A burst of colour, music and conversation filled Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery on Thursday evening (7 August 2025) as London’s Deputy Mayor for communities and social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard and Ealing Southall MP Deirdre Costigan joined locals for a special Thursday Late.
Part of the Pitzhanger’s summer festival under the theme Roots to Routes, the night offered a packed programme celebrating food, identity, dance and art.
Dr Weekes-Bernard took part in a live recording of The Migration Menu podcast alongside anthropologists Dr Luke Heslop and Professor James Staples, and acclaimed British-Bengali chef Sohini Banerjee, in a discussion about South Asian food, memory and migration.
Dr Weekes-Bernard told the audience: “At a time when having many different cultures and over 300 languages spoken in a city can make some people fearful, cultures of food and restaurants have the ability to spread positivity and bring people together.”
She recalled her first meal out aged 16 – a family trip to a South Asian restaurant in Brent, where she grew up as a second-generation Londoner of Caribbean heritage. Dr Weekes-Bernard said: “I remember the white table cloths and cutlery and since then have always associated going out for a curry as being a special, almost ceremonial occasion”
The main gallery hosted life-drawing sessions led by the 2B or Not 2B Collective with Ealing artists Jessica Au and Isher Dhiman.
Jess Au, director of the collective, said: “I moved into the area (Ealing) a year ago and thought ‘What an amazing venue’, so I reached out to Pitzhanger. Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery is a very important cultural landmark. It allows communities to congregate, and brings us all together to celebrate different cultures. This is a very South Asian part of London, so it’s very fitting to have this kind of event here, so yeah, I’m glad to be part of it, platforming South Asian heritage.”
Isher Dhiman, 2 B or Not 2 B Collective tutor, added: “I was born and raised in the area so it felt very fitting to return to do my first SA life drawing event here at Pitzhanger in Ealing.”
Dancers Mithun Gill and Nandita Shankardass struck expressive poses inspired by Permindar Kaur’s Mirror, Mirror exhibition, while a high-energy Bhangra workshop led by Hayes’ Prabhgun and Harleen, and Southall’s Mankirat, had visitors on their feet.
 as London’s Deputy Mayor for communities and social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard and Ealing Southall MP Deirdre Costigan joined locals for a special Thursday Late.){kind=link}