BROWNGIRL PROJECT : 2018
We know we’ve been quiet online for a while, but we’re so excited to update you on a new and exciting journey we began in 2018.
Ever since we travelled to New York a few years ago and met with SAYA, an organisation who do incredible and important work with the South Asian diaspora in NY, we realised the importance of and value in offline spaces. Having a blog and online presence is a powerful platform to express your views and share what you love, but we felt a real responsibility to help mentor, nurture and support our own community of young BrownGirls.
So…we decided to launch our own initiative ForwardCulture and get ourselves into schools, sixth forms and colleges to help empower young British South Asian women, offering them the avenue to feel confident and proud of their identity as well as encouraging them to define their identity on their own terms.
In January, we launched and completed our pilot BROWNGIRL PROJECT at City and Islington College in collaboration with three artists of different disciplines. Week by week, each artist helped the girls come out of their shell, and gave them the opportunity to not only express themselves creatively through poetry, photography or letter writing, but also created a safe and engaging space where the girls could explore themes centered around belonging and identity.
Spaces like these for the younger generation are so important. As millennials, we can often get so caught up in growing our own online platforms, planning our instagram feeds and chasing opportunities to grow our own following that we often forget we can offer the younger generation guidance and support, and help them to be as confident in their identity as we have now become.
We’re excited to continue growing as ForwardCulture and ultimately, be a part of the journey of younger brown girls growing up into confident and intellectually curious young women.
- A&S x
