The Bagri Foundation hosts the inaugural edition of the Bagri Samaya series at its London office with a diverse programme of events on July 31st, 4th and September 18th, 2025. The foundation, based in the United Kingdom, was started in 1990 by the late Lord Bagri CBE to support education, and was expanded by Alka Bagri to cultivate space for Asian art and culture in the West about ten years ago. Their conversation and screening series A Woman Hums: Women, Voice, Creativity, will highlight the voices of women filmmakers, writers, academics and artists working in Asia and its diaspora. This was inspired by the foundation’s collaboration with Untold Narratives, a writer development programme which supports marginalised writers and those living in conflict zones. Chelsea Pettitt, the director of the Bagri Foundation, said in a conversation with STIR, “This theme of platforming women was initially inspired by the publication of My Dear Kabul. This book is the result of one of Untold Narratives' programmes, Paranda, that we [have] been supporting for female Afghan writers for the past few years. This is why we partnered with Untold [Narratives] and started to develop a wider list of other women harnessing the power of their voice.”

In the context of the Samaya series, the female gaze is about the female voice and perspective, especially those that continue to be overlooked and undermined. To me, it’s become a phrase that empowers women to decide how they want to be seen. – Chelsea Pettitt

The three sessions span film screenings, interactive panels and talks, exploring the diversity of women’s artistic expression across literature, film, visual art and photography. Pettitt said, “This Samaya series is a reflection of a key theme in the work of the Bagri Foundation: our ongoing support for those who raise women’s voices. Around that central theme, I wanted to make sure we reflected a variety of practice, geography (Asia is complex and the nuance of this is often flattened in the West—a narrative we care deeply about and are committed to challenging), and the different ways in which roles such as artist, curator, educator and more contribute to this work. Another key factor is about bringing together a community that cares and building bridges between the many individuals and organisations connected to the Bagri Foundation—furthering our mission and fostering meaningful dialogue, which we see as a vital part of creating change. You can see these threads through our panellists and the theme of each event.”

The first session, a panel titled Writing from the Heart: Memoirs, Poetry and Diaries, will feature Batool Haidari, a contributing writer to My Dear Kabul, in conversation with panel chair, co-editor Lillie Razvi Toon, Filipino-British poet Romalyn Ante and translator Gulhan Darzai. This interactive, book club-style session will discuss the power of the first person in confronting the personal and political, from living in conflict zones to the impact of the pandemic on NHS workers (the majority of whom are women). Discussing the importance of women’s voices in the literary canon, Haidari said, “When a woman, by being part of Paranda, gains self-belief, she is able, despite all the difficulties, to express her emotions and translate her pain into writing. Adding our voices to the canon of literature not only expands linguistic and narrative diversity but also liberates literature itself from a closed and exclusive state. A literature that once largely reflected male experiences now hears the voices of pain, joy, hope and resistance from women who were previously unseen and unheard. With their presence, literature becomes more polyphonic, more intimate and more human.”

‘Samaya’ translates to ‘moment’ and is an opportunity to spotlight women artists and to build a robust community around them. “There are parts of the Asian world where it’s still incredibly difficult to be an artist at all, let alone a woman artist at that. Whether this is because of a lack of infrastructure, art education, state support, cultural expectations of domestic life, cost of living, or any other number of reasons. In other parts of Asia with stronger art scenes, artists are subject to censorship, regardless of gender, reliance on only a handful of venues and issues of access,” Pettitt said. These issues also affect the art sector in the West, she noted. “Many creative sectors, especially music and film, face systemic issues which stem from patriarchy – lower pay for female creatives, predetermined perceptions, sexual harassment, motherhood and caretaking responsibilities, gatekeeping, etc…I would say that women, no matter how much more they can be represented through arts and culture will always have an uphill battle to prove themselves.”

Highlighting directors who are challenging the norms of cinema in South Korea, King’s College film studies professor Jinhee Choi presents short screenings and a lecture on contemporary woman-led filmmaking in the country for the second session, titled Visioning Female Rights: Women in Film and Photography. Meanwhile, head of programme at South London Gallery, Sarah Allen, will be examining feminist photographic activism—the contemporary art methodologies, metaphors and visual tools used to compel viewers to confront their role in women’s oppression and their fight for gender equality. “In the context of the Samaya series, the female gaze is about the female voice and perspective, especially those that continue to be overlooked and undermined. To me, it’s become a phrase that empowers women to decide how they want to be seen,” said Pettit.

In Singing into the Void: Feminist Visual Arts Practice, Uzbek artist Aziza Kadyri presents her solo practice and the work she does with Qizlar, a feminist artist collective based in Uzbekistan, discussing how they organise, empower and mentor the next generation of women artists. The session will kick off with Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat’s short film, Turbulent (2002), which comments on suffocating patriarchal structures through the performance of a female singer and a male counterpart. Lotte Johnson, a curator at the Barbican, shares Indonesian contemporary artist Citra Sasmita’s work, discussing how she reimagines Balinese Kamasan mythology through the female gaze.

The Samaya series focuses on uplifting women’s voices and spotlighting narratives that invest in a more equitable future, by mobilising culture and creativity. Pettitt has an optimistic outlook, saying, “The audience is out there, especially in the UK, where most are fellow women. And I have found that they will show up and support each other, we just need to continue cultivating space for projects and initiatives that provide these opportunities.”

‘A Woman Hums: Women, Voice, Creativity’ will take place at the Bagri Foundation office in London on July 31, September 4 and September 18, 2025.