Photo of Mothiur Rahman by Tasnim Siddiqa Amin on Hanbury Street (2026)
Meet Mothiur Rahman, our newest East storyteller. Originally from Leeds, Mothiur came to London in the early noughties, where an unexpected act of kindness would begin to change the way he understood his own story. A lawyer and environmental law lecturer by day, his creative practice is rooted in finding space for stories that might otherwise go unheard.
In this Spotlight, Mothiur reflects on storytelling, migration, belonging and the role creativity can play in making sense of our lives.
What does storytelling mean to you?
Well, my own story is about an act of kindness where a friend who I accidentally bumped into after a 12-year break sat me down and asked me, ‘Well, what has been your story over the last 12 years?’
There was a kindness in how she presented the question that felt really inviting and heart-opening. I was going through a particularly tumultuous time and, as I began to try to piece together my life over such a long period to respond to her question, I suddenly began to see the tumultuousness in a different way, saw it connect to threads in that 12-year period I hadn’t seen before.
