Zain Dada is a cultural producer and writer based in London. He is currently producer/arts programmer at Free Word - an arts venue focussing on the power & politics of words. As the co-founder of Khidr Collective - a multi-disciplinary arts collective platforming the work of Muslim artists, he leads on arts direction and co-edits their bi-annual publication, the Khidr Collective Zine.
Zain has written for Exeunt, Media Diversified, SkinDeep and Platform. His directing credits include The Moon Is A Meme, written by former Channel 4 Playwright in Residence, Zia Ahmed and co-produced by Film Pill.
Projects
- Stories of the Market - W12Stories of the Market - W12 is an oral history zine featuring the voices of traders in Shepherds Bush Market. The project took place in 2016, at the time, the Shepherds Bush Market Tenants Association were in a battle with developers, Orion on turning aspects of the market into luxury flats and the threats of rising existing tenants leases. The project was co-curated, edited and made by Zain Dada, Sana Badri, Bushra Ferjani and designed by Rose Nordin. Stories of The Market - W12 was then
- The Moon Is A Meme: Short filmThe Moon Is A Meme is a visual poem written by former Channel 4 Playwright in Residence and Roundhouse Poetry Slam champion Zia Ahmed, directed by Zain Dada, scored by Rui Da Silva and co-produced by Film Pill. The short film explores feelings of invasion and invisibility in an era of surveillance, social media and censorship, Ahmed’s poem uses the backdrop of one of London’s multicultural high streets to express this experience; an experience of both feeling like part of the city but also wha
- Khidr Collective Zine, Issue 3Zain lead on the assistant editing, art direction, fundraising and marketing of issue 3 of the Khidr Collective Zine. Artists featured and commissioned in this issue included, Talha Ahsan, Farzana Khan, Dhelia Snoussi, Javaad Alipoor. Zain also contributed to the issue with his poem, entitled Interwebz and a community profile of North Kensington based activist and friend, Ed Daffarn. Zain also lead on the curation of the launch of issue 3 held in Walthamstow at Mirth, Marvel and Maud featuri
Projects credited in
- Performing Protest : Bush Theatre (Short Film)Commissioned by Bush Theatre, Dhelia Snoussi made this short film of original spoken word inspired by the play Parliament Square by James Fritz, featuring 5 young poets. The short film is scored by me and also features an illustration I did commissioned by Bush Theatre also.
Work history
Season ProducerFree Word
London, United KingdomFull Time
Season Producer/programmer at Free Word. An arts venue focussing on the power & politics of words.
Skills
- Politics
- Producing
- Creative Arts
- Editing
- Directing Film
- Writing
- Poetry
- Curation
Education
Creative Writing MAGoldsmiths, University of London
- London, United Kingdom
Awarded a scholarship by the Aziz Foundation: Developing Arts Management Professionals and Artists from British Muslim Communities.