BIRMINGHAM.- Grand Union in partnership with Bow Arts present a new body of work by Laisul Hoque which culminates in a solo exhibition launching in July 2026. Capturing the inner worlds and emotional landscapes of the city’s residents, seen through the perspective of someone learning to navigate Birmingham as a first-generation migrant, Hoque builds temporary communities through meaningful exchanges of services, labour, and time.

Filmed inside vehicles and among construction sites, blocked roads, and sprawling South Asian neighbourhoods on the city’s outskirts, the work reflects on mobility, belonging, and displacement, while offering a glimpse into the lives of Bangladeshi communities who have made Birmingham their home. As the artist learns to drive in a city seemingly built around cars, encounters with friends, driving instructors, and archival traces of Bangladeshi political figures reveal Birmingham’s deep connections to Bangladesh and its diaspora.

Moving between intimate conversations and urban observation, the film unfolds as a portrait of a city in transition, where personal experiences intersect with migration, infrastructure, and histories that continue to travel between Birmingham and Bangladesh.

Laisul Hoque, Artist, said: “I’m coming to Birmingham. There is a man in Alum Rock who will teach me how to drive.”

Jo Capper and Hannah Wallis, Co-Programme Directors at Grand Union, said: “We are so happy to be working with Laisul on this new commission, telling the many layered stories of navigating a city by a constantly changing road system. Birmingham's layered experience is reflected in the complexity and multiplicity of its road systems and driving experiences. We were instantly drawn to Laisul’s attentive storytelling, creating connections between the lives of those he lives among and meets. You feel compelled to listen as closely as he does, the camera somewhere in the background, quietly holding the stories until they are ready to be shared.”





Sophie Hill, Director of Arts & Events at Bow Arts, said: “Our judges were unanimous in awarding Laisul the East London Art Prize’s exhibition prize. Laisul’s work invites us in – whether it be to taste his childhood memories in his winning work An Ode to All the Flavours (2024), or to sit in his bedroom surrounded by the drawn-on boarding passes that drew him away, part of his installation for his recent winner’s exhibition The Ground Beneath Me at Bow Arts’ Nunnery Gallery.

The invitation to take part in Laisul’s work often leads visitors to reflect on their own experiences and is part of what makes his practice so powerfully personal. We are delighted to support him with the East London Art Prize’s touring fund to develop new work in the context of Birmingham with Grand Union, whose collaborative and outward facing approach chimes so well with our own.”

This work is supported by Arts Council England, Bow Arts East London Art Prize and Grand Union. With thanks to MJM Bespoke for fabrication and installation.

Laisul Hoque (b. 1998, Dhaka, Bangladesh) is a London-based artist working across installation and film. Laisul is interested in ‘autobiographical histories and their intersections with broader political, cultural and emotional landscapes’, exploring this through sculpture, installation and ‘expanded storytelling’. The project is supported by the East London Art Prize, run by Bow Arts.

As a finalist for the 2024 CIRCA Prize and winner of the 2025 East London Art Prize, Laisul’s recent project, The Ground Beneath Me, was on view at Nunnery Gallery from 6 February to 12 April 2026. After studying literature in Dhaka, Laisul completed an MA in Contemporary Photography: Practices and Philosophy at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. His work has been presented at the Whitechapel Gallery, Barbican Centre, Experimenta India, and Alliance Française de Dhaka.