A documentary produced by Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture that explores the connection between boxing and calligraphy. The film follows a group of South Asian men from the Tasif Khan Boxing Academy who work with curators from Bradford Museums and Galleries to help curate a new exhibition at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery on the fine art form of calligraphy and its relevance to their culture and faith. Inside the Tasif Khan Boxing Academy in Bradford, a group...

A documentary produced by Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture that explores the connection between boxing and calligraphy. The film follows a group of South Asian men from the Tasif Khan Boxing Academy who work with curators from Bradford Museums and Galleries to help curate a new exhibition at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery on the fine art form of calligraphy and its relevance to their culture and faith. Inside the Tasif Khan Boxing Academy in Bradford, a group of Muslim men are praying. The voiceover: Bradford born World Champion boxer Tasif Khan talks about the challenge of putting boxing and calligraphy on one canvas. Title: Fighting to be Heard As Tasif walks around central Bradford, he talks in voiceover about the importance of the mosque and his Muslim faith growing up. Qaiser Hussain from the Al-Mustafa Centre explains the importance of putting something artistic into whatever you’re doing. As Dr Sohail Ahmed, Trustee of the Tasif Khan Community Boxing Academy, shapes a piece of wood to create a specialised pen he begins to work of a piece of calligraphy. In voiceover he talks about the excellence of the mind that separates a good boxer from a great one. As a group look over piece of calligraphy in the stores at both the British Library in London as well as the Cartwright Art Gallery in Bradford, Sohail Ahmed explains how for the ‘hands of a calligrapher’ it is important to have the sharpness of the mind that hives him excellence while Tasif Khan talks about the links between a boxer and a calligrapher. As young men at the Tasif Khan Boxing Academy exercise and spar, Jill Iredale Curator of Bradford Museums and Galleries talks about what these young men are gaining from learning to box and the need to engage and bring more voices and perspectives into the curation of a new exhibition at Cartwright Hall. As Sohail Ahmed walks over to an easel set up inside the academy, nearby another man sits at a table and uses a brush to write Arabic script onto a piece of paper while around him examples of calligraphy. In the ring Sohail sparring while around the room other taking instruction from Tasif Khan on their fighting styles, some punching punch bags. Tasif walks past Head Coach Nisar Hussain and the two help to coach those in the room while Sohail returns to the easel and begins to write words on the paper. As Sohail Ahmed continues to work on a piece of calligraphy on a table in a hall, he talks about how this art form developed over a thousand years ago. Back in the gym one of the boxers comes over to him and admire the work he is doing and the Persian script he is writing. At a table in the gym Tasif Khan practices his calligraphy skills with the assistance of Sohail. As Sohail continues to work on his calligraphy piece in the academy, Jill Iredale talks in voiceover about the next phase Sohail leads a group from the academy in looking over a selection of copies of manuscripts from national collections at the British Library as they begin to make decisions on what will go in the exhibition. Five of the group including Sohail, Tasif and Jill travel by train to London to visit the British Library where Daniel Lowe Curator of Arabic Collections and Arani Ilankuberan Head of South Asian Collection explain to the group the selections of original works gotten out for them including several versions of the Quran. As Sohail provides additional context to some of the texts, others in the groups take photographs and explain how and why they consider these books as beautiful and why it is important to bring them to Bradford. The group next then visit Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford where other examples of calligraphy works held in Bradford Museums and Galleries collections are brought out for the group to see. Again, as the group look them over Jill Iredale and Sohail Ahmed provide contextual information on their provenance and importance. One of the group, Wahaaj Ul-Haq, talks about the ‘freshness’ of one of the works being shown while Sohail talks with Jill about how he practices his calligraphy skills and how for him ‘something takes over’ when he does the work. Title: Fighting to be Heard Exhibition, Cartwright Art Gallery As the doors to the exhibition space are opened for them Tasif Khan and Sohail Ahmed walk in and look around the space and the items on display which include several early Quran’s as well as a pair of Tasif’s boxing shorts and gloves. The two men talk about the links between boxing and calligraphy and how it has been the conclusion of a long journey and that the items on display are important and relevant to their community. Back at the Tasif Khan Community Boxing Academy as Sohail Ahmed continues to produce calligraphy script around him men boxing or in training. As he talks about how both boxing and calligraphy are very exacting and a lot of training is needed in order to be accurate, a montage of clips featured in the film of the exhibition being put together. As he works on another piece of art, he talks about what calligraphy has taught him and ends by stating that ‘who ever reflects, see’. The film ends on a final montage back in the academy of everyone featured in the film sparring or punching punch bags. Credit: A Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi Title: A British Library co-production with Bradford District Museums and Galleries Part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Fighting to be Heard End title: Bradford District Museums and Galleries. British Library. Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Arts Council England. Tasif Khan Community Boxing Academy