Bradford Poet Sharena Lee Satti talks about her time as one of four selected artists for our Artists Takeover 2018

My time spent at Kala Sangam has been really rewarding. It has been such a tranquil and cathartic experience. Working in the open space with the stunning views. It is a writers dream to have such time to be able to put ideas and thoughts together. The previous few weeks before I was in residency at Kala Sangam I had complete writers block. I had plenty of pieces I wanted to work on but I couldn’t format them properly.

So it came as a surprise that within just an hour of being in on day one for the Artist Takeover, I had produced a full poem and my ideas where literally dancing off my paper.

I had the time and the space to work on my themed project “The Homelessness” and I have learned so much throughout my week. Through my research and interviews with homeless charities, newspaper articles and online reading.

I have felt for the first time that I am making a difference to society, because I’m raising awareness and I am being the voice for the voiceless. I will get the chance to share my research through poetry in hope that others will see a different side to homelessness.

Had I not had this opportunity at the Artist Takeover, I would have never known how truly lucky people in Bradford are. Yes we have a homeless problem, but there are so many charities and organisations in Bradford that are trying to create change and hope.

Homelessness goes beyond what I once knew it spirals down into some dark rooted places. The root of the cause. I only had five days which is not quite a lot of time to produce something on the scale I wanted. As I believe to cover and get the real stories and to attain a deeper understanding, it requires a much longer period.

I am really pleased with what I achieved in my 5 days. As a poet working in this space I felt appreciated, I felt important, I felt free to experiment with my ideas and poems and I also found me and where my next steps will be. This is all thanks to Kala Sangam for inviting me to be on on four artists to ‘takeover’.

Watch Sharena perform her poetry about homelessness in Bradford, created during her residency at our Artists Takeover Scratch Night on Saturday 15 September at 7.30pm, alongside three other dance performances.

Find out more and book your tickets here