Heritage in our Hands by Maryam Huq
Maryam Huq is collaborating with the Wellbeing Club at Azhar Academy Girls School as part of the East London Creative Communities project, commissioned by Culture Within Newham. The project aims to promote student wellness and confidence through creative, art-based workshops that explore personal identity and heritage.
Maryam facilitated taster sessions inspired by traditional crafts around the world, including:
Metal engraving and embossing
Traditional embroidery
Carving
Print making
Through these mediums, Maryam aims to encourage the young people to reflect on their backgrounds and consider how these factors inform their lived experiences. The initiative facilitates an opportunity for young Muslim women to tell their own stories and connect with the local communities of Newham in a new and exciting way.
Consistent with our East London Creative Communities Projects, this collaboration will result in a tangible artistic outcome. The artwork created during the sessions will be collated and digitally collaged to form the basis of a large-format wall mural.
Founded in 1996, Azhar Academy Girls School has been part of the fabric of Newham for over 28 years. While the original school building was centrally located along Romford Road, the new campus resides in Stratford in a less public-facing space. Therefore, this installation is designed to offer visibility and representation for the community of students and teachers, who form a small but vital part of the borough. To complete the piece, Maryam will weave in her own illustrative practice inspired by conversations held during her visits to the school.
About East London Creative Communities
East London Creative Communities is a partnership between the four Creative People and Places programmes based in East London. Colours of Redbridge, Culture Within Newham, Havering Changing, and Creative Barking and Dagenham will each support a group of artists to create new public work for our communities.
Each artist participated in a bespoke training programme designed and delivered by Art School Plus in February 2025. The week-long programme facilitated by artist and Glasgow Women’s Library founder Adele Patrick was specifically tailored to artists working in East London, and focus on the skills and knowledge they’ll need to deliver community-led and co-creation projects in public settings.
Maryam Huq is a published illustrator, facilitator, and Trainee Cultural Producer. Her artistic practice is deeply informed by her Bangladeshi heritage and British upbringing. She facilitates spaces that encourage participants to reminisce on their own lived experiences and explore their connections to culture.
Maryam has previously worked with clients including the Southbank Centre, London Borough of Newham, Discover Story Centre, and Muslim Women Connect. Her first published illustrated work, ‘Bhorta Bhorta Baby’, was shortlisted for the Inclusive Books for Children Award 2025.
Learn more about Maryam on her website or follow Maryam on Instagram.
About the project partners
About Azhar Academy Girls School
Azhar Academy Girls School (AAGS) in East London is an independent Islamic school providing a combination of National Curriculum and traditional Islamic studies. AAGS aims to blend academic excellence with strong Islamic values for Muslim girls, and is known for its ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted ratings and high GCSE results.
Learn more about the school on their website
East London Creative Communities
Colours of Redbridge, Creative Barking and Dagenham, Culture Within Newham and Havering Changing are part of Creative People and Places (CPP), a national programme from Arts Council England, where local people decide what culture happens in their area. This collaboration in East London champions community-led arts and culture to provide better visibility and creative opportunity across the region.
About Art School Plus
Art School Plus is a training provider and innovator of unique art projects. They are the bridge between artists and projects, supporting the cultural sector and artists with the skills and knowledge to develop mutually beneficial relationships and exciting work. The artists will be supported by Dr Adele Patrick, co-founder of Glasgow Women’s Library, who has been developing innovative cultural projects rooted in equalities and community learning for over 30 years. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Other projects you might be interested in
