A-Z: Exhibition by Zara Saghir

TITLE: A—Z 

ARTIST: Zara Saghir

DATES: Saturday 18 April – Saturday 4 July 2026 

OPENING TIMES: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 12.00-4.00pm 

EXHIBITION LAUNCH: Saturday 18 April, 12.00- 4.00pm (speeches at 1.30pm) 

LOCATION: Gallery OneTwoThree, Creative Spaces Burnley 123 St James’s St, Burnley, BB11 1PP

Burnley’s independently run artist led space for contemporary art continues its programme of exhibitions with a dramatic new commission and exhibition. 

Zara Saghir reprises last year’s Zed’s Garage with A-Z, a new exhibition exploring people, place and identity. 

A–Z is a multidisciplinary art installation exploring the intersections of people, place, travel, and identity through the symbolic form of the rickshaw. Sculpted from found domestic items, these forms become vessels of storytelling, representing the emotional, cultural, and physical journeys of individuals and families across towns, countries, and communities. 

The work reflects on how migration, whether through marriage, work, displacement, or opportunity, reshapes identity, belonging, and safety. It acknowledges the movement of people between towns, regions, and countries, including workers from diverse cultures who came to places such as Burnley to work in the cotton mills. They brought traditions, skills, languages, and ways of life that helped shape the character of the town and its communities. 

ABOUT:

Zara Saghir has been an artist in residence at OneTwoThree for the past 12 months. Through her own creative practice, Zara explores taboo issues within her British South Asian culture, interrogating systems of power, values, and hierarchy. She draws on her personal experiences to create space for voices that have been overlooked or silenced – helping them to be heard and encouraging advocacy through art. 

“OneTwoThree is a new art space in Burnley town centre, recently renovated and a beautiful space to work, make and exhibit art. My idea to make a rickshaw was fully embraced by Creative Spaces Burnley, who allowed me to stage a ‘garage in the gallery’, changing and awakening the space to new audiences where people felt they could go. We invited the community to discover art in an alternative way”. 

“A–Z invites audiences to consider travel not only as physical movement between places, but as an ongoing emotional and cultural journey. It asks how identity is shaped by movement between homes, communities, towns, and countries, and how art can hold the stories of those who travel, adapt, and belong across generations.” 

“As a Pakistani/Kashmiri woman born in England, I’ve grown up with a deep appreciation for my cultural roots. I feel a strong responsibility to engage with people who have been shaped by similar narratives, as well as people from all kinds of backgrounds and lived experiences. Through my practice, I reach out in hopes of connecting with people I hope to work with, as I believe their stories and lived experiences are invaluable.” 

Zara Saghir (April 2026)

“When Zara told us her idea, we said let’s do it! Zed’s Garage took place last summer and invited members of the public to get involved and contribute to a section of the rickshaw. We made the gallery into a workshop space reminiscent of a garage”. 

“A-Z sees the realisation of Zara’s idea, incorporating the work of local people. A functional rickshaw will be displayed in the gallery. After Zed’s Garage and A-Z, for phase 3 we have to take the rickshaw to the streets of Burnley!” 

“Gallery OneTwoThree has been putting Burnley on the art map recently, with our collaboration with the British Textile Biennial bringing record numbers of visitors to our spaces and businesses on the street. We are proud of the difference art and culture is starting to make here"

Karen Green, Programmes & Operations Director for Creative Spaces Burnley

Gallery OneTwoThree is run by Creative Spaces Burnley, who also operate the Salon, gallery and studios, both on Burnley’s Lower St James’s Street. 

Creative Spaces Burnley CIC Is a not-for-profit, artist led, community interest company that exists to provide empowering support, a place to belong and subsidised space for artists, with a particular focus on those people who have experienced prejudice and/or communities that have suffered from societal neglect. CSB was conceived and developed by professional artist Jai Redman, the founding director of CSB. The group have spearheaded the refurbishment of empty buildings in Burnley for use by artists with the support of Burnley Borough Council, Historic England and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 

OneTwoThree is the flagship project of Creative Spaces Burnley and its newest refurbished building. It is part of the Empire Buildings, originally built by the Corporation of Burnley in the 1930s. Painstakingly restored, including all the original stained-glass windows, through a partnership between CSB, Burnley Borough Council and Historic England. It houses artist workspaces, project spaces and a large ground floor gallery

The exhibition is supported with a grant from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.