Nasima Begum (aka Nasima Bee on stage) is a performance poet, producer, actor and creative practitioner. She’s a trustee for Manchester’s Young Identity, (www.youngidentity.org) a collective of poets, dancers and musicians. Nasima is also a newly appointed patron for Contact theatre in Manchester. Nasima uses art as a means of activism and her work is an exploration of the everyday through a personal lens that connects to its audience. Nasima writes about loss, the feminine and spirituality. Nasima champions community and was also the former Coordinator of Manchester based CIO Ananna – MBWO, (www.mbwo.org.uk) which supports marginalised women through activities, volunteering opportunities and local policy change.
Nasima’s most notable works include performances with the Manchester Literature Festival, British Council’s BritLitBerlin conference and BBC’s Contains Strong Language. She has taught poetry with young people nationally and internationally through various projects. Nasima was 1 of 5 Greater Manchester recipients of the Jerwood Creative Fellowship with Manchester International Festival 2019 in which she observed ANU Productions ‘The Anvil’ and was also commissioned to write and record poetry for an installation piece as part of this. Most recently she worked on an audio commission with New Creatives North entitled ‘Salt’ released in 2022. This work is funded by BBC Arts and Arts Council England. Nasima has also released her first solo short film titled ‘fatihah’, a poetic exploration of loss and losing as part of HOME’s Push Festival 2022. Nasima is currently researching and developing her first script ‘take back my body’ exploring what it means to be a British Muslim Woman in the current political climate with the support of Factory International.