Past Event
Access requirements
The Whitechapel Gallery is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please contact access@whitechapelgallery.org if you would like to discuss a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.
Information about access on site at the gallery is available here https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/visit/access/
This includes information about Lift access; Borrowing wheelchairs & seating; Assistance Animals; Parking; Toilets and baby care facilities; Blind & Partially Sighted Visitors; Subtitles and transcripts; British Sign Language (BSL) and hearing induction loops; Deaf Messaging Service (DMS).
About This Event
This event takes place in the Zilkha Auditorium at Whitechapel Gallery, located on the ground floor.
This event lasts approximately 3 hours.
You must book a ticket to attend the event.
This event is suitable for those over the age of 16.
We are unable to provide British Sign Language interpretation for this event.
We are unable to provide live closed captioning or CART for this event.
An audio recording of the event can be obtained by emailing publicprogrammes@whitechapelgallery.org following the event.
Transport
To the best of our knowledge, there are no planned disruptions to local transport on the date of the event.
Our nearest train station – Aldgate East Underground (1 min) is not wheelchair accessible. The closest wheelchair accessible stations are Whitechapel (15 min), Shoreditch High Street (15 min) or Liverpool Street (15 min).
Free parking for Blue Badge holders is available at the top of Osborn Street in the pay and display booths for an unlimited period. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Live Recording
Please note: we audio record all events for the Whitechapel Gallery Archive and possible future online publication via Soundcloud.
Join Just FACT Mobiliser and artist Hussina Raja for a screening of films exploring food and climate issues from a global and local perspective including Hoodforts – Chicken, Changing Tastes, Climate Companions and Any Time Money. This will be followed by a special screening of London Boys – exploring Bangladeshi culture and identity in Tower Hamlets.
This event forms part of the Power of Food Festival across Tower Hamlets from 18 – 28 September, with events and activities celebrating food cultures, community, and agitating towards a fairer, more sustainable food system.
Alongside this event at Whitechapel Gallery, there will be inspiring, thought-provoking and delicious events across the borough, including community meals, workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, walking tours and more.
Find out more about the rest of the festival programme here.
This event is also part of Art History Festival 2025 organised by the Association for Art History.
Hoodforts – Chicken – Dir. Lindsay Knight, Prod. Nurull Islam & DoP. Rehan Jamil
An exploration of the fried chicken shop phenomenon in Tower Hamlets, providing an insight into what ‘Fried Chicken’ means to different communities. [6 mins]
Changing tastes – Dir/Prod/Editor. Lindsay Knight, Dir/Prod. Nurull Islam & DoP. Rehan Jamil
A short film on the south Asian restaurant scene in Whitechapel, capturing one strand of this history, looking at how Bangladeshi and Pakistani migrants established both themselves and a new cuisine in Whitechapel, how this has evolved and where it is going. [14 mins]
Climate Companions – Nana Maiolini
A summer festival of learning co-designed with participants and residents at R-Urban in Poplar. Through workshops, walks, meals and discussions they explored their local neighbourhood, finding ways to critically and creatively engage with climate change and made new companions for care and action. [ 11 mins 20 secs]
Any Time Money – Heshani Sothiraj Eddleston
A compelling new documentary on natural farming and the future of our food systems. [30 mins]
London Boys – co-directed by Arun Nangla and Laura Pavone
Behind the loud motorcycles of the “Bangladeshi Bad Boys” is a group of second-generation Bangladeshi men who find in motorcycles a sense of identity and a way to rise above racism. With a loving lens on East-London, this documentary explores their struggles with identity, masculinity and Islamophobia, revealing moments of vulnerability and resilience. [82 mins]
Just FACT is a 5 year partnership programme led by Women’s Environmental Network (Wen) with research from Platform London. It is made up of a network of people and projects in Tower Hamlets, and is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF)’s Climate Action Fund.
Heshani Sothiraj Eddleston is an Edinburgh-based, Sri Lankan-born, visual storyteller. Grounded in her own experience of enforced migration to India after the 1983 Sri Lankan riots, she uses photography and filmmaking to tell stories about our shared humanity with migrants and ‘others’.
Her work in South Asia has focused on refugees, militant groups, and women who have experienced self-harm and abuse. She currently works with the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention to translate academic work on self-harm to broader audiences.
In Scotland, she has worked with migrant women groups, women coming to terms with cancer and their loss of identity, and institutions such as the Scottish Prison Service, Glasgow Modern Art Gallery, and Historic Scotland. She creates collaborative art through exhibitions and workshops that question anger, shame, and identity, drawing out hidden and visible scars.
Nurull Islam is a community organiser, filmmaker, and co-founder of Mile End Community Project (MCP). Deeply rooted in Tower Hamlets, Nurull has led a number of award-winning creative projects tackling important grassroots issues. He has a unique ability to connect with communities and create platforms for underrepresented voices through film, photography, and participatory arts.
Nurull is an Honorary Fellow at Queen Mary University of London and collaborates with various academic departments on community engagement and storytelling.
Arun Nangla’s work as documentary photographer and filmmaker focuses on environment and social issues. Since moving to London from India, Arun has been working on identity and representation of the South Asian communities in the UK.
