A new book from Bow Arts & Hali Publications brings together works from across artist Bhajan Hunjan’s 40-year canon, enabling a recognition of her work to date.

Hunjan’s work draws on her Kenyan upbringing, Sikh heritage and experience of moving to the UK in the 1970s. Her artwork has consistently demonstrated an innovation in materials, whether it be developing unique print techniques or pushing contractors to cast concrete in new ways. Over 30 beautifully printed image plates – many previously unseen – together with exploratory texts tell these stories, weaving in the importance of Hunjan’s heritage and those she met along the way. Hunjan has been a radical community organiser since the early 1980s, foregrounding the artwork and voices of women, particularly those of South Asian descent. Working with others – collaborating with communities, practitioners or young people over public art projects – has always been central to Hunjan’s practice. Her quest to place herself and others in the world will resonate with both the young and old – her works have succeeded in speaking to school children, public art commissioners, gallery audiences, community groups, political movements and collectors.

Her work is represented in major public collections including Tate, the British Museum, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery and Reading Museum and Art Gallery.

RRP: £20
Email akorwar@bowarts.com to purchase a copy.

Contributors

Parminder Bhachu is Professor Emeritus in Sociology at Clark University, Massachusetts, USA. She is the author of five books; her book Movers and Makers: Uncertainty, Resilience and Migrant Creativity in Worlds of Flux interrogates the audacious inventiveness of multiple migrant diasporics like Bhajan Hunjan.

Dr Alice Correia is a curator and art historian based in Manchester. Her edited book What is Black Art: Writings on African, Asian and Caribbean Art in Britain, 1981–1989 was published by Penguin in 2022. 

Sophie Hill is a curator and arts writer and is Director of Arts & Events at educational arts charity Bow Arts which runs the Nunnery Gallery, east London.

Niru Ratnam is a gallerist, and runs a gallery in Fitzrovia, London that focuses on artists from the Global Majority and women artists. He was previously an academic and has published widely on contemporary art. 

Linsey Young is a curator and researcher whose work focuses on socialist feminist art histories. She was previously Curator of British Contemporary Art at Tate Britain, during which time she curated the major exhibition and publication project Women In Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990, which included Hunjan’s work.

With support from