Bangladeshi women’s journeys told in Middlesbrough artwork

The stories of Bangladeshi women who have moved to the UK have been used to create an art installation.

Women from Middlesbrough were among those involved in Stitching Light, a textile and light artwork on show in the town this weekend.

Their stories have been used to create Bangladeshi folk art in the form of textile panels which have been hand painted by an artist in Dhaka and which are on display on Saturday and Sunday at The Courtyard at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Founder of Middlesbrough-based Bok Bok Books Rumana Yasmin said the project was “not just to reflect on where they or their families have come from, but to celebrate what they bring with them”.

“Middlesbrough has been shaken by the riots last year,” she said.

“A project like this offers reassurance that there is a counter-current of hope and solidarity.”

As well as participants from Middlesbrough, the project involved people from Tower Hamlets, Leeds, Bradford, Worcester and Salford.

Borderlands creative producer Lou Scholes said: “The artwork has an extraordinary power and is full of passion.

“The stories of courage, resilience and cultural preservation speak directly to people seeing it.”