COMMUNITY MATTERS
A group exhibition celebrating work from our diverse ethnic communities
The Gallery Cafe
15th October – 25th November 2024
In this exhibition we bring together three artists from our wonderfully creative and talented diverse ethnic communities. Shahena Begum is an emerging British/Bengali artist living in Tower Hamlets, Ahmed Jabir is an established Sudanese /British artist living in Hackney and Aisha Hussein Shariffe, a Sudanese artist and interior designer living in Greenford.
Bethnal Green Sareee Shop Side - Shahena Begum
Symphony of Letters in Garden - Ahmed Jabir
As artists, they are part of a wider community, even if unknown to each other, and each appreciates the value of community as a space in which to create, thrive, share ideas, find support and grow. And this matters, not only because it enriches their life and work, it’s also fundamental to our existence as humans.
Untitled 3 - Aisha H Shariffe
Autumn in Her Farm - Ahmed Jabir
According UCLA professor Matthew Lieberman, a growing body of research shows that the need to connect socially with others is as basic as our need for food, water and shelter. He says ‘"Being socially connected is our brain's lifelong passion…..It's been baked into our operating system for tens of millions of years."
Young V&A - Shahena Begum
In bringing these artists together in the same space the exhibition aims to provoke in the viewer a consideration on how this diverse body of work can hang in close proximity to each other with harmony whilst each retains its individuality and how this concept is vital to us in society as a whole.
As Ahmed Jabir, so beautifully states’ Knowing people well through a community or multiple communities is crucial in understanding ourselves to inspire each other to enrich our creativity and existence effectively’
Ahmed and Shahena are selling prints of their works in aid of Save the Children – Sudan Crisis
Shahena Begum – Statement of Work
Shahena Begum, a local artist from Bethnal Green, draws inspiration from the surrounding architecture, finding beauty in the unexpected urban landscape. She enjoys using pen and watercolour, which highlight her natural illustrative style. Through her art, Shahena has discovered the joy and fulfilment of engaging with the community and charities. Group workshops have become a source of positivity and encouragement for her. Her quest for inspiration has sparked a curiosity about local history through architecture, leading her to join group walks to satisfy this curiosity. Her creative journey has boosted her confidence in connecting with people, providing a space for deeper conversations.
In this exhibition, ‘Community Matters,’ Shahena focuses on the urban spaces of Bethnal Green. Having lived there since the age of three and watching her children create their own memories in the same place, she aims to capture the sentiments and memories of the streets, shops, and buildings from her childhood to the present. While working on her drawings, she realised that her memories are shared by many others like her, and she hopes viewers can feel the joyous nostalgia these places bring to her.
She says’ As a member of the Muslim community, I deeply value the importance of engaging with my local community. This involvement has been crucial in maintaining my mental health and fostering mutual support. It has also significantly contributed to my personal growth and development as a creative individual
IG: @shahenamakes
Website : https://shahena.uk/
Ahmed Jabir – Statement of Work
On Memory, Creativity and “Community Matters”
Of all that has been said on community, I always find the Quranic verse “O humanity, indeed We created you of a male and female, and made you people and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware”, Surah Al-Hujurat -13, more relevant yet closer to my knowledge, understanding and philosophy of life and art in general. This is because such a verse has clearly pinpointed the significance of community as a crucial factor in our well-being as human beings since the creation of Adam and Eve and up to our era of social media and artificial intelligence with its amazing adventures and advancements. According to this, community goes beyond social scopes to accommodate geographically, culturally and spiritually and can be multiple and colourful like a spectrum or the colour wheel. This concept reminds me of similar occasions and events, in which I was involved as a part of certain communities. Communities that universally embrace other communities for the sake of humanity and enriching entities through diversities.
Cultural dialogue has always been a significant element for me to connect with communities locally and internationally in order to bridge gaps and broaden horizons. In this respect, among some of my major art exhibitions I have mounted “Women in TS Eliot’s Poetry” and “Men in T S Eliot’s Poetry” in Sudan in 1992 and 1993 respectively.
Recalling Eliot at this very time and place is fascinating, because I came to know Eliot when I was reading “Fascination by T S Eliot is Dangerous to the Arabic Literature” by a prominent Sudanese scholar of Arabic, who claimed that Eliot would negatively affect Arabic poetry in particular and that Eliot was not a deeply rooted poet.
When I read Eliot, his poetry and biography I found there’s no evidence supporting that claim, but I realised that to understand humanity better one has to deal with controversial issues with the assumption of innocence or giving the benefit of the doubt until otherwise. Knowing people well through a community or multiple communities is crucial in understanding ourselves to inspire each other to enrich our creativity and existence effectively. In general, my work in this exhibition states some kind of visual personal statements on various areas of concerns. Such images are represented in nostalgic ways and they overlap with Eliot’s who nostalgically voices in his poem East Cocker:
Home is where one starts from...
Here or there does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity...
In a nutshell, by citing these lines I recall memories of communities in my beloved, Sudan, which is now suffering from an ugly, bloody and certainly unnecessary war while denouncing wars elsewhere and praying for peace in it and everywhere.
Aisha H Shariffe – Biography
I am a UK based Sudanese artist who creates abstract paintings using both oil paints and acrylics. As an abstract painter, my work is a reflection of emotions, energy, and movement I experience in daily life. I’m drawn to colour, texture, and form to create compositions that invite the viewer to feel rather than think. My process is intuitive and unplanned; I let each brushstroke, shape, or mark guide me to the next. This freedom allows my work to develop organically, and it often surprises me where a painting ends up.
The goal is not to depict reality but to express an inner experience, a feeling that is often too complex for words. Layers of paint, spontaneous gestures, and the interplay of contrasting colours all work together to evoke emotions or sensations that are open to interpretation.
Abstract art, to me, is about connection, not clarity, and I aim to create that through the language of colour and form. The pieces evoke tranquillity, yet their dark tones and illusive marks add an element of intrigue.
To me community is togetherness.
Contact Aisha :
Untitled2 - Aisha H Shariffe