Presented by Arts Catalyst at Exchange Place for Castlegate Festival 2025, the project grew out of Housewarming, a workshop series co-designed with Sofia Niazi and a group of women from the nearby Andalus Community Centre. Bringing together recent arrivals and long-standing locals, the group eventually gave themselves the name Rajo, meaning hope in Somali.
The workshops were less about the end products and more about what happened around the table. Gathering, talking, and making together became its own form of homemaking, grounded in care and connection.
The exhibition gathered these shared threads together. Visitors could see handmade doormats crafted by the Rajo group, a textile piece by Sofia Niazi drawing on her mother's garden, and ceramic tiles by Sahra Hersi reflecting themes of openness and trust. The space also featured hand painted plates created by the women, each one holding fragments of personal history and memory.
Designed by Sahra Hersi, the exhibition space centered around a large gathering table and open shelving, built specifically so people could sit, read, and feel at home in the gallery.
The project also honors community spaces like the Andalus Community Centre, which provide the everyday support that makes a city feel liveable. To close the project, Sahra Hersi and Sofia Niazi published two new essays, There is Room For You Here and Carrying a Thread.
Supported by Arts Council England, Sheffield Church Burgesses Trust, JG Graves Charitable Trust, and Sheffield City Council.