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The Whitechapel Gallery is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please contact access@whitechapelgallery.org if you would like to discuss a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.
– Information about access on site at the gallery is available here https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/visit/access/
– This includes information about Lift access; Borrowing wheelchairs & seating; Assistance Animals; Parking; Toilets and baby care facilities; Blind & Partially Sighted Visitors; Subtitles and transcripts; British Sign Language (BSL) and hearing induction loops; Deaf Messaging Service (DMS).
About This Event
– This event takes place in the Gallery 2 at Whitechapel Gallery, located on the ground floor.
– The day time installation in Gallery 2 is free and drop in
– You must purchase a ticket to attend the evening talk. Concession tickets are available. If you require a Personal Assistant to support your attendance, we can offer them a seat free of charge, but it must be arranged in advance.
– The talk lasts approximately 1 hour. There are no rest breaks currently scheduled during this event.
– If the ticket price affects your attendance, please email tickets@whitechapelgallery.org to be added to the guest list (no questions asked, but dependent on availability).
– This event is suitable for those over the age of 16
– We are unable to provide British Sign Language interpretation for this event
– We are unable to provide live closed captioning or CART for this event.
– An audio recording of the event can be obtained by emailing publicprogrammes@whitechapelgallery.org following the event.
Transport
– To the best of our knowledge, there are no planned disruptions to local transport on the date of the event.
– Our nearest train station – Aldgate East Underground (1 min) is not wheelchair accessible. The closest wheelchair accessible stations are Whitechapel (15 min), Shoreditch High Street (15 min) or Liverpool Street (15 min).
– Free parking for Blue Badge holders is available at the top of Osborn Street in the pay and display booths for an unlimited period. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Live Recording
Please note: we audio record all events for the Whitechapel Gallery Archive and possible future online publication via Soundcloud.
Supported by the Mubarak Ali Foundation
Join us for a day-long exhibition by artist Laisul Hoque in collaboration with Oitij-jo, mediating on the multiplicity of the Bangladeshi and British Bengali experience through the lens of diasporic food cultures, hybridity and tradition, and kinship.
Daytime installation: 12pm-5.30pm | Free & no booking required
During the day, visitors are invited to interact with Hoque’s latest sculptural installation, which features an antique sodium-lit “Bangladeshi sweet shop” display counter. The counter offers two ingredients visitors can use to recreate the artist’s father’s favourite snack: fried chickpea flour balls soaked in sugar syrup and seasoned fried gram flour flakes. This interactive installation, titled An Ode to All the Flavours, is rooted in the artist’s earliest emotive memory of paternal love.
The installation is open from 12 pm to 5:30 pm, free of charge and open to all.
Evening installation, conversation & food: 6pm-8.30pm | £5 ticket
The event continues from 6pm with a conversation moderated by Laisul Hoque, between Maher Anjum, founder of Oitij-jo Kitchen—a social enterprise supporting British Bangladeshi women by bringing traditional Bengali home-cooked cuisine into the public sphere—and Sameera Wadood, a chef reimagining Bangladeshi cuisine using regional ingredients and traditional references. Together, they will explore what “tradition” and “authenticity” mean in the context of hybrid cultures, focusing on the intersectional experiences of the Bangladeshi and British Bengali diaspora.
Following the discussion, Oitij-jo will offer sample tasters of foods referenced in the conversation, prepared by Sameera Wadood with support from Oitij-jo Kitchen staff.
Tickets for the evening discussion and tasting are £5 and must be booked in advance due to limited capacity.
After the talk, the gallery will remain open until 9pm, providing a chance for guests to gather, enjoy a drink, and reflect on the evening’s themes.
This event is presented by Laisul Hoque and done in partnership with Oitij-jo.
Laisul Hoque is an artist from Dhaka, based in London. Drawing from his memories and lived experiences, he creates image-based works and installations that explore and decode microhistories and their global impacts. His practice investigates communication, miscommunication, and adopts a reparative reading of the past. By creating spaces to revisit societal norms and traditions, and advocating for the recognition of adverse elements, Hoque imagines how we can act in society.
Maher Anjum is the Director of Oitij-jo and founder of Oitij-jo Kitchen, with over 20 years of experience in developing evidence-based projects and building public-private partnerships to advance social progress and sustainable opportunities for under-resourced communities in East London. She launched Oitij-jo Kitchen as a women-led café and events space through a successful crowdfunding campaign, gradually expanding it into a core team of 20 British Bangladeshi women. This collective now operates the catering service at Rich Mix, bringing traditional Bengali home-cooked food into the public sphere and supporting British Bangladeshi women in East London to achieve employment and economic independence.
Sameera Wadood is a chef, celebrated for reinterpreting traditional Bangladeshi flavours with a modern touch. Drawing on her multicultural background and diverse culinary techniques, she highlights regional ingredients often overlooked in fine dining through a distinctly Bangladeshi lens. Her philosophy centres on storytelling through food, with each dish reflecting the experiences of a modern, globally connected individual. Known for her sold-out pop-up dinners from Dhaka to New York, Sameera will make her London debut at Whitechapel Gallery, where she will speak and offer guests a tasting experience featuring her innovative Bangladeshi-inspired creations.
Oitij-jo fosters collaboration among creative practitioners to boost British-Bengali interaction globally. Our mission is to drive social and economic progress by connecting cultures, fostering innovative narratives, and celebrating the rich heritage of the Bengali diaspora since 2013.
OITIJ-JO Kitchen is a women-led project of the OITIJ-JO Collective, an arts and training charity dedicated to promoting awareness of Bengali culture. It is based in Rich Mix.
OITIJ-JO Kitchen aims to bring traditional and creative Bangladeshi cuisine to the public and to disrupt the gender norms of hospitality and catering sector by providing training and employment opportunities to people who are generally underrepresented in kitchen and front of house roles.
OITIJ-JO Kitchen’s speciality is delicious slow-cooked, home-style Bangladeshi food that gives time to health and wellbeing. We love to serve a wide range of customers of all ages and from all walks of life, especially people who might not have tried home cooked Bangladeshi food before. We started out of grassroots action in Tower Hamlets and have a strong belief supporting home-grown talent and celebrating our borough and the diverse community of London.
The Mubarak Ali Foundation (MAF), founded by Amreen Bashir and Tanveer Ali, is committed to preserving cultural heritage and promoting artistic excellence, uplifting both Bangladeshi and diaspora artists. Collaborating with respected institutions across the UK and Asia, the foundation aims to amplify the global presence of Bangladeshi art. MAF’s support of the Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze London reflects this mission, emphasizing its dedication to elevating Bangladeshi and diaspora art on a global scale. Through these initiatives and more, the foundation celebrates the diverse richness of Bangladeshi artistic expression worldwide.
For more details, visit: http://mubarakalifoundation.org
