A third week

After a week on holiday I went to catch up with Arry Nessa and find out how the Apna programme has been running. The space looked as lovely as ever - laid out in readiness for a Calligraphy workshop this afternoon to be run by Farzana Patel. 

Arry told me that the third week of the Apna programme has continued to be very busy indeed. The Apna Walks programme was understandably weather-dependent, but the sun brought out  a large group of Asian women anxious to walk together and explore the area. Wednesdays Life Skills session had been a big success, and the henna sessions with Habiba Shenza continue to be popular.  Clearly, local interest in the Apna project is still growing, and we've even been able to let a few groups of women use the space to hold their own meetings. 

One of the few worries has been the lack of running water and toilet facilities, but our very helpful landlord, Dr Lal, visited today and met with the Khans, who rent next door's shop (what was the rest of  the Old Natwest Bank!). It looks as if we'll be given a key and so access when necessary to their facilities. 

Our first week - and into the second!

The first week at the Apna has been really eventful. Arry Nessa has done an incredible job organising and managing the project to this point - and now delivering workshops and sessions. In return she has been meeting lots of interesting and interested people; been excited and stimulated by people's enthusiasm and ideas; and enjoyed the positive spirit that everyone has brought to the space. 

Today, for example, she helped Habiba Shenza deliver a busy taster session in mehndi (above). Then after a brief lunch break the first of the Apna Walks took a group of 15 ladies down to Victoria Park and back (starting gently!). Then Janina Cerbetowicz (below) joined her with some examples of her collection of South Asian textiles, including some extraordinary 'War Rugs' - from the Pakistan/Afghan border region, where motifs from today (cars, helicopters, grenades - see the examples below) are combined with traditional shapes and forms. An unsettling symbiosis of the old and the (unfortunately) contemporary. 

The Apna now looks beautiful; it;'s a calm and tranquil place to visit, and the experience of the first week has been that it also fulfils a need for the community...watch this space!

A week on...

A week on and Arry is about to open the doors at the Apna in Haslingden for its third day. The inevitable rush to complete things - getting the graphic displays on the windows; touching up paintwork; filling holes in the skirting boards; that last vac...and more, was hectic and so it was a pleasure to relax on Wednesday morning, sit down, and open up shop.

So far we've had a lot of interest; and visits from friends, neighbours and people from the community - most wanting to find out what Apna@theOldBank was all about. Arry Nessa, helped by Habiba Shenza,  has done a great job in talking to everyone and explaining our hopes for the space, and she's also been able to sign up a few volunteers to support the work and help run classes and workshops - which start next week.

It's worth saying again that the Apna has grown out of the work of the Different Moons project. The main project is continuing to interview and record stories from the South Asian communities locally, and the Apna has developed as we've discovered in the course of our work that so many people, mainly local women from the Asian communities, feel the lack of having a meeting place locally where they can talk, learn, try new skills - and simply meet one another. The Apna is an attempt to see if we can help with this.