Unpacking the Work: Femininities in Sikhism

Three Sikh women discuss femininities in Sikhi through the work, made for the close of An Immeasurable Melody, Medicine for a Nightmare at GoMA. Produced by Dr Diljeet Kaur Bhachu, with Dr Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh.

Made for the closing of An Immeasurable Melody, Medicine for a Nightmare at GoMA for GI2021 — the first exhibition in Europe by the Toronto-based artist.

The film, produced by Dr Diljeet Kaur Bhachu, brings together three Sikh women who each engage with femininities in Sikhi in their own work and in their own ways. Drawing on key themes in the exhibition, Diljeet asked each of them to consider the role of femininities in Sikhi, to unpack the metaphysical teachings of Sikhi, and to explore what exhibitions like this one can offer Sikh communities and wider society.

Dr Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh is Chair of the Department and Crawford Family Professor in Religious Studies at Colby College, and has written extensively on femininities and metaphysics in Sikhi.

Ravideep Kaur is a coach and consultant based in Dundee whose work centres on pro-liberation and decolonisation. In the film she discusses women’s representation within Sikhi, historically and today — space for women in the gurdwara, histories of strong Sikh women, and the importance of intersectionality.

Jasvir Kaur Rababan MBE is a Sikh musician and activist based in England. She founded Kaur Voices, the Sikh women’s Me Too movement, and uses Sikh devotional music in her work as a music therapist. Kirtan and the sounds of Sikhi are very present in the work, and represent a pathway towards embodied healing.

Synopsis: Glasgow International, 1 December 2021