New photography exhibition captures community lifein Norwich’s Ihsan Mosque Muslims from Monday 11 June 2024

Museum of Norwich, Bridewell Alley, Norwich, NR2 1AQ
A chance to meet the photographer, Khalil Mitchell, Maria Pavledis (Community Librarian) & Hannah Henderson (Curator of Community History) and see the exhibition before it opens to the public.
A new, touring exhibition by local photographer Khalil Mitchell is opening next month, showcasing a series of stunning photographs of the vibrant and diverse community based at The Ihsan Mosque, in Chapelfield, Norwich, home to one of the longest-standing British Muslim communities in the UK.

The exhibition opens to the public at The Museum of Norwich on Monday 11 June 2024, and will then travel around local libraries, popping up in Earlham Library on 2 July, Wymondham Library on 9 September and North Walsham Library on 25 September.
This small, touring exhibition has been developed in a partnership between Khalil Mitchell, Norfolk Library & Information Service (NLIS) and Norfolk Museums Service (NMS) and has been generously funded by the Norwich Freemen’s Charity.

The idea for an exhibition took seed at calligraphy sessions held in Norfolk Libraries in 2019, which inspired cultural conversations around Islam and the lives of Muslims in Norfolk today. These events were attended by members of the local Muslim community, including Khalil Mitchell, who came along to photograph the event. From this, the idea for a photographic exhibition developed.

The COVID 19 pandemic ended plans for a physical exhibition, but Community Librarian Maria Pavledis continued to work with Khalil Mitchell to develop an online photographic exhibition, which was hosted online as part of Black History Month 2020. This attracted a great deal of media interest and was featured by the BBC. Interest in the exhibition caught the public’s imagination and coverage went viral and international: Black History Month 2020: Norwich photographer documents Muslim community - BBC News

During the pandemic, members at the Ihsan Mosque continued their charitable work creating a soup kitchen during Ramadan, delivering to self-isolating households, and supporting small businesses through the establishment of the regular Norwich Free Market, to help people recover from the effects of lockdown. These efforts were commended with a ‘Point of Light Award’ by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Khalil was there to record the life of the community at this time with photographs capturing occasions such as outdoor worship or a socially distanced visit to Mousehold Heath to watch the moonrise.

Since the pandemic, Maria Pavledis, Community Librarian, NLIS, and Hannah Henderson, Curator of Community History at the Museum of Norwich, NMS, have been working together with Khalil to develop a small touring exhibition, comprising of around 30 photographs. It is intended that the exhibition will then become an online archive as part of Picture Norfolk, Norfolk County Council’s online photographic collection, with potential for touring to other venues.

Khalil Mitchell describes his ambition for the project:
“My name is Khalil Mitchell and I became Muslim 22 years ago. Soon after moving to Norwich to be part of the established community here in the city, I embraced my desire to show the world our vibrant and dynamic community through photography.
With every photograph I have taken since, I have always hoped it was going to be the ultimate photograph to show people Muslims and Islam. The aspect of Muslim life that I hope I have encapsulated in my photos is that something bigger exists, that there is a means to connect with that bigger thing. People do not know we are here half of the time. We don’t look like the typical Muslims. With my work, I hope it is possible that people’s hearts can be moved through photography.’
Maria Pavledis and Hannah Henderson say: “The exhibition of these unique photographs has developed from creative conversations with members of the Ihsan Mosque and has evolved organically at a significant moment in time. They capture the spirit and essence of this diverse community in Norfolk during and after the pandemic.”