Whether you’re a student, international or otherwise, new to the city, and looking to make connections with people in the same boat as you, or if you’re an established Notts resident who likes the idea of broadening your cultural horizons, the Nottingham Cultural Exchange is bound to do something for you. Since 2019, the meetup group has provided a welcoming opportunity to share your respective language and culture (with a drink in hand, of course, if you so choose). With its current home being Juicebar on High Pavement, the event has only grown in popularity – Riya Pereira met the organizers…
Moving to a new city or even a new country can be daunting, overwhelming and at times lonely. Kyriaki, who arrived in Notts as a bright-eyed young professional, knows that feeling all too well.
It was during her search for new friends that she stumbled across the Nottingham Cultural Exchange – a space that celebrates languages, shares cultures and brings people together. What began in 2019 with just a handful of people in a city centre bar has since grown into a welcoming community of over twenty people.
Recently celebrating its fourth birthday, the Nottingham Cultural Exchange is a “vibrant and multicultural” home away from home for students, expats and locals alike.
“I first got involved about two and a half years ago,” Kyriaki says. “I was new to the city and was just looking for ways to make friends. I’m very, very thankful for finding it because that’s where I found all my friends.”
Today, Kyriaki (or Kyri as she’s fondly called) is one of a rotating team of six to seven hosts present every Thursday evening at JuiceBar – a cosy and cute bar in the city centre. The team makes a point of greeting newcomers, asking them what languages they’re interested in and making introductions to the right people to help break the ice. “It’s really nice and promising when people keep coming back,” she says.
The idea is having somewhere just to share not just languages but culture and different perspectives in a safe environment
One of the hosts, Emma, is a language graduate who was looking to keep her Spanish and Italian sharp and would spend a large part of her week visiting the many different language groups scattered across the city.
“It was nice going to them, but it took a lot of time out of my week,” she explains. “No one really in my circle of friends and family really studied languages.”
Having returned to Nottingham after studying in Manchester, she was looking for ways to continue practising her languages. She was intrigued by the exchange started by Yuri, a staff member at Pepper Rocks who helped host the first event – just five or ten people chatting over drinks.
After a few weeks, Yuri asked if Emma would help him host. Eventually, he moved to Berlin, and Emma took it over from him. “That was from around September or October 2019 until everything shut down for lockdown in early 2020.”
Post lockdown, Emma found herself missing the community deeply. She reached out to Pepper Rocks, and they suggested relocating the event to JuiceBar. When she started hosting again, Emma tried to make sure each session had a purpose beyond just language practice.
“I tried to make sure there was a theme so you weren’t just introducing yourself every week.” These themes now form the backbone of the exchange’s gradual change in identity from simply a language exchange to a cultural exchange – from nights celebrating Chinese New Year or Brazil’s Festa Junina, to origami evenings, Persian and Greek nights with dance and traditional food, and even Korean karaoke sessions, to name a few.
“We’ve had a lot of Peruvians lately, so we did a Peruvian night,” Kyri says. “We really try to look at who’s coming and tailor evenings to what they’d enjoy.” These themed nights are a great icebreaker, especially for newcomers who might be shy.
What makes the Nottingham Cultural Exchange stand out is its warmth and inclusiveness. The crowd ranges from eighteen-year-olds to mums in their 50s. Most attendees are working professionals or students, often new to the city and looking to connect. For some, it’s become a vital social lifeline.
“With mental health being such a big issue, it’s a good space for people to socialise,” says Kyri. “It reminds you how nice people can be. People who naturally come here are people who want to challenge themselves, learn new cultures, and broaden their horizons.”
The exchange has also left a personal impact on both of its hosts. “It definitely improved my cultural agility,” Kyri adds with a laugh. “I’m an international person, so the amount of times I’ve had people correct me [on how to phrase things] or like [explaining to others that] if an Italian person is talking loudly, they’re not angry, that’s just how they speak!”
While there are no current plans to expand to other cities, the Nottingham Cultural Exchange continues to grow organically within the city through word of mouth.
“I think a cultural exchange really enriches a city,” says Kyri. “Nottingham is such an international city with the number of international students. It’s important to have spaces like this as a safe space.”
“The idea is having somewhere just to share not just languages but culture,” says Emma, adding, “and different perspectives in a safe environment.”
The Nottingham Cultural Exchange takes place every Thursday, 7pm at Juicebar, Lower Parliament Street, NG1 3DA.
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