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 Gallery 2 at Whitechapel Gallery, located on the ground floor.
This event lasts approximately 1.5 hours. There are no rest breaks currently scheduled during this event.
You must book a ticket to attend the event.
If the ticket price affects your attendance, please email tickets@whitechapelgallery.org to be added to the guest list (no questions asked, but dependent on availability).
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 artist Mohammed Z. Rahman in conversation with founder of Oitij-jo Maher Anjum, speaking to the politics of food and land, the development of their respective practices, and reflections on this current generation of emerging contemporary British Bengali artists.
Following an artist-led tour of Rahman’s new exhibition Hearthside, their discussion will unpack the work and the ways it explores and addresses urgent questions around land, labour, community, and the building of transnational solidarities through the lens of food.
Together, Rahman and Anjum will reflect on their respective practices which operate in and around food, cultural production, and care. They will speak to how we can use art and storytelling to open up a more relational understanding of community and kinship.
They will also discuss the broader work of Oitij-jo, a collective at the forefront of British-Bengali cultural programming and organising, and reflect on the changing landscape for the new and current generation of British-Bengali artists.
This event accompanies Mohammed Z. Rahman: Hearthside, on view from Tue 9 – Sun 21 Sep. This exhibition has been generously supported by Phillida Reid and done in collaboration with Oitij-jo.
Mohammed Z. Rahman (he/they) is a British-Bengali artist based in London and represented by Phillida Reid. His work puts socio-political and personal histories in conversation through the lens of the domestic. With a background in social anthropology (BA, SOAS), Mohammed approaches his practice as a visionary, intimate and political force putting the ordinary and fantastical at play in explorations of dreamworlds, globality, queerness, biography and socio-historical perspectives. Mohammed is an awardee of the Tate Frieze Fund 2024 and the UK Government Art Collection London Gallery Weekend Fund.
Maher Anjum is the Director of Oitij-jo and founder of Oitij-jo Kitchen, with over 20 years of experience in developing evidence-based projects and building public-private partnerships to advance social progress and sustainable opportunities for under-resourced communities in East London. She launched Oitij-jo Kitchen as a women-led café and events space through a successful crowdfunding campaign, gradually expanding it into a core team of 20 British Bangladeshi women. This collective now operates the catering service at Rich Mix, bringing traditional Bengali home-cooked food into the public sphere and supporting British Bangladeshi women in East London to achieve employment and economic independence.
Oitij-jo fosters collaboration among creative practitioners to boost British-Bengali interaction globally. Our mission is to drive social and economic progress by connecting cultures, fostering innovative narratives, and celebrating the rich heritage of the Bengali diaspora since 2013.
