Creative Director of Bash Art Creative. A multi media company specialing in film production,photography, visual arts, projections and media education.

For the last 10 years Bash Art Creative have provided visual media solutions to various companies in Scotland and abroad. This includes producing and directing short films, music videos, educational DVD's and documentaries. Furthermore the company provides a comprehensive photographic service to editorial magazines, government agencies and arts organizations across Scotland.

Please join us for a free film screening of Basharat Khan's independent documentary 'Taxi Through Pakistan', Hosted by the Scottish Pakistani Association and the University Of Glasgow.'Taxi Through Pakistan' is an observational and reflective documentary looking at every day life in Pakistan. Shot in 2013 we have a book writing Taxi driver as our guide with whom we go on a colorful journey through the roads of Pakistan and meet some of the people from this fascinating country. This includes a 67 year old truck Artist, A station master standing up to corruption and a rural shopkeeper making ends meet who give viewers an insight into contemporary Pakistan life.”“Taxi through Pakistan’ explores different vignettes of every day Pakistan Life. A story that focuses not on the sensationalist views of the media but rather gives an insight into the everyday struggles of people trying to make the best against challenges that have a much wider effect than the violent extremism.Followed by a Q&A hosted by Dimitris Eleftheriotis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Glasgow, with the director and a panel discussing 'The Role of Media In Representing Diversity'.For more info please visit the Eventbrite page.http://www.eventbrite.com/e/taxi-through-pakistan-documentary-film-screening-and-q-a-tickets-16437910232?aff=estw

The project builds upon the ongoing De Facto project (http://defacto.space) which, for the first time, attempts to place the problem of disinformation and misinformation, (which had been dominated by the conundrum of disinformation-politics-media) in a clear education and training context.It has been proven by cognitive scientists and communication experts that there is one issue which generates numerous obstacles to the communication process and to the assessment of the veracity of information. This issue is the large family of cognitive biases - the things that prevent us from making rational and informed choices, manipulate the flows of information, place unwanted filters, change meanings, provoke actions. So, based on distorted communication, we are bound to shape our opinions and behaviours accordingly.The project addresses the lack of a comprehensive approach to teaching educators about biases, building resilience among learners, promoting critical mindsets. Research shows that there is a widening gap between those who can navigate traditional and digital information masterfully, and those who can not. This divide is cognitive in nature, it can not be solved by better access to technology, affluence, etc. Communication between different cultures and subcultures is negatively impacted by misconceptions and lack of ability to critically process and understand information. Active citizenship suffers from distorted information and here we are, offering an innovative, immersive and practical way of addressing these problems!

The Culture Collective is a pilot programme which will establish a network of creative practitioners, organisations and communities, working together to create a positive difference locally and nationally in response to COVID-19.The programme will focus on community engaged creative activity, supporting participatory approaches and projects where creative practitioners and communities work collaboratively. A key element ofthis will be proactively responding to the impact of COVID-19, providing employment opportunities for creative practitioners and actively engaging people in shaping the future cultural life of their community.Working collectively is central to the programme at a local and national level. Each of the supported organisations and creative practitioners will be required to collaborate with communities locally but also to work together as a national collective. With the support of a central coordinator who will oversee the programme, this includes the ongoing sharing of progress; attendance at national meetings and events; and participation in an evaluation of the pilot.COVID-19 has already had a significant impact on the creative sector and cultural life of communities. With venues temporarily closed, events cancelled, and our social interactions restricted, opportunities for creative practitioners and audiences have shifted and, in many cases, reduced significantly. Creative Scotland’s Audience Intention Research demonstrates a strong appetite for returning to participation in creative activity, however, there is the potential that future models and levels of cultural participation may change. The creative sector will need to adapt in response. The Culture Collective provides an opportunity for organisations to explore and test new models and to learn from each other, whether this is how it provides opportunities and support to creative practitioners or how it actively engages communities in its work.

Working as lead trainer in video education for teachers on a European wide project based in Portugal. The course provides practical and theoretical film-making skills for professional involved in formal education. We explore the importance of media in contemporary life and how young people can be encouraged to be not just be consumers of stories but also as contributors. We run workshops in visual language, camera and audio techniques combined with practical film making and editing workshops.Exploring the idea that the language of education is changing, this course gets teachers to think of a new peadological approach, one that allows young people to use the inter layered weaving capabilities of digital story telling to engage with subjects such as literature, poetry, geography, music, science and more. On this EU project we use English as a working language and we have worked with teachers from Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Iceland, Ireland,Latvia,Poland, Portugal and Romania to name a few :-) A fantastic experience to meet like minded people and explore the identity of Europe in 2015.The course runs every year in Lisbon, Portugal around end of Feb/March. Please get in touch if you would like any more information about this course or if you would like bespoke video education workshops for your own organisation.

I have recently been accepted as Artist in Residence for the Albert Drive project in Glasgow where I aim to engage with the local area to make a series of documentaries that explores themes of community, identity and belonging. I will be actively involved in this project from Feb until June this year and this is a great creative oppurtunity for myself working with like minded people.ALBERT DRIVE is a creative project with one street in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. It aims to engage with the residents, communities, businesses and families living on the drive in the central question: Who is my neighbour?The project is led by Pollokshields based theatre company Glas(s) Performance in partnership with Tramway and will culminate in a large scale event in July 2013.

Project Coordinator for a European project that is exploring the role of video in an educational context for teachers and community workers. The project is designed to share good working practices, provide professional development for media tutors and to get EU countries collaborating on media projects. Working with partners from France and Portugal we are analysing different approaches to media education and we will publish our research as an online tool kit and on the European Shared Database.

Emplyoed by GMAC to run a series of filmmaking workshops and to provide mentoring for young people as they enter the media industry.

Employed by Diveristy Films on various production levels. This included directing short films, Director of Photography and Editing.Delivering innovative workshops that train communities in story telling and camera skills. These collaborations have created vibrant stories from around Glasgow, from stories about immigration and asylum, the regeneration of the Govanhill Baths to a Slovakian dance documentary. These films were premiered as part of the Document 7 International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Glasgow 2009

Film Tutor working with the CSV employability team at BBC.Delivering camera and storytelling workshops to multi media trainees as part of the BBC’s CSV training programme. The programme enables people to use new digital technology to express their ideas and to increase their technical knowledge and confidence to work in the media industry.