History

Kala Sangam was founded in 1993 by Dr Shripati Upadhyaya, a consultant Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in the creative use of arts to help people with disabilities. His dream was to establish a unique organisation that delivered high quality South Asian arts through innovative collaborations and that would be accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

Working alongside his wife, Dr Geetha Upadhyaya, a Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Dr Shripati first set up Kala Sangam in Leeds, West Yorkshire in 1993. In 1996, the company moved to the Carlisle Business Centre in Bradford, while they looked for a permanent home in Bradford to grow the company.

Thanks to the Arts Council of England’s generous support, in 2007, Kala Sangam found its permanent home in the beautiful Grade II listed St Peter’s House, where the organisation set to work restoring the building to develop it as a new arts centre.

In November 2011, Kala Sangam launched the newly refurbished Ganges Hall: a 126-seater studio theatre that has become the focal point for our classes, artist residencies and events. In March 2012, Kala Sangam officially launched the new Kala Sangam Arts Centre with two days of celebrations including a free community open day.