22nd May 2025
…or ‘Women’s Time’, created by and for women from local South Asian communities.
An afternoon full of smiles, song and spoken word was created in the impressive, panelled hall at the Bagshaw Museum. On a bright Saturday afternoon, an audience of 60 women joined together to celebrate new writing from local women, the launch of a new textile hanging, ‘ Peace by Piece’, and to enjoy performances of song, storytelling, and puppetry.
We brought together a new South Asian Women’s Culture Steering Group, who reflected that women do not often get the time and space for cultural activities and identified the cultural forms most of interest to them. These included textiles and crafting as well as poetry and writing. Throughout winter, over 60 women from different community groups worked with artists to create this special event dedicated to women. With themes of peace and what it means to them individually and in the world, along with cherished memories and cultural traditions, they wanted to create and event to celebrate Eid and bring together women for ‘ Kawateen time’ dedicated to them.
Poet and writer Abda Khan developed stories, poems, and recipes with elders from Milen Day Care Centre, and with the ESOL adult learners at the Al Hikmah Centre. Textile artist, Ranya Abdullateef ran weekend sessions at the Museum to develop embroidered and lino-printed individual pieces, brought together in one beautiful large wall hanging. West Yorkshire singer/songwriter Kauser performed a selection from her new puppet show, Khugee, and the event was then rounded off with songs from Yorkshire’s First South Asian Women’s Choir, Song Geet.
After some initial reluctance- ‘I can’t sing!’ Abda worked skilfully to creatively explore memories and stories from the women’s past, recalling traditional folk songs and popular Bollywood songs. By the end of the sessions the women were singing along as Abda played the Dolki and freely expressing themselves. The care staff commented on how engaged the participants were, and everyone asked “when are you coming back?”
The groundwork for the project has been laid over time and developed skilfully by our community producer, Iqra. Iqra has developed her own skills as an artist and producer through involvement, initially as a participant in Creative Scene projects. As a member of the local South Asian community herself, she was able to engage groups through the strong community relationships and networks she holds with the local community and to guide relevant cultural activity.
Rapport and trust was created by the experienced South Asian artists with cultural knowledge and excellent participation skills. Abda was able to empathise and understand the women’s stories and memories as she is from a similar background. She was also able to speak in multiple languages which was especially important for these groups: with older women where English is not widely used, and for the ESOL group that had just started learning English. The women really valued being heard and began to open up, they felt comfortable trying new things, and trusted the artists. Having an event to work towards gave the sessions focus and empowered the participants to share their stories.
Bringing women together in the beautiful surroundings of Bagshaw Museum made the event feel very special and gave value to their work. As many women had not previously visited the museum, the project was able to support the museums ambition to develop as a community hub.
‘Kawateen Time’ was an event to remember and has stoked ambition for future events created by and dedicated to women. We are developing and extending the South Asian Women’s Culture Steering Group, and planning for new events in Autumn, Winter, and Spring.
“What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with sisters! I’ve enjoyed hearing so many different voices, coming together, sharing our culture, and discovering new art forms. It is a reminder to me of the need to be open, try something new and the importance of making time to share
our cultures together.”
