A special episode of The Art Persists Podcast from Bosla Arts has been released, recorded live during Refugee Week in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts.

The conversation brought together three artists: Laura Nyahuye, Ghafar Tajmohammed and Olga Tkachenko. They spoke about the place of art in mental health recovery, along with resilience and it’s limitations in each of the artists’ contexts; from addressing social issues through art, to the Afghan diaspora experience, and finally escaping war in Ukraine.

The podcast was recorded as part of a programme produced by Counterpoints Arts for Refugee Week exploring the arts and mental health with support from the Baring Foundation and Yorkton Workshops.

In this episode music is by USTAVI, who also performed during the event.

About the panellists

Laura Nyahuye is a creative visionary. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, based in Coventry, UK. Heavily influenced by her African heritage, Laura’s creative practice spans spoken word, poetry, a palette of textures. In her work she addresses social issues affecting women and migrant communities such as marginalisation, discrimination and under-representation.

Born in Pakistan, Ghafar Tajmohammad is of Afghan heritage and was displaced as a small child. He grew up in Southeast London, Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Painting at Camberwell College of Arts and works as a Curatorial Assistant at the Migration Museum. His recent exhibition, Afghani War Rugs Reimagined, ran at Yorkton Workshops from 19-24 June.

Olga Tkachenko is a Ukrainian multidisciplinary artist and visual designer, mostly working with media such as collage, participatory projects, installation and media art. The topics important to Olga are human vulnerability, its reflexivity, personal stories, interaction with others and with the world, and the creative manifestations of the individual. She is currently Bosla Arts’ artist-in-residence.

USTAVI is a Syrian lawyer, violinist, social entrepreneur, and founder of Antika Culture & Diaspora CIC. He has degrees in music, law, and a MSc in Migration Studies. USTAVI was born in Aleppo, Syria and has been living in the UK since 2019. He remains committed to his roots by bringing Arabic music to international audiences.

Bosla Arts actively seek to support artists worldwide who are facing / confronting oppressive forces through their work, while drawing on their experiences to raise and spread awareness to the UK public.

Images: Paul Gilbey