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. 

Partners