Established in 2018, Transforming Narratives was managed by Culture Central, supported by Arts Council England and the British Council and delivered in association with The British Council and 10 Birmingham-based partners.
Transforming Narratives commissioned new art and forged new connections bringing artists, curators and organizations together, to promote new ways of thinking and working.
Artists were supported to develop new work in an artist-led, trust-based approach.
Now it has created a new digital Timeline feature, which tells the story of Transforming Narratives, whilst a new short film, produced by Amrit Singh, features the work and voices of artists who have been supported by the program, said a press release.
"It has been a real moment of reflection, putting together the short film and timeline of Transforming Narratives, we’ve been able to really think about the ways in which Transforming Narratives has supported new work, challenged the norm and created genuine cultural exchanges across Birmingham, Bangladesh and Pakistan," said Sophina Jagot, project director for Transforming Narratives.
"So much has been achieved through the program, and I hope people take a look at the Transforming Narratives website to get a sense of the work that has happened over the last four years and the connections that have been made, we hope the legacy of this engagement, support and delivery is more creative and cultural connections across the three locations in the years to come," she added.
Over four years, Transforming Narratives has supported cultural and creative exchange between artists, creative practitioners and organizations in Birmingham, Pakistan and Bangladesh, supporting and connecting over 500 artists and creative practitioners across the three geographies.
R&D visits brought artists to Birmingham, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In Birmingham, a series of community facilitator research reports were commissioned to better understand the context for people who identify as of Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Kashmiri heritage living and/or working in Birmingham to develop the team’s understanding of contemporary culture, people’s engagement with the city and experience of the city’s cultural life.
When Covid-19 hit, a new program of Digital Collaborative Grants led to 17 new artistic commissions, linking the three spaces, and series of critical dialogue events encouraged debate.
The Transforming Narratives Mela & Symposium brought together artists and audiences in Birmingham, Pakistan and Bangladesh for a ground-breaking three day online festival, with 14 new commissioned projects.
“When you bring people together and let them speak and create, bonds beyond politics and borders can get forged. I think these are key for our education and our future,” said Samira Syed, one of the producers of Angon – a series of podcasts linking individuals from the art and cultural communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Birmingham commissioned through the Digital Collaborative Grants program.