Razia

“My chattri piece, the soundscape, I’m calling it chalayn ge, it’s really an opportunity to bring some kind of healing and restoration to all those stories…”

Razia is a creative practitioner, writer, composer and singer based in Lewes. She has a longstanding and deep relationship with the landscapes that make up South Downs National Park.

Last year she was involved in the creation of The Witness Stand as part of the Brighton Festival. The Witness Stand is an immersive soundscape and live performance. As part of the project she sang at the Chattri War memorial in the South Downs National Park, a memorial dedicated to Hindu soldiers that died during the First World War. She often hikes in the South Downs with her partner and her son, and has done so for many years.

Born in London to Indian Muslim parents, Razia spent the first six years of her life in West Africa, and on returning to the UK had the experience of being an ‘immigrant’. Growing up on a staple of anti-imperialist and feminist ideas, these formative years ignited a life-long interest in, and engagement with, questions of diversity, equality and inclusion.