Voices of East Bank Project Lead

Lydia is a Project Leader who specialises in co-producing histories with communities. She believes that how people feel while participating in a history project is just as important as the memories that they share. Her projects focus on building connection and understanding between different communities, especially platforming minoritised and migrant experiences. She strongly believes we can build trust and empathy by respecting and listening to different perspectives. Lydia’s background is in History and International Development, specialising in workshop facilitation with refugee and migrant groups. She has also campaigned for migrant rights both nationally and within London.

Voices of East Bank Project Sponsor

Ruth is currently Head of Landscape & Public Realm for London Legacy Development Corporation looking after Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as estate of developing neighbourhoods, and parkland. She is a Chartered Landscape Architect who has worked for the public, private and voluntary sectors on large scale construction and regeneration projects, policy/strategy/guidance as well as National Lottery Heritage Fund projects such as this.

Lecturer in Public History, UCL East

Anna is a Lecturer in Public History. She is a historian of migration, war, and empire in twentieth-century Britain and the British Empire. She is currently working on a history of sanctuary for refugees in Britain from 1950 to 2000. She is also interested in history education, co-production and collaborative public history approaches. Anna joined UCL in 2022 from Queen Mary, University of London, where she was a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. She has previously taught at King’s College London.

Website Designer & Illustrator

Shanice is a freelance Digital Designer & Illustrator with a background in architecture. Skilled in digital design, brand, and creative direction, she’s had the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients across Europe & USA focused on interactive experiences responding to context and communities. She is passionate about creating experiences that are engaging, inclusive, and meaningful. Her favourite thing about being a designer is the ability to tell stories - how we can foster design to connect and make people feel something.

Evaluation Consultant

Laura is an Oral Historian, Project Manager, and Heritage Engagement Consultant who works with museums, galleries, communities, and organisations across the UK to deliver meaningful engagement with the past. She works with communities to record and share their stories, in their own words and on their terms. Her work is socially engaged, relevant, sustainable, and community-focused to bring joy and push the boundaries of what museums and organisations are, and who they are for. Laura is passionate about building meaningful relationships with individuals and communities by engaging people with cultural and personal heritage.

Community Engagement Manager

Renea dedicates her role to driving and steering community-led innovations aimed at improving the quality of life for residents, with a particular focus on dismantling challenges that hinder social cohesion. She firmly believes that communities should be empowered to initiate their revolutions to address the problems they face. Through her work, Renea strives to build capacity and foster bonding within communities, creating a safe space to address their needs and develop strategies for positive change. She holds the belief that the best practices of social action are achieved through collaboration, access to education, and fostering healthy engagement.

The Cockney Sikh, Expert Artist

Suresh Singh was born in 1962 in Princelet Street, Spitalfields. During the 1970s, at the when the National Front were active in the area surrounding Brick Lane, growing up Suresh experienced racist violence and harassment both at school in Bethnal Green and elsewhere, Suresh went on to become one of the first Punjabi punks, playing the drums for Spizzenenergi on their single “Where’s Captain Kirk?’ on Rough Trade Records and joining their tour with Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure in 1979. Later he studied architecture at UCL Bartlett School of Architecture and worked on the restoration of a number of Georgian houses in Spitalfields. Suresh Singh is Author of ‘A Modest living: Memoirs of a Cockney Sikh.’ Published by Spitalfields Life. Suresh tells the candid and sometimes surprising story of his father Joginder Singh who came to Spitalfields in 1949. Joginder sacrificed a life in the Punjab to work in Britain and send money home, yet he found himself in his element living among the mishmash of people who inhabited the streets around Brick Lane.

Curly Wordy, Expert Artist

Bow-born, writer, spoken word poet, play therapist, and author Louise Hale aka Curly Wordy is driven by the healing power of words and the unsung stories that live in all of us. Her poetry draws on lived experience to shine a light on brave narratives that speak of thriving through adversity, healing from trauma, finding a voice in feelings, and all the ups and downs in life that build our bones. Louise draws on a multitude of skillsets- community journalism, teaching, and therapy to fuel her poetry. As a poet, she has performed headline gigs across the capital. As a play therapist, she supports children and young people with their mental health and well-being. She recently performed with Women’s Refuge alongside a choir. She has worked with Kings College and Traumascape as well as Mental Health Movement Thrive LDN on campaigns dedicated to changing the narrative around mental health.

Expert Artist

Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq is a Deaf artist based in London. She has worked in East London for many years and is a practicing artist who exhibits her works internationally. Rubbena runs art workshops that allow deaf people to communicate and explore their culture and deaf identities by using art as a form of communication. In addition to her art practice, Rubbena is a qualified Art Psychotherapist who works part-time for the NHS Deaf CAMHS and provides therapeutic services to a Deaf school. She is also Chair of the Deaf Ethnic Women’s Association (DEWA).

Film Director

Bim Ajadi is a London-based filmmaker and a 2020 BAFTA Breakthrough Honouree. He has worked in the film & TV industry for over 15 years, beginning his editing career with a Channel 4 disability scheme, and then working at many post houses. Bim later fulfilled a lifelong dream to become a director and self-shooter. As a collaborative director, he is committed to inspiring change and championing the under-represented both behind and in front of the camera. Bim more recently directed a new short drama Night Shift produced by Slick Films, that has had numerous nominations and won the Founded Award at the British Short Film Awards. Bim is profoundly deaf, which gives him a strong visual perspective.