Shamiyana

Shamiyana is a vibrant, block-printed canopy co-created with community groups across Wandsworth, inspired by the traditional South Asian ceremonial tent. Rooted in the cultural symbolism of gathering, shelter, and celebration, the installation brings together hundreds of hand-printed textile panels made during joyful community workshops held throughout summer 2025.

Participants of all ages—elders, families, young people, and women’s groups—worked with traditional carved woodblocks and contemporary pattern-making tools to create motifs representing memory, belonging, and heritage. Each printed square retains the texture of individual hands, the imperfections of ink, and the stories offered during the making process.

Suspended overhead, Shamiyana becomes a shared sky: a collective artwork woven from culture, memory, and the beautifully messy act of co-creation. Part of Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture 2025 and supported by a South Asian Heritage Month grant.

The idea for Shamiyana grew from a desire to honour the cultural rituals of South Asian communities while creating an inclusive space for every resident of Wandsworth. Traditional shamiyanas are temporary structures used for weddings, gatherings, festivals, and rites of passage—places where people meet, celebrate, and mark important life moments.

In a borough rich with diaspora heritage, this project became an invitation to share those stories publicly. Workshops were intentionally designed to echo the communal, celebratory spirit of the shamiyana itself: lively, welcoming, cross-generational, and full of colour. What emerged was not just an artwork but a cultural meeting point, created with care and shaped by hundreds of everyday makers across the borough.