Bridges not Borders was an Arts Council England funded art and literature project run by Susmita Bhattacharya and Aiysha Jahan from September 2023 to October 2024.

We built bridges locally, nationally and internationally through South Asian art and literature. We ran art workshops at libraries, schools, art and culture events, and community centres across the Solent region. We promoted community cohesion through South Asian art and encouraged cross-cultural understanding through our Mother Tongue Poetry series. We employed local artists, writers and other creatives, and championed their work through this project. In collaboration with Dahlia Books, we also produced an anthology of the best South Asian short stories in 2024 from across the globe. The anthology was launched at the Bridges not Borders Exhibition at Portsmouth Guildhall and also launched internationally in an online celebration.

Four artists of colour were commissioned to produce art that took inspiration from the community artwork created during the project:

• Abeer Kayani’s Rungun Ki Raah
• Dina Gamaleldin’s We are all one
• Sarika Khurana’s Portsmouth Pattachitra
• Aamena Jahan’s rendering of the Queensgate Foundation Primary’s Self Portraits in Truck Art

These four pieces were displayed for four weeks (11th September-10th October 2024) at the Bridges not Borders Exhibition of South Asian Art at the historic Portsmouth Guildhall.