www.asian-voice.com
AsianVoiceNews
AsianVoiceNewsweekly
SP
TLIGHT
Dawinder Bansal: Immersive Storytelling
Sunetra Senior awinder is an award-winning producer, artist and creative director known for her intimate yet fun-loving contemporary focus on underrepresented South Asian stories. As well as creating a myriad of her own spirited projects over the years, she has been responsible for developing and producing Southbank Centre's largest South Asian festival: Alchemy for the Black Country region. Her recent short film, Asian Women & Cars: Road to Independence, was screened at the prestigious V&A Museum in South Kensington as part of their wider exhibition: Cars: Accelerating the Modern World. Asian Women & Cars also won the Creative Media Award at the Asian Media Awards 2019.
D
The notion of a culturally interwoven, powerfully quiet or even rumbling revolution runs through Dawinder’s work. “I enjoy shining the light on stories people wouldn’t normally consider, presenting them in an exciting, sometimes poignant way.” The multidimensional creative has also produced the stage show, Mother Tongues from Farther Lands, for London's Southbank Centre which was a finalist for Best Stage Production 2017 in ITV’s Asian Media Awards. Again, this openly investigated the strong cultural legacy of a diversity of South Asian women, this time exploring the challenging experience of settling in a foreign country more generally: “I spoke to women from a multiplicity of faiths and backgrounds and from different parts of the diaspora too. It was a grass-roots look at community. Interviewees ranged from Hindus and Sikhs to Kenyan-Indians and Pakistani women who were proud of their South Asian heritage. It also included Asylum Seekers and focussed on the stories of the Black Country in the UK.” Dawinder added: “we actually began by asking these women questions on the basic necessities one must acquire to lay down roots, such as food, housing and cloth-
The playful film lovingly explores the impact of firstgeneration Indian women on the thriving of the South Asian community in the UK through their often-overlooked role as the personal driver of the family unit. Dawinder commented on her research: “When looking back through my family photographs, I noticed that there were hardly any pictures of women in cars. It was always men standing proudly next to their automobiles. Any pictures I did find showed women looking bashful. They had more than every right to feel ing. However, this soon turned into the celebratory too.” revelation of just how much they’d had A vibrant documentary, Dawinder’s to overcome to find their place in Asian Women & Cars, interviews differBritain. This included the very controlent passionate women, each talking on ling dictate of patriarchal structure from their unique relationship with driving within the South Asian community too. while examining the motif of the everyThe interviews cut across generations, day vehicle as a symbol of autonomy and and included group discussions where of financial independence particularly. the women shared stories with each “Having a car meant women could comother. The younger women were plete essential chores efficiently as well shocked at the hardships the older genas take on more work to create extra eration had to negotiate. They are income for the home, all the while incredible people: champions of their ensuring their safety in the public minds and leaders in their own commudomain too.” Once a symbol of white nities, but still so incredibly supportupper-class privilege, Dawinder ive.” shows ownership of a drivHere, Dawinder also ing licence being emphasised: “we are essenreclaimed as a vivid “True tially the same, but with marker of individual closeness can subtle differences, and it’s freedom. As opposed change people” this nuance that enables us to a stiff catalogue of all to learn.” In fact, the imperial motor cars, Women & Cars project went Asian women & Cars viral when it launched, not only delights in the detail and eliciting responses from South Asian bright Mini Coopers where one woman women across the world wanting to even recounts the purchase of her first offer their stories about learning to drive vehicle being a commemoration of a “from countries such as Germany and sizeable independent salary. France to as far-flung as Canada and Dawinder elaborated: “It’s common Bangladesh,” but also from different to hear about South Asian men supportmen who felt solidarity with the emotive ing everyone and educating their chilmovement against marginalisation. dren which is great. However, women “There was a Polish man who was have contributed so much too. Their moved to tears upon seeing the film, and small incremental actions have created a another middle-aged British man combigger positive platform for mobility, mented that the story importantly not only for their livelihoods, but also for reminded him of his mother and grandthe functioning of the wider household.” mother based in the North of England.
Even up until the 1950s British women had to get permission from a man to open a bank account, and while the UK saw the Feminist movement explode in the Eighties with women entering into the professional world and power-dressing etc, many still had to marry at a certain age and have children which constituted their life. Their identity was formed secondarily according to those dependent on them, and when the kids left, they had very little of themselves.” In short, Dawinder poses a significant universal question: “who are you to yourself?”, especially in inevitable relation to others? Do you truly understand your subjectivity and its interactive role in feeling whole? In this sense, the artist’s sociological portfolio at once reflects the nature of a multicultural state: not simply a community of different ethnicities physically existing side by side but also groups that are affirmatively emotionally connected, shaping each other in a dynamic, altogether fuller, way. “True closeness can change people,” Dawinder stated. As well as consolidating the South Asian narrative, this is why she believes “it’s important to use creativity to invite people into our world to see who we really are.” Indeed, her immersive spatial style as much distinguishes the work as the penetrative subject matter. This is epitomised through current stirring installation, Jambo Cinema, which is running at the New Art Exchange until 15th March, 2020. Inspired herself by the colourful context of her parents’ Electrical shop, Bansal Electrical, which also doubled up as a corner shop and rented out Bollywood VHS tapes, as Dawinder grew up, Jambo Cinema “draws upon memories of watching Bollywood films with Sikh extended family, pays homage to Kenyan roots, and explores the social history of South Asian home entertainment in 1980s Britain.” Jambo Cinema is then an interactive exhibit which replicates Dawinder’s childhood living room, materialising an accessible nostalgia “I love converting public or ordinary spaces into a personal creative world,” she further commented. “It builds a bridge between people which also highlights an underlying similarity.” Indeed, that of shared overarching humanity. Dawinder aptly concluded by expressing her admiration for the older pioneering generation, particularly of course, the infinitely brave immigrant women: “there’s a saying that when an Asian elder pass away, it’s as if a whole library has burnt down. It’s crucial to preserve their stories. Theirs is a profound sense of purpose and belonging, rooted in spirituality; the complete opposite of the shallow celebrity culture we see today. I’m humbled by their dignity.” Especially important in a divisive socio-political climate then, Dawinder’s sensitive portrayal of individual cultural tales finally demonstrates that coming together need not be an overly technical mission. It is not a political ‘experiment’ as referred to through the Nineties, nor a sterile show of international partnerships. Rather, a phenomenon inherent within us, organically waiting to be seen. W: www.dawinderbansal.com T: @DawinderBansal
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
UK
15
7 - 13 March 2020
Rose McGowan - The woman who brought down Hollywood producer and director Harvey Weinstein. "The soft young woman I was died after being raped by Harvey Weinstein. There wasn’t a funeral for that girl. I had to carry that dead part in me around for years until finally it came time to scream it out by going public.”
Greta Thunberg, climate crusader and Malala Yousafzai, female education and human rights activist at Oxford University. “Since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago,” Thunberg at COP24, Poland. “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world,” Malala Yousafzai. Indra Nooyiformer CEO, Pepsico, Board of Director, Amazon. “I wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.”
Theresa May- former Prime Minister of the UK. "I did my politics a different way from the men. I felt I wanted to do it the way I wanted to do it so I did it my way, I was myself and hey, I became prime minister."
NEW ROLE TO LEAD REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT The University of Wolverhampton has appointed a new Pro ViceChancellor for Regional Engagement. Professor Nazira Karodia, who is of Indianorigin from South Africa, has been appointed to the role which focuses on developing a new regional engagement strategy. This will involve working in partnership with businesses and employers, schools, local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and third sector organisations. Professor Karodia was formerly Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton, having previously worked at the University of Bradford, University of St Andrews and University of Florida. Professor Karodia, who joined Wolverhampton in 2015, said, “The University of Wolverhampton is committed to the social and economic development of the Black Country and its adjoining communities; and it is in this context that I am very excited to take up the post of Pro Vice Chancellor Regional Engagement at the University.