Library Circles, a series of research, talks, and experimental interventions by UAE practitioners at the Jameel Library and Jameel Arts Centre, delves into alternative research methodologies with a focus on “thinking in public.”

For this iteration, Haneena PA. presents a research display based on her archival project, Around the Sufrah. The project documents the work of Mappila women writers from colonial Kerala, India, and the display chronicles the journey of this research, revealing the challenges and unique encounters faced along the way.

Haneena’s investigation began with a search for writers like Puthur Amina, a Mappila woman from the 1920s who used her writings to question societal norms around marriage and intimacy. When initial searches for early women’s magazines in institutional archives were unsuccessful, the project’s methodology shifted from seeking physical copies to documenting the memories and stories of these texts.

This new approach led to encounters with individuals whose homes functioned as archives; a practice Haneena calls “bedroom archives.” These informal, personal methods of collecting provided a new perspective on preserving historical material.

Through reproductions, transcripts, field notes, and photographs, the display brings together the findings from this journey. It includes a field diary, translated excerpts from the writings of Mappila women, and conversations from Sufrah Salon, a gathering where women shared field experiences and methodologies. The project invites the audience to reconsider the roles played by formal archives in preserving and erasing the histories of these writers.

About Haneena PA.

Haneena PA. is an independent researcher, filmmaker and curator based in Dubai and Kerala. She holds a Master’s degree in Media and Culture Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and has served as Head of Cultural Programming for prominent art and cultural organisations. Alongside institutional roles, she has been actively involved in many independent projects. Her most recent work is Reading Rumours, a research exhibition that traces the micro-histories of Mappila women writers from early 20th-century Kerala. For this project, she received Art research grants from Asia Art Archive, Shergil Sundaram Arts Foundation and India Foundation for the Arts. Furthermore, she spearheaded Edible Waves, an initiative focused on artistic and scholarly engagements around Indian Ocean Culinary traditions.