BLACK / ASIAN ARTS IN THE UK
www.asiahouse.org
Asia House a centre for educational, corporate or cultural programmes. Aims to
promote appreciation and understanding of Asian countries, their arts, religions
and economies, and to foster closer communication between the peoples of Asia
and Europe. Covers the countries from Iran in the west to Japan in the east and
from the Central Asian Republics in the north to Indonesia in the south.
www.bcauk.co.uk
Bengal Cultural Association - helps create awareness of Bengali identity and
its cultural and religious heritage through celebration of Bengali religious
festivals and organising of cultural events. Also promotes the involvement of
youth in various programmes .
www.bhavan.net
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - the Institute for Indian Art and Culture. Holds regular
classes and seminars, in dancing, drama and the languages of India, along with
philosophy, yoga and meditation. Also has frequent performances by visiting eminent
local and overseas artistes.
www.culturalco-operation.org
Cultural Co-operation - an independent arts charity promoting cross-cultural
contact, dialogue and understanding through its 'Diaspora Programme' and other
initiatives e.g. the international summer 'Music Village'.
www.mmlondon.co.uk
Maharashtra Mandal, London. Established to promote the Marathi language and the
culture of Maharashtra in the UK.
www.milapfest.com
Milapfest Festival Trust was formed in 1985 to encourage interaction between
the host community and the many diverse communities in the UK. Holds an annual
festival of performing arts spanning music, film, dance, theatre and the other
visual arts.
www.motiroti.com/pages/index_flash.html
Moti Roti - artist-led organisation celebrating diversity and pushing the boundaries
of artistic and cultural discourse.
www.nehrucentre.org
The Nehru Centre is the cultural wing of the High Commission of India in London.
Established in 1992, it regularly hosts music events, dance, theatre, films,
lectures, seminars, book launches, and exhibitions of paintings, sculptures and
photographs.
www.richmix.org.uk
Rich Mix a project to explore the Asian and African cultural heritage of London's
East End. Partners include Tower Hamlets, the Greater London Authority, Cityside
Regeneration, London Guildhall University and the Whitechapel Art Gallery.
www.saa-uk.org.uk
Formerly known as The Leeds Centre for Indian Music and Dance SAA-UK was founded
in 1997 by Dharambir Singh. It aims to promote South Asian arts in the wider
community for all to access, experience and participate in.
www.sampad.org.uk
Sampad South Asian Arts - agency for South Asian Arts based in Birmingham, with
the aim of promoting the appreciation and practice of the diverse artforms originating
from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Through its work Sampad supports
and initiates South Asian Arts in all forms working with youth, community, education
and professional artists.
www.shisha.net
Shisha - a Manchester-based international agency for contemporary South Asian
crafts and visual arts. Works with artists and other arts organisations on major
exhibitions, residencies and various projects.
www.surdhwani.org.uk
Surdhwani - based in Wolverhampton, Surdhwani (Society for the Promotion of Asian
Arts and Culture) is a national arts organisation promoting classical music,
arts and culture from the Indian sub-continent and culture in the United Kingdom.
www.eapgroup.com/beerr1.htm
Eastern Art Report Online - an international magazine focusing on the arts of
Asia and Africa and the arts practised by the people of Asian and African origin
in North America, Europe and elsewhere.
www.imaginasian.info/splash.asp
A joint project of Leicester City, and the London boroughs of Brent, Harrow and
Hillingdon libraries to introduce the best of Asian writing to the UK communities.
www.salidaa.org.uk
South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive (SALIDAA) digital archive covers
South Asian literature, art, theatre, dance and music in England and features
collections of materials by individual artists and organisations. Collections
include creative writings, images of art works, photographs, leaflets, programmes
of events, stage and costume drawings of theatre and dance performances, press
releases, CD and record covers, etc.
www.kundu.u-net.com/tagore.htm
The Tagore Centre UK promotes the legacy of the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.
It holds regular seminars and lectures as well as educational workshops. It maintains
a reference library and runs the Tagore Youth Forum.
www.akademi.co.uk
Akademi South Asian Dance in the UK (formerly known as the Academy of Indian
Dance). Founded in 1979, Akademi describes its aim as 'to place South Asian dance
as an important force within British art, society and education' and to bring
people in contact with the creativity of South Asian dance as a part of mainstream
dance in Britain.
www.asiandubfoundation.com/adfed.php
Asian Dub Foundation Education (ADFED) aimed at providing opportunities for young
Asian musicians to learn music technology skills.www.amc.org.uk
Asian Music Circuit is a partner in a new Radio 3 initiative 'World on Your Street'.
This project celebrates the diverse musical traditions to be discovered within
the UK, and is taking place throughout 2003 online, on air and on stage. AMC
will work with Radio 3 to showcase some of the best Asian musicians across the
country.
www.southasiandance.org.uk
The South Asian Dance Alliance (SADA) - an initiative of Sarkar Sakar, is an
alliance of three organisations, Akademi, Kadam and Sampad, committed to promoting
South Asian dance, music and related initiatives in the UK.
www.ballet.co.uk/links/shobana_jeyasingh.htm
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company devoted to contemporary South Asian dance, mixed-media,
and new technologies. The Company seeks to create work which is Asian in technique,
British in context and personal and contemporary in vision.
www.sohini.org.uk
Sohini promotes South Asian music and dance in South Yorkshire by organising
workshops, performances and classes.
www.thebigpicturecompany.org.uk
Big Picture company, a London-based theatre company, adopting a multimedia approach
integrating text, dance, music and film and a challenging contemporary approach
to cultural diversity. Set up by Uzma Hameed in December 1996.
www.funjabis.co.uk
Funjabis - a London-based Asian comedy group working in theatre, radio and television.
Fronted by Sody Singh Kahlon and formed in 1996. Has a YP page - young Punjabis
primarily focused at Punjabi youth, between the ages of 18 and 30, the YPs now
boast membership from all aspects of our multi-cultural society.
www.hangamaproductions.com
Hangama Productions - a small group working in association with the Leicester
Haymarket Theatre but also touring throughout the UK. Launched in 2002 with showcase
events in Leicester and Mayfair, London.
www.kalitheatre.co.uk
Kali Theatre Company - formed in 1990 by the writer-director team, Rita Wolf
and Rukhsana Ahmad, with the aim of encouraging, developing and promoting new
theatre writing by Asian women.
www.man-mela.dircon.co.uk
Man Mela - established in 1993 by Dominic Rai, Man Mela works towards establishing
a British Asian aesthetic inspired by the literary sources of the Indian subcontinent.
The company also produces plays in Urdu, Panjabi and Hindi.
www.tamasha.org.uk
Tamasha Theatre Company - formed in 1989 by Kristine Landon-Smith and Sudha Bhuchar,
Tamasha's productions focus on stories drawn from the Asian community in Britain
as well as the Indian sub-continent. The company's education programme helps
teachers develop an intracultural drama classroom and its Design Direct Initiative
addresses the training needs of young theatre directors/designers of Asian origin
in the UK.
www.tara-arts.com
Tara Arts - the longest established Asian theatre company in the UK, Tara Arts
was set up in 1976 by Jetindar Verma. Works with schools and community groups
through 'stage-share' to explore the concept of citizenship.
www.britishblackmusic.com/user_DocView.asp?DocumentID=12
British Black Music - Online home for the Black Music Congress (BMC) debates,
and all information regarding the state of the African British Music industry.
www.descendants.co.uk
Descendants - A youth community program to encourage African British children
to appreciate the wealth of achievements, accomplished by their ancestors and
everyday people in their community today.
www.trilby.co.uk/blues-N-rebellion
Blues-n-Rebellion - A website highlighting the contemporary voice of African
British poets and performers.
www.newblackcreative.co.uk
New Black Creative - A site dedicated to providing encouragement, exposure and
support for creative African British artists.
www.casbah.ac.uk
CASBAH - A project funded by the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP)
with the aim of identifying and mapping national research resources relating
to Caribbean Studies and the history of Black and Asian people in the UK.
www.renaissanceone.com
Renaissance One - A core team of culturally diverse writers. They read and perform
their work internationally and are experienced workshop facilitators. All the
writers have extensive track records in devising education activities for organisations
such as the Arvon Foundation, the National Theatre, Apples & Snakes and the
Poetry Society.
www.africanandcaribbean.tv
ACTV - ACTV (African and Caribbean Television) is an African British community
TV station broadcasting free to air on digital satellite.
www.blink.org.uk
Black Information Link (BLINK) - to protect and pioneer the interest of Britain's
Black Communities. Our approach is to engage in policy development and to articulate
the needs of Black communities from a Black perspective. In Britain the term
'Black' historically has been a political one. It is used to refer to people
of African, Asian, and Caribbean descent. Contains arts and culture pages.
www.blackwomen.co.uk
BWA - Black Women in the Arts - an organization in the UK dedicated to black
women in the arts and music. Site still under construction.
www.metier.org.uk
Metier is a research and development agency for the cultural industries. Concentrates
on improving vocational education and tackling social exclusion. Vocational education
projects are aimed at improving the quality of training and professional development
for those working in the cultural industries. The social inclusion work concentrates
on tackling barriers that exist for traditionally disadvantaged groups working
or wanting to work in the cultural industries. This core theme underlies their
mission to make the cultural industries more reflective of society as a whole.