XR Unify celebrate with the Desi community at Hounslow Mela
July 01, 2025 by Extinction Rebellion
The Hounslow Mela, which took place on the 21st June, is a Desi festival which celebrates South Asian culture. Mela comes from the Sanskrit a place ‘to gather’ and was a fantastic place for XR Unify to engage with the diaspora on climate issues while bringing the community together through art.
The day was full of food, sweets, dance and festivities showcasing the rich diversity of South Asian cultures. People of all ages engaged with our stall; everyone loved our block print t-shirts and tote bags with our brand new designs, inspired by South Asian art. One little boy loved his t-shirt so much that he wanted to wear it straight away! And people loved telling us about animals in their countries of origin, which have inspired us to create new block print designs.
XR Unify is a creative collective engaging in outreach with disapora communities. We want to bring communities together, unifying through art about the climate crisis and inspired by our countries of origin. We know that our people already know about the effects of climate change – the effects are strongly making themselves felt in South Asia. For most people all that’s missing is making the connection – and the extreme heat on the day of the Mela definitely helped to prompt conversations!
Building trust is a slow process but one that we’re building on further every time we’re present in the community. XR Unify is creating a collective to communicate the importance and impacts of the climate crisis to new audiences through art, with the aim of helping all of us in the diaspora to grow in solidarity, as well as shining a light on issues in our countries of origin.
XR Unify is going to have a presence at different festivals over the summer for people of colour. We’re off to Black Pride at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, on the 10th of August and are looking for helpers! If you want to get involved, DM us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/unifyarts
