Tara Table Talk

Tara Table Talk is our curated series of panel discussions that explore the complexities facing our world through a South Asian lens.

Our panel discusses the topic of colourism and reflects on the realities and impact it has on individuals and communities. They will share their expert opinions and lived experiences, exploring where these biases come from, whether women are disproportionately affected by colourism and how it affects people on a day to day basis.

We’ll also talk through resources and support and how we can work together with our loved ones and communities, challenging everyday occurrences and our nearest and dearest.

This event will be chaired by Ajay Chhabra, Founder & Co-Artistic Director of Nutkhut and Tara Arts Trustee.
Book now via eventbrite.

More about our panellists:

Ajay Chhabra is the son of a partition survivor and the great-grandson of an indentured labourer. Born and raised in London of Fijian and Indian origin, his curiosity with life and death and everything in between resulted in the creation of award-winning outdoor performance company Nutkhut with Simmy Gupta. Nutkhut creates festivals, digital artworks and theatrical moments which bring people together, under single, universal experiences. Ajay is a culture advisor to the Mayor of London and supports a new generation of international artists through his board appointments.

Jonah Batambuze is a Ugandan-American, multidisciplinary creative, community builder and author. Inspired by an Al-Jazeera article about street mob attacks on Africans in New Delhi, Batambuze founded The #BlindianProject — a platform that unites Black x South Asian communities. His work has been featured by BBC World News, The Times of India, The Washington Post/The Lily and other publications. 

Saman Javed is a lifestyle reporter at The Independent, where she writes daily news and features. Before this, Saman worked as a journalist at Unilad, also writing news and features around social policy issues, mental health and issues affecting minority groups. She began her career as a reporter at a B2B magazine which focused on intellectual property.

Abdul Shayek is the Artistic Director & Joint CEO of Tara Arts.  Abdul was previously founding Artistic Director & CEO of Fio as well as freelancing for a range of companies including ENO and WNO. He is a former Creative Associate of National Theatre Wales. Abdul is a member of British Council's Arts and Creative Economy steering group, a Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow (2013-14), vice-chair of the National Alliance for Arts in the Criminal Justice System, as well as being a trustee of mid-Wales dance company Impelo and circus company NoFit State.

Join this event on Thursday 20 May, 5pm
Tickets are free but must be booked in advance.

Book now via Eventbrite

If you are able, please consider donating to support Tara Arts, so we can continue to put on free events like this.