Who We Are
Kainaat (کائنات, कायनात) is Urdu for The Universe. A word featuring in the mother tongues of all the artists currently in our collective; a testament to our shared histories. We are first-generation global majority migrants to the UK at various stages of our migration journeys including refugee and post-study route individuals. We are queer and multi-faith, and endeavour to uphold anti-caste and anti-imperial values. Our art is multidisciplinary and multi-lingual, spanning puppetry, poetry, song, dance, film and other visual arts. We perform as individual artists, in curated shows together and offer community workshops. All of our work centres Migration and its varied intersections.
What We Do
Kainaat birthed from a need for us as migrant artists in the seaside town of Bournemouth to come together for collective bargaining power and mutual aid networking. Living in a white majority area we found ourselves dealing with challenges like lack of representation, gatekeeping, language and cultural barriers, Islamophobia, and how immigration systemically disenfranchises artists. In coming together to form Kainaat we have formed a support network where we advocate for ourselves and mentor each other. Leading with connection and community, we feel ever more inspired by the natural beauty of the Dorset landscape and better able to draw on the support of our allies and critical friends in the area.
We began as a workshop series for migrant artists in 2023 with funding and support from Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth. We formally formed ourselves as a collective in late 2023 and have since been commissioned by BEAF Arts Co to perform shows at their summer festival 2023 and Refugee Week programme 2024. We have also been commissioned by Bournemouth Writing Festival in 2023 for their poetry finale. We have received further commissioning from DEED Global Education in 2024 to perform at Vita Nova’s venue. We have performed at Wilkswood Reggae Festival, We Out Here festival and Dorset Radical Bookfair. In 2025, we re-introduced our workshops with the support of The Lighthouse, Poole. We also received National Lottery funding in 2025 to further build capacity and sustain our cause.
Aanka (she/they)
Founding Director
Aanka is an artist and educator and community organiser. She is on the steering group of Migrant Voice’s campaign against increasing visa fees. She has done community support work with migrants experiencing domestic violence in Bournemouth. She facilitates community theatre, writes and performs poetic monologues and works as a visiting academic. Her recent work includes performing at the launch of the Our Freedom project at The Lighthouse, Poole and running forum theatre workshops for students at London Interdisciplinary School to facilitate conversations around intersectionality and geo-political fascism in the classroom.
Hassan Farooq (he/him)
Hassan is a Pakistani poet who learnt poetry and other art forms by virtue of being surrounded by them. The sounds, flavours, and verses of home have shaped his poetry. Inspired by the artistic history of South Asia and its rich spiritual tapestry, he speaks of the trials and tribulations of being a migrant person.
Hassan mainly writes Ghazal and Azaad Nazm in Urdu. He also writes and performs in English.
Chanda Mwamba (they/them/she)
Chanda Mwamba is a zambian multimedia artist based in Johannesburg and Bournemouth.
Through their work and other creative projects, they explore culture and building community through pre-colonial Bemba folktales and storytelling. They often engage with their art through holding spaces for conversation, textile and sound and animation.
They are also passionate about education and how the application of “Ubuntu” can create humanity in a world that is increasingly diminishing.
Prajvi Mandhani (she/her)
Prajvi is a multidisciplinary artist from India living in the UK, working across video, sound, performance, drawing and installation. She is interested in researching intersections of climate and social justice with her creative practices.
Her most recent projects include Soft Meanderings, a performance collaboration with video artist Rosa Prosser at the Riverside Studios, and Connected Grounds, an exhibition as part of her residency with Bournemouth Emerging Arts. Her film Endlessly Hungry has been screened internationally, including Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival in Switzerland, Blackpool Film Festival in the UK, Goa Short Film Festival in India and is also shortlisted for the BFI Futures Film Festival 2025.
Current Partners
Previous Partners
