The fabric of BAME identity

The workshops, entitled The Clothes On Our Backs, will see BAME students and staff working with archival material to create poems and prose. Participants will write texts exploring their identity, which they will then inscribe using textiles and print into garments that hold significance to them.

Running on 18 May (11am) and 23 May (2pm and 5.20pm), the sessions will draw on the history of the Khanga, a sarong worn in parts of Africa. The fabrics of this garment contain symbols and messages that relate to the experiences of those who wear it.

Dr Jessica Moriarty, course leader for Creative Writing at the University of Brighton, is helping to run the workshops. She said: “This is a unique collaboration between Diversity Lewes, Brighton Museum and the university’s School of Humanities.

“Using the museum’s archive of Khangas – an item of clothing popular across Africa – we will use a combination of writings and textiles to share stories about clothing and identity and present these narratives at Black History Month.

Tony Kalume with a Khanga

“We hope to use feedback from the project to help us devise future pedagogic experiences led by community partners that will further diversify our curriculum here at Brighton. All the workshops are free and there are sessions dedicated for families – everyone really is welcome.”

University of Brighton graduate Tony Kalume of Diversity Lewes said the workshops had been organised in reaction to the lack of course modules and academic textbooks written by BAME scholars and aimed at BAME students.

Of the workshops, Tony said: “This type of approach helps toward diversifying the curriculum, which makes BAME students much more engaged in higher education as they can appreciate parts of the pedagogy that talk about stories written by and for us.

“A student I met during my research was amazed when they finally understood that all the cotton picked by their ancestors had made its way back to Africa and clothed the people in colourful attires that originated from pain and sorrow.

“We are holding these workshops to highlight this as well as seeking ideas from the participants.”

Of the role of the Khanga garments in the workshops, Tony said: “The whole idea of using the Khanga angle is to explore heritage, history, fashion, identity and creative writing – this is a multi-disciplinary venture.

“Khangas have unique writings on them that refer to proverbs, folk tales, sayings, slogans and lyrics that reflect everyday life. They are very popular as a fashion item as well as a gift.”

Materials from the workshops will be exhibited at Brighton Dome and the University of Brighton during Black History Month in October. In this month, there will also be a talk at Brighton Dome about the project.

You can book your place on the workshops online.