Our Story and Projects
Naz Knight is the creative force behind Words Chose Me and CEO of Queen’s Award‑winning NINE RED Presents… (CIC), a social enterprise built through creativity, courage and service.
What began with a vision in 2003 grew into an ecosystem of poetry, healing, exhibitions, installations, public engagement and cultural programmes across Luton, Bedfordshire and beyond.
This page offers an overview of key projects and legacy work, from BedfordSHARE and community anthologies to earlier installations, carnival work and arts‑in‑athletics initiatives.
“At the edge of a high street, by a bridge with a ball, there is a place on earth, where numbers fall. Within that space where fate resides, NINE RED Presents… (CIC), came alive.”Naz Knight
BedfordSHARE and county‑wide work
BedfordSHARE is Bedfordshire’s Poetry Together umbrella campaign, bringing people together through poetry, story, reflection, creativity, movement and shared cultural expression across the county.
Within BedfordSHARE, Bedfordshire Voices provides a five‑session model for community engagement, listening, writing, publication and celebration, as part of the wider National Year of Reading “Go All In” work.
Connected strands include the Bards of Bedfordshire, Ballad of Bedfordshire, Arts in Athletics and growing anthology work capturing Bedfordshire voices.
Artful Nature and connected strands
Artful Nature is a creative nature‑based programme for all ages, weaving together poetry, visual art, movement, observation and wellbeing. It includes forest‑bathing‑inspired Shinrin‑yoku sessions, poetry walks and seasonal making.
Alongside Artful Nature, Arts in Athletics connects creativity with movement and sport, while candles and energy cosmetics work explore how making, scent and colour can support reflection and rest.
Community Anthologies and books
Community‑rooted anthologies sit at the heart of the BedfordSHARE vision, ensuring workshop and event voices are preserved on the page.
These include a women’s anthology, cultural voices anthology and young voices anthology strands that celebrate memory, heritage, survival and belonging.
Think Art. Think Therapy. Think NINE RED.
The artistic practice crosses theatre, performance, spoken word, soundworks, carnival arts, visual, digital and graphic art, creating interdisciplinary work that fuses sound, colour and movement.
Profits are used to support people affected by domestic or sexual violence, mild‑to‑moderate mental health conditions, social and material disadvantage and cultural deprivation. Art is treated as medicine and as a route toward confidence, recovery and emotional regulation.
Art Undefined
Art Undefined emerged as a response to attempts to narrow the work into simple labels. From the beginning, practice crossed genres, industries and communities in ways that could not be neatly contained.
Art Undefined reflects a way of working that resists labels, challenges preconceptions and invites audiences to see people as whole, complex beings rather than categories.
It is not just a concept or slogan. It is the essence of how NINE RED works and what it creates.
Symbols of the work
The language of NINE RED Presents… (CIC) and Art Undefined lives through a visual archive of logos, project materials, exhibitions and installations.
At your service
NINE RED Presents… (CIC) was created around the belief that every individual, irrespective of race, ethnic origin, gender, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, creed, disability, age, religion or political belief, has the right to be and to achieve all they want in their lives.
The organisation began with two projects: The AVS Project (Abuse Victim Support) and Diverse Britain, responding to the needs of all women while highlighting the positive contributions that Africa and the Caribbean have made to Britain.
There have been challenges and difficulties, and at times the journey has felt like a small boat adrift in a large ocean. Yet the work endured, growing into an ecosystem of resilience, culture, healing and public memory.
The mosquito principle
Sometimes, when you feel too small to matter, it helps to remember what it is like to try to sleep in a room with a mosquito.
NINE RED Presents… (CIC) is that mosquito: not allowing change to sleep, not allowing society to fall into inertia. Small in scale perhaps, but persistent in impact; like tiny drops of water carving stone, capable of shaping something larger over time.
This is a legacy built through endurance, imagination and a refusal to accept stillness where change is needed.
Embracing courage through encounters
One story that continues to inspire this journey begins with a childhood encounter with local football legend Ricky Hill. Encouraged by cousins to ask for an autograph, Debra approached him with hesitation, only to be met with warmth, kindness and a lesson that stayed for life.
When others dismissed the signed card because it had her own name on it, Ricky Hill gently reframed the moment: it was hers because she had bravely gone to ask for it. That lesson — to walk your own path — became a guiding principle.
It is a story about courage, initiative, identity and self‑belief, and a reminder that powerful turning points can begin with one small act of bravery.
From Snapshot to Soul Craft
Another key story begins with a single photograph. Standing beside Kelvin Hopkins MP during a campaign trail opened a path into the arts, leading to a meeting with Andrew Grays of Luton Culture and, from there, a growing series of opportunities.
That encounter became a moment when destiny appeared not as a finished path, but as a narrow opening that had to be recognised and used. Through collaboration, persistence and practice, those moments became stepping stones towards wider creative leadership.
It is a story of how words can connect, inspire and transform, not only for the writer, but for the communities touched by the work.
Selected visual history
These images offer a glimpse into the visual history of NINE RED Presents… (CIC), documenting public artworks, exhibitions, graphics and cultural activations developed over many years.
Art in Athletics
Pilgrims’ Poetry Walking Workshops, Squash It! and related activities show how creativity and movement can work together to support wellbeing, resilience, confidence and community connection.
London 2012 Paralympics
Debra’s role in the London 2012 Paralympic Closing Ceremony reflects a commitment to leading by example — stepping into visibility, embracing new challenges and showing how courage can open new doors.
Parkfest!
Parkfest is a party with a purpose: a community arts, culture and wellbeing event that celebrates local talent, supports survivors and brings people together through shared joy.
Exhibitions, installations and public projects
DAMSEL Carnival Band
Carnival as visibility, colour, play and public storytelling, linked to the AVS Project and survivor‑led creative expression.
Luton International Carnival
Anniversary exhibition work celebrating carnival history, manufacturing heritage and the cultural life of Luton.
16 Days of Action
“Our House” art installation and touring work exploring domestic and sexual violence through public creative intervention.
Luton Celebrates
Installation, documentary and performance celebrating local history, industry, community identity and cultural aspiration.
Lea Manor Projects
Enrichment‑day cultural installations and digital art projects created with young people and schools.
Lealands High School BHM
Seminar, exhibition and workshop activity exploring Black British history, innovation, identity and contribution.
Love Luton 2012
Exhibition and spoken‑word performance celebrating culture, diversity and the wider social meanings of sport.
Photo Mosaics & Digital Art
Commissioned visual storytelling projects preserving memory, volunteering histories and community identity through design.
How art heals
Throughout this work, art is presented not as decoration but as a transformative tool. Creative participation can shift mood, outlook and understanding; moving people from stress toward reflection, from fear toward possibility, and from isolation toward connection.
Exhibitions, performance, workshops, movement, poetry and public installation function not only as cultural output, but as ways of changing how people feel, understand and imagine. That combination of artistry and care gives the organisation its distinctive voice.
Bring the work into new spaces
NINE RED Presents… (CIC) creates public‑facing artwork, workshops, exhibitions and thoughtful cultural interventions across communities, schools, organisations and events.
We welcome enquiries from commissioners, partners and communities who would like to explore consultation, collaboration or bespoke creative work.
A living archive of creativity and care
NINE RED Presents… (CIC) is an evolving practice of healing, making, exhibiting, remembering and reimagining what culture can do in public life.