Fighting to Be Heard

The ancient art of calligraphy and the noble art of boxing are an unlikely pairing, but they share a surprising amount of common ground. This free exhibition, as part of Bradford 2025, explores connections between the two disciplines through the eyes of a group of British South Asian Muslim men living in Bradford today.

Razwan Ul-Haq is an acclaimed calligrapher and one-time boxing trainee. Tasif Khan is a world champion boxer and founder of Bradford’s Tasif Khan Community Boxing Academy. Together with boxers and trainers from the Academy, including head coach Nissar Hussain and trustee Sohail Ahmed, they’ve chosen a selection of rare items from the British Library’s Arabic and Urdu collections, and from the collections of Bradford District Museums & Galleries – from ninth-century calligraphy to extraordinary contemporary work.

Fighting to Be Heard also features the men’s personal stories and their reactions to the collections – offering fascinating new perspectives on these objects.