‘Where Were You Last Summer?’ is an exhibition at Arts Centre Washington that platforms the voices of South Asian women against the backdrop of last summer’s violence and unrest.

The riots that erupted in the UK last year were among the most shocking of recent times, but this exhibition offers a pointed response to them. A collaboration between Sehr Jalil and Padma Rao (that’s her piece ‘The Girl Who Bought a Whisper’ – pictured) it sees the artists exploring the underlying currents of post-colonial identity set in context of those riots through personal stories and use of archives. Rao worked with the Bangladeshi communities on Wearside and South Tyneside as well as with organisations such as Sangini, a women’s health organisation, to explore stories of resilience. Rao: “You don’t often see South Asian women on the frontlines of protests, but that’s not to say they aren’t activists. There’s a history of South Asian women being part of the suffragette movement and anti-racist movement in Britain.” JL

Where Were You Last Summer? until 30 August, Arts Centre Washington, sunderlandculture.org.uk/arts-centre-washington