Our Voices, Our Stories: Celebrating the South Asian heritage of Calderdale’s
textiles industry
Two exhibitions in Halifax are reclaiming the overlooked stories of the South Asian
community whose work, creativity, and resilience powered the area’s textile industry
from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Humari Aawaz (Our Voices) at The Piece Hall and Humari Kahaniyan (Our Stories)
at Calderdale Industrial Museum bring those experiences vividly to life through
photography, illustration, film and oral history. Together, they form a heartfelt
celebration of community, belonging, and contribution — led by Leeds-based artist
Natasha Joseph and illustrator Ekaterina Sheath as part of their ongoing work with
We Belong Here CIC.
Commissioned by Calderdale Council and Everybody Arts, the project forms part of
a wider movement to shine a light on the region’s rich multicultural heritage, one
that’s often missing from the official narratives of industrial Britain.
“Many in Halifax had never heard about the contributions of South Asian migrants in
the mills,” says Natasha Joseph. “By sharing these memories through art, we’re
celebrating a crucial part of Calderdale’s history and showing younger generations
that their community’s heritage matters. At a time when conversations about identity
and belonging are so important, it feels vital to remember and preserve the rich
multicultural heritage of this country and make more space for it in the future.”
Over the past year, Joseph and Sheath have worked closely with South Asian
residents from the area to gather deeply personal recollections of mill life, from the
camaraderie of night shifts to the pride of women sewing piecework at home. These
stories will also inspire a new 65-metre public artwork planned for Hatters Fold in the
town centre, part of the Art and About Trail.
At The Piece Hall’s Community Gallery, Humari Aawaz features floor-to-ceiling mural
panels, co-created photography, and a creative space where visitors can add their
own memories of migration, work, and home. The show runs until 23 October 2025
and is free to enter.
“Our aim was to weave together the personal and the historical,” says illustrator and
co-curator Ekaterina Sheath. “Drawing inspiration from South Asian architectural
motifs, vibrant colour palettes and personal histories, we wanted to create something dynamic and authentically rooted in community.”
Humari Kahaniyan continues the story at Calderdale Industrial Museum (until 22
November 2025), combining oral histories, archival material and creative artworks
that highlight the South Asian contribution to Calderdale’s textile heritage.
“I personally believe this to be the most significant exhibition we have hosted since
the Terry Sutton Gallery opened,” says David Millichope, Chair of Calderdale
Industrial Museum Association. “It marks a commitment to recognising a shared
heritage that has too often been overlooked.”
The exhibitions are part of an ambitious community-led process. Every element, from
colour palettes to story selection, has been shaped by a local steering group. The
collected oral histories will be preserved in the museum’s permanent archive,
ensuring these vital voices are remembered for generations to come.
And this is far from the end. Joseph and Sheath plan to grow the project in scale and
reach, continuing their mission to use art as a way of amplifying unheard voices.
About the artists
Natasha Joseph is an artist and creative producer from Bangalore, India. After
graduating from Leeds Arts University in 2019, she founded We Belong Here CIC to
make art accessible for migrant and marginalised communities. Her socially engaged practice focuses on co-creation and community storytelling. She’s delivered more than 500 workshops, created murals across West Yorkshire, and works as a creative practitioner for Bradford 2025: UK City of Culture.
Ekaterina Sheath is an illustrator and curator based in Leeds. A graduate of Leeds
Arts University, her work explores how illustration can make local heritage accessible
and engaging. Her clients include Historic England, Leeds City Museum, and Leeds
City Council, and she’s been shortlisted twice for the World Illustration Awards. In
2022, Creative Boom named her one of its “Twenty Most Exciting Illustrators to
Follow.”
Together, Natasha and Ekaterina’s partnership blends mural art, illustration, and
community engagement. Their joint projects – including SWISH, a youth-led
basketball court mural in Halifax, Lost Leeds, a British Library-commissioned
heritage project, and now Humari Aawaz and Humari Kahaniyan – have been praised
for their authenticity, inclusivity and emotional resonance. Each one transforms local
stories into art that connects people to place and to each other.