Скачать или смотреть Bengali Photo Archive on ITV London News, 29/07/24 | Four Corners

Julian Ehsan (co-curator) and Tanbir MIrza-Baeg (volunteer) talk to ITV News London about the Bengali Photo Archive and the exhibition, I Am Who I Am Now: Selections from the Bengali Photo Archive , that has come from it.

About the exhibition:

I Am Who I Am Now: Selections from the Bengali Photo Archive focuses on everyday photographs taken of and by Bengali people over the past 50 years. From snapshots of family life to images documenting the power of community spaces, I Am Who I Am Now illuminates the intricate interplay between individual experiences and the broader sociopolitical landscape in the East End.

The images are drawn from the Bengali Photo Archive , a new collection of personal and family photographs donated by local people. They are shown alongside work by photographers who have documented the working lives, activism and anti-racist struggles of the Bengali community, including Raju Vaidyanathan, Mayar Akash, Anthony Lam, Paul Halliday, Sarah Ainslie, David Hoffman and Paul Trevor.

The title of the show is inspired by photographer Mayar Akash, who reflected, “I am who I am now” because of his transformative experiences in East End youth work settings. The central importance of such community spaces is shown in images of the Federation of Bangladeshi Youth Organisations, and musicians such as Joi Bangla, State of Bengal and Osmani Knights. These groups brought together politics, activism, arts and music to create a new Bengali youth culture in the 1980s.

The stories behind these photographs are brought to life through recent oral history recordings. The archive has also inspired collaboratively created works, such as photographs embroidered by mothers and daughters, that share powerful and intimate perspectives on the community's histories.

See the archive online at http://bengaliphotoarchive.co.uk

Image: Two boys dancing at Spitalfields City Farm, 1990s. © Daniele Lamarche

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