26th July 2022

Sampad’s session with the ‘Chat and Splash’ group

My name is Agne, I am an intern at Sampad from the University of Birmingham. As part of my interning experience, I have been able to explore different parts of Sampad’s work and was able to take part in their session at Moseley Road Baths.

While the ‘From City of Empire to City of Diversity’ touring exhibition is temporarily residing at Moseley Baths, Sampad has had an amazing opportunity to have a session with the ‘Chat and Splash’ group.

It has been a special opportunity for Sampad to engage with this unique group of women, who have their own migration stories on their own. The women have come to Birmingham from different parts of the world, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Croatia. The group provides them with a safe space to improve their English language skills and engage in different activities, including going for a swim afterward.

During Sampad’s session, the women were able to engage with the exhibition and learn more about the photographs and the meanings behind them. Some of them even agreed to share their own stories of their migration to be recorded for the archive. In this way, the exhibition has also become an amazing storytelling platform to explore all the different experiences and celebrate our diversity in the city.