Small Heath Voices

This participatory photography and written word project has engaged families and residents from underrepresented Muslim Kashmiri and other minority backgrounds in Small Heath.

Project Partner: Victoria Park Productions
Project Lead: Omar Hanif
Location: Birmingham

Overview

Participants of all ages have created photographic and narrative-based work with local photographer, Maryam Wahid, to produce a portfolio of images and words with accompanying captions to be used as a final online showcase. The participants have also collaborated with poet & written word artist, Shreen Mahmood, to create accompanying words to the photography they produce. Their work celebrates and shares the cultural heritage of Small Heath, a Muslim majority area of high deprivation in Birmingham.

The project has connected the Small Heath community through the arts, helping to promote community well-being, including by tackling social isolation and loneliness. The diverse communities of Small Heath have scarce creative opportunities, and the project has enabled them to tell a multitude of stories about the area they call home through work that was exhibited at the former Moseley School of Art and Khidmet Centre.

The Impact

Through the medium of photography, the project has enabled the different and underserved communities of Small Heath to come together to celebrate their place.

It has overcome the widespread belief that the arts are for others, not for them and made Small Heath's residents feel part of the city's vibrant arts community, building confidence in taking part in arts activities by seeing themselves represented.