Open afternoons: Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 July 2025, 1-4pm
During her residency, Rabia Begum will be working on the project Stitching Sehri, Draping Iftar: Ramadan at Home. Offering a contemplative and reflective space, Rabia invites visitors to reflect on the themes in her work and respond in their own way; whether through prayer, silence or creative activities.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and observed by Muslims globally as one of the five pillars of Islam. During this holy month, Muslims fast (sawm), engage in extra acts of worship (ibadah) like reading special voluntary prayers (taraweeh salah), reading and reciting the Quran and giving to charity (sadaqah).
The end of Ramadan can be a joyous and bittersweet occasion marked by Eid-Ul-Fitr. As Muslims reach the end of the most blessed month in the Islamic year, many will try to continue any good habits and weave this into the next eleven months.
Rabia’s work explores several domestic illustrations on fabric, highlighting the memories shared at home with family and loved ones. The colours red and green resemble the colours used in the Bangladeshi flag, representative of Rabia’s Bangladeshi heritage and a nod to the British Bangladeshi Muslims taking part in Ramadan across the U.K.
About the artist
Rabia Begum is an emerging visual artist based in Calderdale. Inspired by her Islamic and Bangladeshi heritage, racial justice and psychology, Rabia aims to create meaningful social impact, encourage exploration and a deeper understanding of global stories. As part of the New Creatives Traineeship at Everybody Arts, Rabia undertook a residency in The Everybody Gallery, Bearing Witness to Genocide, which investigated six countries that are struggling for human rights. She is interested in textiles, printmaking, drawing and sounds.
Rabia works on the award-winning Families of the World project at Manchester Art Gallery, which provides creative play sessions for families that are seeking refuge and asylum. The project was recently the Museums Association's: Best Museums Change Lives Award 2024.
In 2023, Rabia graduated with a First-Class Honours in Art & Design History and Psychology at Liverpool Hope University. Her dissertation project, exploring how social factors influence eye movements when viewing paintings, led to a publication in a scientific journal, Nature.
Rabia has co-curated the Climate Justice Gallery at Manchester Art Gallery and showcased a piece on behalf of the Museums Association for climate justice. She has sat on the Manchester Climate Change Youth Board and spoken on BBC Politics North-West to discuss net zero climate and worked on several projects with young people in Manchester delivering climate-based workshops.