Maryam Wahid & Coffee and Laughs Portraits
Maryam Wahid, Coffee and Laughs
Maryam Wahid (b. 1995) is an award winning artist. Using the art of photography, Wahid’s work is autobiographical and explores her identity as a British Pakistani Muslim woman.
She expresses the origins of the Pakistani community in her hometown Birmingham (UK) by exploring her deeply rooted family history; and the mass integration of migrants within the United Kingdom. Her academic background in Art, Photography and Religious Studies alongside her fascination with cultural cognition and religious ideologies have progressively influenced her work. Her work explores womanhood, the history of the South Asian community in Britain and the notion of home and belonging.
Maryam first met with the women from Coffee and Laughs when they visited her solo exhibition in Ffotogallery, Cardiff. They shared stories and explored individual and collective histories as Maryam got to know them better and, together with Maryam, planned their own portraits: what they would wear if they would include family photographs and how they would like to be represented, seen and remembered. Maryam then arranged photoshoots with the group to set up and take those planned portraits.
The resulting portraits help to tell the women’s stories: their backgrounds, families, achievements and experiences. They are personal and revealing and offer an insight into how these women want to be seen by those around them. In working on this project friendships were forged and it was a privilege for all involved to listen to the stories that were shared.
About Artists
Maryam Wahid
Maryam Wahid (b. 1995) is an award-winning artist.
Using the art of photography, Wahid’s work is autobiographical and explores her identity as a British Pakistani Muslim woman.
She expresses the origins of the Pakistani community in her hometown Birmingham (UK) by exploring her deeply rooted family history; and the mass integration of migrants within the United Kingdom. Her academic background in Art, Photography and Religious Studies alongside her fascination in cultural cognition and religious ideologies have progressively influenced her work. Her work explores womanhood, the history of the South Asian community in Britain and the notion of home and belonging.
She has been commissioned to create photographs for The Guardian, The Financial Times, Wellcome Collection, among others.
She is currently based in the UK but will travel where her camera takes her.
Coffee and Laughs
Coffee and Laughs is a charity and friendship group for women of all ages, faiths and cultures. The group runs regular workshops and trips with the community. They also support local charities including the Alice Foundation and Baby Bundles.
The group have worked together on several award-winning community arts projects with artists including Marion Cheung, Naseem Syed, Antonia Osuji and most recently Maryam Wahid.
Coffee and Laughs meets every Thursday and is run from Community House in Maindee. They meet for friendship; sharing ideas; sharing problems; wonderful embroidery; doing craft work for charity; learning English or IT skills; visiting places of cultural interest; learning international cooking with women from all faiths and none.
Community House is known as a multi-cultural, multi-faith community centre in Newport, serving the neighbourhood of Maindee and beyond. Their mission is to build a stronger, caring community together. They do this through the power of communication, learning from each other and working together peacefully.
Community House brings people together from all ages, backgrounds, races and religions. Whether that’s laughing over a cup of coffee, fundraising for charity or cooking together, we are always welcoming new ways to connect with people.
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