AZEEMA started life as a one-off print magazine centreing women and non-binary people from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Like many of the most urgent and vital projects though, one-off proved too limited a run for their ambitions. Now coming up to their fourth issue, the collective and creative agency has grown into a defining cultural force in the UK and beyond. This has meant launching three print issues and a website while collaborating and building meaningful ties within their community – even meeting contributors from Morocco, Egypt and Dubai.

In 2019 AZEEMA took over the V&A’s Raphael Gallery as part of the museum’s Friday Late programme, hosted a six-month DJ workshop series with Foundation FM and in 2020, helped Nike launch its first modest swimwear line with an arresting film and photo series celebrating six muslim women in sport. In 2021, they are hoping to grow their creative agency, to be able to continue working on meaningful projects that help build accurate representation, while influencing the fashion and media industry to do and be better.

With the Converse x Dazed 100 grant, the collective would create an AZEEMA hub and studio in London: a safe and inclusive space they can open up to their community, host events and workshops out of – and be able to call their home.

Text Zsofia Paulikovics