Turn a treasured memory into words, then bring it to life on canvas through poetry and paint in this intimate Outcasts workshop

A poetry and painting workshop with Annum Salman & Shumail Javed

What does a memory look like?

For this Outcasts workshop, poet and theatremaker Annum Salman joins British Pakistani painter Shumail Javed for an intimate afternoon of exploring memories through both words and paint.

From memory to poem

We’ll begin by looking at the ways poets have captured memories on the page. Together, we’ll read and discuss selected poems that explore nostalgia, family, childhood, place, identity and the moments that stay with us.

Rather than simply writing about a memory, we’ll look at how poets transform memory into poetry. We’ll explore a particular writing technique and try it together, before turning our attention inwards.

In a small and supportive space, you’ll be invited to think about a memory that is deeply personal to you. It might be a moment from childhood, a family ritual, a person, a place, a celebration, an ordinary day that somehow stayed with you, or something you remember through a particular sound, smell, colour or feeling.

We’ll take time to sit with that memory and think beyond what happened. Why has this moment stayed with you? What does it tell you about yourself, your family, your culture or where you come from? How has it shaped you? What do you feel when you return to it now?

You’ll then have your own time and space to write, using the technique we’ve explored to create a poem centred around your memory.

We’ll come back together to share our pieces, listen to each other's stories, and think about the different ways a single memory can be held and remembered.

From poem to painting

Then, we’ll take those memories from the page onto canvas.

Shumail will guide you through the process of turning your poem and its imagery into a painted scene. You’ll think about the details that make your memory yours: the people, objects, colours, surroundings and small moments that bring it back to life.

Working with acrylic paint on canvas, Shumail will help you explore how to capture a memory visually, whether you consider yourself an artist or have never picked up a paintbrush before.

By the end of the workshop, you'll have:

A poem inspired by a memory that is personal to you

Your own acrylic painting of that memory on canvas

A custom digital print file of your artwork emailed to you after to print

All painting materials will be provided. No previous writing or painting experience is needed.

About the instructors

Annum Salman is a Pakistani poet, theatremaker and creative producer based in London. She is the founder of Outcasts on the Mic, a South Asian diaspora spoken-word platform creating space for poets and storytellers outside the traditional literary circuit. Annum has been writing and facilitating creative writing workshops for several years, using poetry and storytelling to explore identity, culture, memory and personal experience.

Shumail Javed is a British Pakistani self-taught painter based in London. Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, her work explores Pakistani and South Asian culture through stories of women, family, identity and everyday life. Drawing on colours, patterns, textiles, clothing, architecture and traditions from her own cultural background, her paintings bring different stories and details together to create larger narratives.

Together, we'll explore what happens when a memory becomes a poem, and a poem becomes a painting.

Come with a memory. Leave with a poem and a painting.

Description supplied by the event organiser.