I attended the South Asian Round Table at the Australian Muslim Writers Festival 2022 which featured Nadia Niaz, Adalya Nash Hussein, Tasnim Hossain, and Tasneem Chopra (as the moderator).
The Coburg Library, where this event was held, is the very first library from which Nadia I got library cards when we moved to Australia in 2006 :)
Photo of a library event space with three green armchairs and a couple of coffee tables arranged in front of a wall. On the wall behind the armchairs is a TV screen with ‘The South Asian Round Table’ displayed in large letters on it.
The discussion was great!
The upshot was that we’re all excited about more (probably second and third generation) South Asians getting into the arts – both in front and behind the scenes. And though there’s been some representation in recent years, there’s still a long way to go and a lot more to do.
Photo of four women of colour sitting on armchairs, taking part in a panel discussion
Here Adalya is talking as a journal editor about making space at the table for South Asian writers.
Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point.
Here is Nadia talking about how she built her own platform to showcase multilingual writers in Australia because nobody else was doing it.
Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point.
And here’s Tasnim talking about creating safe spaces for minoritised groups in her role as theatre director.
Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point. The other woman, who is the moderator, is listening attentively to what’s being said.
Finally, a big shout-out to Özge Sevindik Alkan from The Right Pen Collective for running the whole festival. (This particular panel discussion was organised in conjunction with the SAARI Collective, fyi.)
Özge is the festival director. And, as you know, a festival director’s job is never done!
Photo of a woman wearing a bright blue hijab. The woman is sitting on a chair with a laptop on her lap, while at the same time typing on a smartphone that she’s holding above the laptop.
It would’ve been nice to attend more events from this festival this year, but hopefully I’ll get to do that next year.