exchange and their NAE YOUnity Commission funded by Freelands Foundation. Our aim is to highlight the voices of Nottingham's Windrush generation and some of the challenges they faced...

Nigel Best: Voices from Nottingham's Windrush Generation

To celebrate Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of Windrush we have been working with the New Art Exchange and their NAE YOUnity Commission funded by Freelands Foundation. Our aim is to highlight the voices of Nottingham's Windrush generation and some of the challenges they faced...

Donna Humphrey: Voices from Nottingham's Windrush Generation

To celebrate Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of Windrush we have been working with the New Art Exchange and their NAE YOUnity Commission funded by Freelands Foundation. Our aim is to highlight the voices of Nottingham's Windrush generation and some of the challenges they faced...

Richard Douglas (aka Joe Buhdha): Voices from Nottingham's Windrush Generation

To celebrate Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of Windrush we have been working with the New Art Exchange and their NAE YOUnity Commission funded by Freelands Foundation. Our aim is to highlight the voices of Nottingham's Windrush generation and some of the challenges they faced...

Film Review: Past Lives

It's got a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes - and a rating of 'my heart hurts' from LeftLion...

We Catch Up With Swing Dash DJs About Their International Women's Day Livestream

We chat to Swing Dash owner Felix, alongside DJs Aura, Princess Trium, and Beaabea, about their International Women’s Day 24-hour livestream, their own respective projects, and the future of Swing Dash as a studio…

In Photos: Panic Shack and Shelf Lives at The Bodega

The Bodega is a little old place where Panic Shack and Shelf Lives get together... 

These Are the Books That Changed Our Lives

Whether it’s the book that first got you into reading, or one that resonated at the perfect time, we all have those books that changed our lives. That altered us as people and readers. The LeftLion Literature team share theirs…

Theatre Review: Private Lives

The Nigel Havers Theatre Company brings Noël Coward’s Private Lives to the Theatre Royal Nottingham this week, starring Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers in the role originated by Noël Coward in the original 1930 production

Theatre Review: Private Peaceful at Nottingham Playhouse

Ian Douglas headed to Nottingham Playhouse to check out the latest stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's World War One drama Private Peaceful

The Resources, Groups and Organisations Committed to Nurturing Black Dignity, Joy and Achievement in Nottingham

We run through some of the most important support networks, arts organisations and community groups dedicated to ensuring social justice and equality in Nottingham and beyond... 

Generations of Film: The Movies That Shaped Our Lives

Films have the power to shape our identities and the way we see the world, as well as transporting us back to simpler times. We asked our screen section writers to each share three movies that left an impact on them at three different stages over the course of their lives...

Film Review: Paper Lives

Netflix’s new Turkish-language drama, Paper Lives, is a melodramatic slog…

Art Works: Naa Ahinee Mensah

Artist Naa Ahinee Mensah tells us about her George Floyd triptych...

The When We Worked at Raleigh Project Celebrates the Lives of the Factory's Black British Caribbean Workers

Whether it’s due to its legacy as one of Nottingham’s most quintessential institutions, or the place that Arthur Seaton so resented working, everyone knows that the Raleigh Factory is woven into the very fabric of Nottingham’s DNA. While much has been written about its iconic cultural status, often overlooked is the impact of its many Black British Caribbean workers. That’s where When We Worked at Raleigh, the archival project that has collated visual and audio histories of those workers and their relatives, comes in...

Next Gen Movement: The Group Behind Nottingham's Anti-Racism Protest

The murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis sent reverberations around the world, including Nottingham, where thousands of people descended on the Forest Recreation Ground in a show of communal strength against systemic racism on Sunday 7 June. The protests were peaceful, but the anger, frustration and passion for forcing change – in real terms – was overwhelming. Behind the protests were three young women, friends Shan Vincent, Tyla Henrique-White and Janelle Brown who have since formed Next Gen Movement, a project aimed at empowering young people to make sure the fight against racism continues to be impactful. We caught up with Janelle to find out more, and discover where they plan to go from here…

Snap Notts: Anti-Racism Protest

This issue's highly-emotive poem was inspired by the anti-racism protest which took place at the Forest Rec on Sunday 7 June...

Honey Williams on her July 2020 Cover, Representation and Her Career

Our cover artist, Honey Williams, talks to our Art co-Editor, LJ Vaughan, about making art, her role as a choir director, and what it’s like to be a big black woman living in Nottingham...