Sunara Begum

Begum is also the co-founder of Living Legacies, a traditional music archive in Gambia, and New Horizons Africa, a music and arts festival in Lagos, Nigeria.

• Name — Sunara Begum • Native Name — সুনারা বেগম • Born — 22 September 1984 • Birthplace — London, England • Education — BA Fine Art, MFA Fine Art • Alma Mater — Camberwell College of Arts Central St Martins College of Art and Design • Occupation — Visual and performance artist, filmmaker, photographer, writer, producer, director, co-founder, actress, stage design • Years Active — 2002–present • Style — Visual-Anthro-Mythologist • Spouse — Tunde Jegede (m. 2012) • Website — sunarabegum.com/

Begum was born in London, England. She was encouraged to pursue the visual arts by her mother, who from an early age would recite stories of growing up in the villages of Bangladesh. Begum is of Bangladeshi descent and was brought up with the traditions of her native Bangladesh in a Sufi-Muslim household. She began her studies at Camberwell College of Arts. In 2008, she graduated from Central St Martins College of Art and Design, where she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts. Whilst at Central St Martins College, she spent much of her time recording various visual projects on both abstract and narrative based subject matter, in order to extract, explore and express her artistic vision, primarily through photography and film. During her studies, Begum did several apprenticeships with renowned international visual artists, as well as working as an archivist for the Henry Moore Foundation and as a research assistant, camera operator and line producer for Halaqah Media.

Begum had her first exhibition at the National Annexe Gallery (2004) as part of a group show in Cape Town, South Africa, while still at St Martins. Since then, her solo exhibitions include Whitespace Gallery (2016, Nigeria), Dimbola Museum & Gallery (2016, UK), Lionel Wendt Gallery (2015, Sri Lanka), Centre for Contemporary Art (2015, Nigeria), St. Martin in the Fields (2014, UK), Khalili Lecture Theatre SOAS (2013, UK), St. Martin in the Fields (2012, UK), Drik Gallery (2011, Bangladesh), 198 Gallery (2010, UK), Departure (2009, UK), Shoreditch Gallery (2008, UK), East-Side Educational Trust (2007, UK), and Brady Arts Centre (2007, UK). She has collaborated with a wide range of practitioners from the visual arts, music and dance including multi-media artist Trevor Mathison, spoken word artist HKB FiNN, classical composer Tunde Jegede and dancer/choreographer Bode Lawal. As a visual artist, she has exhibited extensively in galleries across the UK and internationally in Europe, Asia and Africa. From October to November 2010, she exhibited Ara: A New Face of the Old World at the 198 Gallery in London. As a photographer, her work has been published in France, the UK, China, India and Bangladesh, in magazines and newspapers including Songlines, Le Monde, and L'Parisian. In September 2010, her first book, The Legend of Ara, was published. The book is a photographic poetic narrative of a mythical character. Her approach to photography contextualises people, places and environments, and as an artist, she considers herself a visual-anthro-mythologist.

Begum lives and works in London. She spends much of her time in West Africa working on New Horizons Africa (co-founder), an international music and arts initiative based in Lagos, Nigeria, and Living Legacies (co-founder), a traditional music archive in the Gambia. Begum divides her time between producing international projects and her own artistic practice as a visual and performance artist. She is the founder of Studio Chand Aftara, an artist's collective dedicated to the exhibition and production of experimental cinema and a space of cultivation, archive for radical, anti-colonial wellness. Her work has been widely exhibited in film festivals, museums, galleries and cinematheques worldwide. Begum is a regular practitioner of yoga, meditation and the healing arts and often visits solitary retreats in the UK, India and West Africa. She is a pescatarian and fasts twice a week, a practice that has been passed down from her mother.

• Year — Title — Role — Venue • 2002 — Wide Asleep — Actress — Talawa Theatre / Arcola Theatre • 2003 — Pace — Photographer / Stage Manager — Soho Theatre / Tabernacle Arts Centre • 2004 — Reach — Photographer / Stage Manager — Drill Hall Theatre • 2008 — Blood Wedding — Producer — Departure Arts Centre • 2013 — Griot's Tale — Visual Artist / Producer/ Stage Design — Shonibare Studio / Africa Centre • 2014 - 2019 — Emidy: He Who Dared To Dream — Visual Artist / Producer/ Stage Design — Shonibare Studio / Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud / La Cave Poésie / Tara Theatre / Lyric Theatre / Theatre Utopia / Chateau de Guimarest / Eco Museum of Berber / Théâtre de la Jeunesse / Théâtre Khemisset / L'Abbeille / Saint Laurent Les Bains / Château Porte les Ardèchois / The Cité Miroir / Chateau de Flawinne / Memories of Exile Festival, Salle de l'Alhambra / Church in La Neuveville / Festival Métis Saint Denis / Alliance Française Theatre / Institut Française / Collegiate Church of Neuchâtel • 2017 — Testimony — Visual Artist / Producer/ Stage Design — Shonibare Studio / Chidham & Hambrook Village Hall / The Forge Anvil / The Whitty Theatre / Norwich Arts / Newcastle Arts Centre / Norden Farm Centre for the Arts / Ventnor Exchange / Dimbola Museum and Galleries / Bradford Festival / Under Ground Theatre / Morrab Library / The Poly • 2018 — Nomad — Visual Artist / Producer — October Gallery / Eglise de Ceaulmont / The Poly / Morrab Library / Ventnor Exchange / The Front Room / Chidham & Hambrook Village Hall / The Auditorium, University of Oxford / Norden Farm Centre for the Arts • 2018 — Gekka: Under the Moon — Performance Artist — Hastings Museum & Art Gallery • 2019 — New Worlds — Visual Artist & Performer — The Forge – Basingstoke / Norwich Arts Centre – Norwich / Compton Parish Rooms – Chichester / St Stephen Walbrook – London / St. Agnes Church – Isle of Wight / Morrab Library – Cornwall / The Poly – Cornwall / Gulbenkian Theatre – Canterbury / Norden Farm – Maidenhead • 2019 — Moon — Visual Artist & Performer — October Gallery • 2019 — Who Am I — Director / Writer / Performance Artist & Filmmaker — V&A Museum, London (Victoria & Albert), St Stephen Walbrook Church, London

• Year — Title — Publisher / Production — ISBN / Catalogue No. • 2010 — The Legend of Ara — Chand Aftara Publishing • 2013 — Truth & Art — Chand Aftara Production — CA001 • 2015 — New Horizons Africa: New Horizons — Chand Aftara Production — CA002 • 2015 — New Horizons Africa: African Messiah — Chand Aftara Production — CA003 • 2015 — New Horizons Africa: Testimony — Chand Aftara Production — CA004 • 2016 — New Horizons Africa: Resistance & Revelation — Chand Aftara Production — CA005 • 2016 — New Horizons Africa: New Worlds — Chand Aftara Production — CA006 • 2016 — New Horizons Africa: African Ballet — Chand Aftara Production — CA007 • 2017 — Who Am I — Chand Aftara Production — CA008

Begum has also been involved in theatre productions, film and television. She has worked as a producer and cinematographer on several films, including The Idea and the award-winning feature film 500 Years Later. She directed her own debut short film, Ara's Sojourn, to critical acclaim. This featured her sister, Shahanara Begum. This has been followed by several short films and feature documentaries. Memories of My Mentor (2017) was written, produced and directed by Sunara Begum. In 2016, Truth & Art was screened at the Lights, Camera Africa!!! film festival in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2015, Truth & Art was selected to appear at the 5th Annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in Lagos, in November 2015. New Horizons Africa (2016), New Horizons Africa (2015), Night Paintings (2014), The Pilgrim Within (2013), a documentary series entitled, Truth & Art (2013) featuring three international artists from three continents, Visions of a Traveller (2012), The Brodsky Quartet (2012), Nomadic Mystics (2012), African Classical Music (2012), The Water's Will (2011), One Take Wonders (2011), Ara Trilogy (2010), When Night Falls (2010), The Road to Basilique (2010), The World of Tunde Jegede (2010), Menantol (2009), Ara's World (2008), Ara's Sojourn (2007), Our Story Our Voice (2007), The Idea (2006), Justice for the Youth (2002). Begum has continued to develop her own visual narrative-led language on many large-scale projects for productions including, Ancient Futures, which has toured internationally, African Messiah at the Royal Opera House, London, Visions of a Traveller at Lyon Opera House and The Planetarium for La Musée des Confluence in Lyon.

• Year — Title — Credit • 2002 — Justice for the Youth — Research, camera operator • 2005 — 500 Years Later — Research, administration • 2006 — The Idea — Producer, production manager • 2007 — Our Story Our Voice — Presenter, camera operator • Ara's Sojourn — Director, producer, editor • 2008 — Ara's World — Director, writer • 2009 — Menantol — Editor • 2010 — Ara Trilogy — Director • The World of Tunde Jegede • 2011 — The Water's Will • 2012 — Visions of a Traveler • 2013 — Truth & Art — Director, producer • The Pilgrim Within — Director • 2014 — Night Paintings — Director, editor • 2015 — New Horizons Africa — Producer • 2016 — New Horizons Africa — Producer • 2017 — Memories of My Mentor — Director, producer, writer, editor • 2019 — Water — Director, producer, writer, editor