Had the pleasure of facilitating a workshop session with theatre maker Sudhar Bhuchar for her ‘Child of the Divide’ play based on the Partition of India (1947) for members at the Rose Community Clubroom, Ascalon Street, SW8 4AX

As a reference point, I shared some illustrations based on oral recordings from victims of Partition, which were commissioned by the National Archives UK back in 2023 for an educational resource pack for UK schools.

A reading of the play will be held at the Rose centre on 16th July with live music by Arun Ghosh from 5.30pm onwards – no booking required, just pop by the space…

MORE INFO HERE

Shout out Fozia (Happy Homes) & the team from Partition Memorial for supporting the sessions, as well as my fellow arts facilitators Manasi, Vanessa, Fifi & Katharine – and of course Chetna for connecting the dots, as always!

Pics credit: W S Hartnett

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Dad was born in Nakuru, Kenya in 1944 & Mum in Punjab, India in 1950. They got married in 1972 in Nairobi, Kenya. They arrived in the UK in 1972 & started their life together in a house flat in Wandsworth, London. Being outsiders in an unknown land, they adapted & adopted new ways of living, but never forgot their Sikh faith & found a sense of community in a local gurdwara (Sikh temple) which was being built around the corner from where they lived. This was the Sikh Gurdwara South London, Merton Road, and they visited here weekly – mum helping out with Langar (communal kitchen) & taking part in the ladies Satsang (true congregation) & dad being the social butterfly that he was, he’d attend committee meetings & support key events. Both were involved & both active through their contribution based on tradition & heritage over the years.  

As part of Wandsworth Council’s programme for South Asian Heritage Month, I’ll be delivering a series of creative sessions responding to local Sikh heritage at Southfields Gurdwara South London.

The sessions will be super informal & open to all, giving a chance for people to hold space, connect & respond to heritage material through art materials provided, if they feel to. This will also be an opportunity to introduce the gurdwara space to those who may have not visited one before – a shared experience bridging heritage & sparking connections through creativity.

Sessions are free & run across the following dates (Saturdays) :

11th & 18th July

1st & 8th August

4.30 – 6.30pm 

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Please register your interest by email > treasurer@sgsl.org.uk

Hope to see you there!

P 

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Supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund

The post SIKH & EXPLORE HERITAGE – CREATIVE SESSIONS @ SIKH GURDWARA SOUTH LONDON appeared first on Pinspired.

I recently received a commission to design a logo for the Rita Keegan Foundation which was nice, as it allowed me to re-connect with my graphic design roots and create something meaningful for an artist / legacy project.

I enjoyed the process of researching more into Rita Keegan & her practice over the years, working across print, photography, film, sound, textiles & installation – someone who was quite a trail blazer co-founding the Brixton Art Gallery & becoming an important figure in the Black Arts Movement. 

‘Established in 2024, the Rita Keegan Foundation (CIO) celebrates and preserves the legacy of Rita Keegan OBE for the benefit of future generations. The Foundation supports creative practice among visual artists, researchers and cultural workers—with a particular focus on, but not limited to, women artists of colour, artists of colour and people from marginalised communities—and looks to open new ways of learning through art, creative and archival practices.

This work is carried out through public exhibitions, educational programmes, and by supporting artists and cultural workers to develop their own collections, research and archives, while nurturing intergenerational relationships and advocating for more accessible institutions.‘

Currently, 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning, in partnership with the Rita Keegan Foundation, is launching the third edition of the Women of Colour Art Award (WoCAA) – a biannual award.

‘WoCAA recognises the structural inequities and additional barriers that Women of Colour and people of marginalised genders often face within visual arts practice. The award provides both financial and developmental support to UK-based artists and artist collectives at a pivotal point in their careers‘

The current exhibition from this award: by blood, by guide, by call – is on until 19th July 2026 

Huge big up to Janice Cheddie & Rita Keegan who were a pleasure to work for

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Nice meeting nice Punjabis & surprising them with a sketch of them & their neon litty nice cream van…

Big up Chila

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“We were chucked out on the street, when I was probably 5,6 or 7, lots of us were you know, working class families, didn’t have toys in the house or books to read or paper to draw on, everyone was chucked out onto the street. And we had a box of chalk for hopscotch, and about 5 balls, 3 to juggle, juggle on the wall and we had marbles, we called them ‘Ollies’, one phat one, and lots and lots of them. So in lots of ways, I think cos I had all that and lots and lots of girl friends, lots of us, a lot meaning around 10 I think, we all got to know each other, that’s where I had to make things up, do you know what I mean like, we had to make our own ideas up, draw on the floor, I think that freedom, not that my mum & dad gave me that freedom deliberately, I think that’s where kinda all this has come from about 9 or 10 then I passed the 11+, now how I passed the 11+ I do not know because we had no books in the house, nothing to draw on or scribble on, all I know is maybe in those the 11+ was a tick box thing, the other thing I was really good at my dad gave us a big ‘ol till receipt from the ice cream van and I was good at maths adding up all the numbers”

On receiving the MBE:

“Me mum & dad would’ve said “you go & fetch that from them, we did so much to build this country up, all of us, and all the ice cream trade in Liverpool, you need more than a medal, they should’ve given you a crown”

YES!

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