When Nick Hayes first came to Haringey Sixth Form College to speak with the group in 2014, Haringey Unchained was in its infancy. We had only just come up with the name, and the students knew they wanted to learn about creative writing techniques. They hoped they may eventually be able to create a blog.

Nick arrived in his capacity as a previous editor of a literary publicaton: Meat Magazine. He brought copies of the magazine to the students and spoke to them of the importance of establishing a mission for their project. If they were going to form a coalition of creatives, they needed to know their purpose and goals. Together, the students, Nick and Angie created the Haringey Unchained manifesto.

Nick Performs in Our End of Year Showcase 2017

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After a successful fundraising campaign that saw friends and family donating to our project, we were able to organise an end of year show with a wide range of professionals in the Arts and Culture sectors. This was our very first student-organised and executed Creative Arts Festival. Our very own Nick Hayes came to speak at the end of the show about his experience integrating the arts in his life.

Nick Hayes Returns in 2018

In 2018, Nick came to work with the current Haringey Unchained group ahead of their end of year magazine launch and showcase. They spent the workshop discussing the content of the magazine, the issues raised and the themes they are most concerned about. They also discussed Nick’s project at the time: Towards a Manifesto of Land Reform in Britain.

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The workshop was a lot of fun. As a group, we discussed and had conversations, rather than arguments, about racism and class; what that means to us personally, and how it affects us individually. Many interesting and thought provoking opinions were talked about, meaning there wasn’t a dull moment. We also touched on what we plan to do with our creative work in the future, which allowed me to actually voice my idea for the first time, making sense of what may initially look like a collection of random drawings.

Takuzdwa