"I am excited to work with Shout as it provides the opportunity and platform to share and express what being a South Asian Lesbian means for me. My project will draw out, specifically, the connection to Indian arts and crafts through wood block printing and incorporating contemporary queer experiences into the patterns- not just to express myself, but to locate these experiences in a language and practice many South Asian people are familiar with but do not always find themselves articulated in. This project feels like a big step towards being loud and proud in the big bad world."
A huge welcome to Natasha Taheem, who has joined the Shout programme as an Artist in Residency. Tasha will be working with our Senior Creative and Community Producer, Hannah Phillips, exploring the connection of Indian arts and crafts through wood block printing and incorporating contemporary queer experiences into the patterns.
Natasha Taheem is an artist based in Birmingham, who has worked with Lonely Planet Mumbai, South
London Gallery, Women in Film SE 15 and Get Away Girls.
Natasha has done a whole host of things from working in industry as as a screen printer, to learning and engagement in arts and heritage settings, creating record label mech, to a commissioned public mural in Peckham Levels. She has guest lectured in undergraduate graphic design at Sheffield Hallam University and has over five years experience facilitating creative sessions.
In 2024 Natasha founded Queer Mehndi Night, a monthly event for the South Asian LGBTQIA+ community in Birmingham & beyond. QMN provides an essential space for people to connect to
their culture in a queer affirming environment.
“My work directly draws upon the world I encounter and experiences and interactions I have. I am excited to work on a project that encompasses all parts of my being: British Punjabi Lesbian, living it up in Brum.”
“My visual art practice revolves around many things including drawing, ceramics, and various forms of printmaking. Most recently, I have been playing with intricate motifs and patterns that have a long lineage in South Asian art.”
