About Kajal
Kajal Nisha Patel (b.1979) is an award winning photographer and filmmaker, working between the UK and India.
Since 2005, she has documented the British South Asian experience, concentrating on issues around cultural conflict and bereavement, assimilation and the formation of new identities. Areas of research include colonial and postcolonial histories of India, legacies of trade and its consequences upon people, place and memory.
Kajal’s interests in migration and human rights have led her to research the marginalised experiences and multiple identities of British South Asian women. This work has facilitated Kajal to start gathering the fragmented pieces of her heritage and reconcile familial (particularly female) experiences of imperialism, colonialism, patriarchy, racism and the indignity of poverty. Through this work, she has been awarded the Leverhulme Artist in Residence at The University of Leicester until December 2016.
Kajal is also the founder of Lightseekers social enterprise, which uses photography and storytelling as a platform to learn about and engage with important social issues. It is a cross-cultural education project, which delivers workshops to low-income areas.
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