Stitching light আলো দিয়ে গাথা

Stitching Light is a textile and light installation exploring Bangladeshi women’s migration to the UK. Stories are being collected from groups of Bangladeshi women who live in Tower Hamlets, Leeds, Bradford, Middlesbrough, Worcester and Salford who have a lived experience of this migration journey. 

Their stories are being gathered and transcribed onto 16 x 3m high colourful painted textile panels, hand painted by a traditional folk artist based in Dhaka and hand stitched with light thread to highlight the journeys that they have taken. 

The panels are arranged within a purpose-built 3D structure with soundscape which the audience can walk through and around to immerse themselves in these stories. 

Following the pilot in January 2025 at Canary Wharf Lights, Emergency Exit Arts have successfully secured further funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to work with more Bangladeshi communities throughout the UK. Together, we will create an additional five panels to develop the stories of migration to different areas in the UK.

The installation will tour to 5 outdoor light festivals in autumn/winter 2025 to estimated live audiences of 1 million.

Emergency Exit Arts partnered with local organisation Oitij-Jo, The Migration Museum, Bangladeshi based Paraa, with Ruhul Abdin as Creative Director.