WHATSTHEBIGMISTRY x HAYATI TAKEOVER

This Hayati night is programmed in collaboration with whatsthebigmistry, who will be your Host at the Moseley Hive! Welcoming you into their Living Room Parlour with steaming chai, soul food from the Change Kitchen and a blend of British Asian Poetry talent. Join us for a delightful night of performance, art and communing!

Hot off the press from Shambala Festival… bringing bags of charm, connection, humour & story telling…

We’re excited to present award-winning poet, writer and TEDx speaker & published author Shagufta K Iqbal. With a punchy, informative and witty delivery we have, Jay Sandhu who brings us poetry, podcasts and comedy. Jay has also been commissioned with the BBC to launch a mental health project for young people. Local talents Nafeesa Hamid & Ali Shair will induct us into the short but sweet Open mic segment with their distinct collaboration of poetry and flute.

Hosting you this evening is artist performer whatsthebigmistry, who will welcome you into the Living Room Parlour, fill you with freshly brewed chai, feed you up properly with poetry and commune with you over a delicious spread of food.

This event is part of a multi-city engagement programme of workshops and events to give space for Black and Brown (and marginalised) Joy.

Open Mic Slots

If you would like an open mic slot, please DM @hayatiopenmic or arrive early as there will be limited spots on the door! There are up to 8 slots available. Please DM to book in (5 slots available via DM, 3 spots to be held for the door).

Tickets

We have a three tiered ticket system with Standard Tickets priced at £7.50 (plus eventbrite fee) / £10 on the door. Tickets include a warm meal (plant based and gluten free). Please feel free to bring your own non-alcoholic drinks.

Keeping things halal

Hayati aims to be a halal environment, so alcohol and drugs are strictly not permitted on site. You will be asked to leave if in violation of this.

Racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, discrimination or harassment of any kind, against any individual or group of people will be met with zero-tolerance and the audience member or performer will be asked to leave. Freedom of speech does not include the right to insult, degrade or cause harm to others.

Feel free to bring drinks and snacks, but please make sure that you dispose of waste in a respectful and appropriate manner

Access

The venue has step-free access and is wheelchair accessible. Please see Moseley Hive's Access Guide for more info. This programme will be running on Crip Time. As a result we endeavour to reschedule events should any of our contributors not feel well / experience a change in capacity in the lead up to and / or on the day of the event itself.

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Priya Mistry aka whatsthebigmistry is a Performance & Visual artist, Socially engaged worker and Creative Producer / Curator, working under the pseudonym whatsthebigmistry. Their extensive body of work spans performance, film, photography, visual art, theatre, dance and live events. Their 2025 exhibition The Empire’s Old Clothes is at once a provocation and an invitation to rethink and rewrite ‘histories’, to demand change and define what it really means to take action against racism. Accompanying this work is a multi-city engagement programme of workshops and events to give space for Black and Brown Joy. whatsthebigmistry x Hayati Takeover is part of this programme

Hayati is a halal open mic event curated by Ort Gallery with an emphasis on engaging the brain, inspiring the heart, and feeding the soul.

Ort Gallery is a visual arts and poetry organisation based in Birmingham. We are on a social mission to redefine contemporary visual arts by rejecting the sector’s exclusivity, centring access and equity, and providing inclusive high quality art experiences. We support this mission with a care-centred approach (aka Warmth) and give artists, team members and participants autonomy over their projects. We believe everyone should have access to high quality art experiences and aim to meet that standard by providing exhibition and professional development opportunities to artists, creatives and community members across all backgrounds. We place Warmth at the heart of all our work. We recognise that galleries can be sites of oppression which centre and reproduce white normative and elitist ways of ‘being’ under the supposed guise of neutrality. We are interested in challenging this head on; whilst also committing to creating space for local artists and marginalised community groups of the wider Birmingham area to play an active role in shaping such practices, in the hopes of transforming both the city and wider arts ecology.

Host or Publisher Ort Gallery