Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora (Panjabi, Brummie, artist, mother and educator) is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist whose work focuses on a socially engaged practice, working with local communities. She is interested in celebrating untold stories while exploring visual representations of gender, ethnicity and place.
Dhaliwal-Boora creates work with the aim to empower and give voice to marginalised communities. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Wembley Stadium, UN Headquarters New York, New Art Exchange Nottingham, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Manchester’s People Museum, and has been widely published, including in The Sunday Times, The Royal Photographic Society Journal and The Guardian. She has won numerous prizes, including the British Journal of Photography's Portrait of Britain award for three consecutive years in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and the jurors pick for the LensCulture Art Photography Award 2024.
In June 2024 Jaskirt will have a solo exhibition of new work Green Spaces, at Ikon Gallery . Working with Ikon and Living Well Consortium Green Spaces will raise awareness of, and engagement with, topics centred on mental health and wellbeing. Dhaliwal-Boora will work with communities, taking photographic portraits against the backdrop of the city’s green spaces, and exploring the benefits of nature to our health.
Jaskirt founded @womeninphotobham, a bi-monthly social event for women photographers in the W.Midlands in Jan 2023. Women in Photo Bham had it's first open call exhibition and mentorship programme in collaboration with Centrala and POST Collective in March 2024.
In 2023 her DYCP funded work, Healing from Trauma, culminated in 2 short films that were screened at Grand Unions gallery in Oct 2023. She has also been commissioned by West Midlands Police to make new work, A Place Called Home, on generational trauma in collaboration with 4 young women. This has been made into a photo book and a permanent exhibition at West Midlands Police station, and the portrait of Tiegan has won British Journal of Photography's Portrait of Britain award and LensCulture Photo Art Jurors Pick award.
Dhaliwal-Boora made Inhale, Exhale a short film commissioned by BBC Arts and People, Place and Sport, a large scale photographic exhibition in partnership with Multistory and Birmingham 2022 Festival.
People, Place and Sport was exhibited in multiple outdoor exhibitions across Sandwell and Birmingham from April - August 2022 and includes the BJP (British Journal of Photography) Portrait of Britain award winning image of thai-boxer Amelia and open water swimmer Natalie.
In 2020-1 Jaskirt collaborated with women's refuge Birmingham Crisis Centre and published a zine, Aurat ki Himmat. These projects explore personal stories through portraits, details of place and conversations through workshops and interviews.
Dhaliwal-Boora has 12 portraits from Birmingham Lockdown Stories included in the permanent collection of BMAG (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery), including the BJP Portrait of Britain awarding winning photo of Dr Mavi. This work was commissioned by GRAIN Projects in 2020 and in January 2021 sold out as Boora's first self published book.
Awards
2024 LensCulture Art Photography Award 2024, Jurors Pick for the portrait of Tiegan and Alfie from body of work A Place Called Home
2024 Winner of BJP Portrait of Britain award, Vol.6 for the portrait of Tiegan and Alfie from body of work A Place Called Home
2023 Shortlist for Women Behind the Lens award (theme Space and Place) for work People, Place and Sport
2022 Winner of BJP Portrait of Britain, Vol.5. for the portrait of Amelia from People, Place and Sport and shortlist for portrait of Natalie.
2021 Winner of BJP (British Journal of Photography) Portrait of Britain Vol.4 for the portrait of Dr Mavi from Birmingham Lockdown Stories
2021 Shortlist for Women Behind the Lens award for work Mitti di Khushboo
2021 RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists) Photography first prize winner (£1000 award) for portrait of Aabidah Shah from Birmingham Lockdown Stories
2012 Magnum & Ideas Tap Photography Award for the Everyday Olympian body of work
2007 Photo Imaging Council Award for Women's Football body of work
Selected Commissions | Projects
2024 Ikon Gallery, Green Spaces exhibition. The new work is to be made with Ikon and Living Well Charity and will be exhibited in June 2024
2024 Producer and creator of the inaugural Women in Photo Birmingham exhibition at Centrala on 1 March as part of Digbeth First Friday
2023 West Midlands Police commission, including the production and curation of two exhibitions and photo book A Place Called Home
2023 Healing from Trauma, DYCP (Arts Council England) funded
2022-23 Selected for TRACE Mentorship, a year long mentorship programme culminating with a group exhibition in London 2023
2022 BBC Arts commission short film Inhale, Exhale for BBC iPlayer
2021-22 Birmingham 2022 Festival commission People, Place and Sport, 10 outdoor large scale exhibitions and a self published book. Working in Partnership with Multistory and supported by ACE and National Heritage funding.
2020-21 Zine publication of Aurat ki Himmat (A Woman's Strength), raising £500 for women's refuge Birmingham Crisis Centre. A HG31 Homegrown commission.
2020-21 Coventry Culture commission to photograph cyclists for the Gearing Up exhibition at Coventry Transport Museum and along the Coventry canals.
2020 GRAIN Projects commission Birmingham Lockdown Stories.
2018-19 Multistory commission of Mitti Di Khushboo for the Blast! Photography Festival.
2012 Kalaboration & Cultural Olympiad commission for Everyday Olympian.
2008 British Asian Musicians, funded by Arts Council England.
2006-7 Women's Football commission and award from The Photo Imaging Council
Exhibitions
Gender & Gesture: Thinking Beyond the Visual, exhibition in the Foyer Gallery University for the Creative Arts Farnham, March 2024
Women in Photo Birmingham exhibition at Centrala as part of Digbeth First Friday on 1 March 2024
A Place Called Home, West Bromwich Police Station, permanent display, Nov 2023
A Place Called Home, Blackheath library, Oct-Nov 2023
Healing From Trauma and I am the Storm film screenings, Grand Union Gallery, October 2023
Inhale, Exhale film screenings, Flatpack Festival, shown in various venues since 2022. The latest of which at Moseley Road Baths Sept 2023
Healing From Trauma, permanent display at Birmingham Crisis Centre, July 2023 onwards
Birmingham Lockdown Stories, Birmingham City Council House, April 2022 – Ongoing
Arjan, When football has no division, Wolverhampton Museum and Art Gallery, July - September 2023
Amelia, BJP Portrait of Britain winning image, JCB digital screens, January 2023
Portraits from MAC Labs residency, MAC at 60 exhibition, Midlands Art Centre, Sept - Nov 2022
Birmingham Lockdown Stories, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, March - October 2022
People, Place and Sport main outdoor exhibit at Sandwell Valley Country Park, July-August 2022
People, Place and Sport, 8 community locations including Bournville Green, Birmingham Coach Station, Moseley Road Baths, St Pauls Square, Haden Hill Leisure Centre in Rowley Regis, Hadley Stadium in Smethwick, Wednesbury Leisure Centre and West Bromwich Leisure Centre, April - August 2022
People, Place and Sport, Birmingham 2022 Victoria Square Live Site, August 2022
Portraits from SAMPAD workshops, From City of Empire, to city of Diversity exhibition, Library of Birmingham, March - July 2022
Birmingham Lockdown Stories, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) Photography Open Exhibition, July - Sept 2021
Birmingham Lockdown Stories, FORMAT International Photography Festival Derby, March - December 2021
Mitti di Khushboo (the Smell of the Land), Lightwoods house, part of the Blast! Photography Festival, 2019
Women’s Football, The Lanchester Gallery, Coventry, 2013
Everyday Olympian, The Drum, Birmingham, 2012
Everyday Olympian, Centro buses in Coventry, 2012
Everyday Olympian, SouthKorea group show, 2012
Everyday Olympian, Foto8 Summershow, London, 2012
Everyday Olympian, Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham, 2012
Women’s Football, Wembley Stadium, 2011
British Asian Musicians, Hereford Photography Festival, 2011
Women’s Football, Etihad Stadium, 2011
The Photography Collective, exhibition at Format Festival, 2011
Women’s Football, Manchester's People Museum, 2011
British Asian Musicians, New Arts Exchange, Nottingham, 2010
Women’s Football, The Public, West Bromwich part of State of Play exhibition, 2010
Women’s Football, St Brendan's gallery, Bristol, 2010
Midlands Art Centre residency exhibition at Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, 2010
Bearwood portraits shown as part of Martin Parrs Show me a Secret exhibition, The Public, West Bromwich, 2010
Women’s Football, Lighthouse Gallery, Wolverhampton, 2009
British Asian Musicians, The Drum, Birmingham, 2009
And’Art artist residency groupexhibition, Tangier Cinemateque, Morocco, 2009
Puti Chappal shown as part ofSuperstitions exhibition at AOP (Association of Photographers) gallery, 2009
Bearwood portraits shown as part of Keylight Studios, London group exhibition, 2009
Sikhism Project, Nishkam Centre, Soho Road, Birmingham, 2009
Women’s Football, Coventry University Gallery, 2007
Women’s Football, UN Headquarters NY, 2007
Women’s Football, NEC, The Photography Show, 2007
Women’s Football, Redditch community hall, Birmingham City Women Football Ground, 2006
Socially Engaged Workshops
In recent years Dhaliwal-Boora has expanded her practice to include participatory workshops with people in her community. This informs and sometimes is the project itself. Some of the community groups and organisations Dhaliwal-Boora has worked with include:
2024 Ikon Gallery and Living Well Birmingham commissioned workshops and photo walks in Erdington as part of the exhibition Green Spaces
2023 Centrala Gallery, The Art of Zine Making workshops with Paulina Korobkiewicz in response to their exhibition Homeland.
2023 WM Police commissioned workshops with four 12-13yr old girls from St Michaels school.
2023 DYCP funded workshops with women's refuge Birmingham Crisis Centre.
2022 GRAIN Projects commission to run workshops with the Canal and River Trust and Oasis Foundry as part of their Faces of 2022 project.
2022 Derby Quad Gallery workshops on shooting portraits.
2021 People, Place and Sport project included a series of 6 workshops with elder women (50+) exploring their life in sport.
2021 SAMPAD workshops with young people in response to the Dyche Archive collection for the From City of Empire, to City of Diversity exhibition. Collages and portraits made in the workshops exhibited at The Library of Birmingham in 2022.
2020-21 Women's Refuge, Birmingham Crisis Centre workshops, culminating in individual zines and the collaborative zine Aurat ki Himmat.
2021 GRAIN Projects leading art workshops with Coventry Migrant and refugee Centre and youth group Grapevine, 2021. Photographs made from the workshop exhibited outdoors in Coventry City Centre in 2021.
2020 GRAIN Projects commission Birmingham Lockdown Stories, included socially engaged workshops via Zoom.
2018-19 Mitti di Khushboo, workshops with family to document their histories and archival photographs.
Artist Talks
2024 (March) Reflector masterclass, GRAIN projects on zoom
2023 (June) POST Collective, zoom online talk
2022 (Nov) London College of Communication, BA Photography Course, in person
2022 (Oct) Ikon Gallery, Small Press Fair reading
2022 (Sept) PostCollective, Instagram Live with Jessica McDermott
2022 (Aug) WorkShowGrow Artist Salon talk, zoom
2022 (Aug) Victoria Square festival live site, in person
2022 (July) New Oscott Primary School, artist talk to primary school children about having a career in the arts, in person
2022 (May) Moseley Road baths, People, Place and Sport artist talk and Q&A with Jess Piete (Multistory)
2022 (May) Bolton University, BA Photography Course, zoom
2021 (May) Kube Gallery, panel discussion on Diversity in British Documentary with Gavin Robinson, Lloyd Ramos, Francheska Roberts, Laura Tobin and Ben Roberts, zoom
2020 (Aug) GRAIN Projects, Photo cafe talk with Anthony Luvera, Liz Wewiora and Nicola Shipley on socially engaged photography
2009 (Nov) Coventry University, BA Photography Course, in person
2008 (July) TheDrum, British Asian Musicians exhibition, in person
Lecturing
2022-Ongoing Birmingham City University, photography lecturer, co-lead of Art & Activism research cluster and BA (Hons) Photography L4 lead co-ordinator
2021-22 Birmingham City University, visiting lecturer
2012-2021 King Edward Sixth Form College, Nuneaton, lecturer in photography and creative media production.
2019-20 Wolverhampton University, visiting lecturer on the L5 photography course
2012 Coventry University, Assistant Photography Lecturer (6month contract)
2010-12 St Brendan's Sixth Form College, photography lecturer
2006-2010 BBC Asian Network, broadcast assistant and interactive content producer
Education
2009-10 PGCE Cert Ed, Wolverhampton University
2004 - 2007 First Class in BA (Hons) Communication, Culture and Media, Coventry University
Books & Publications
Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora has self published her work, as well as having had her work featured in major publications. Here are some of the books, publications and interviews her work has featured in:
2023 a place called Home (WM Police commission)
2022 & 23 & 24 Portrait of Britain book, Hoxton Mini Press
2022 People, Place and Sport book (self published)
2022 The Guardian, Best Shot feature
2022 BBC Midlands Today TV feature
2022 Royal Photographic Journal feature
2022 BBC London and BBC WM radio interviews
2022 & 2008 BBC Asian Network radio interview
2021 Aurat ki Himmat (A Woman's Strength) zine (self published)
2021 & 2011 Format Festival publication
2021 Birmingham Lockdown Stories Book (self published)
2021 Work Show Grow 2021 United publication
2021 No Go Press, 'Home' zine
2021 Redeye blog and interview
2021 Open Eye Gallery Spotlight feature
2020 Cherry Blossom Trees and Birdsong book (self published)
2020 Plastic Childhoods book by Peter Kraftl
2019 Desi blitz website feature and interview
2012 The Sunday Times Magazine
2012 Fierce festival publication
2012 Metro newspaper
2010 The Guardian newspaper
2009 V&A British Asian Style book
2009 Eastern Eye newspaper feature
2008 Birmingham Post feature
2008 Birmingham Mail interview and feature
2007 British Journal of Photography
2007 Time of India newspaper
