Introducing our new Artist Advisory Group.
Following a public call out, Kala Sangam is excited to announce the nine artists who will form the company’s first Artist Advisory Group. The group, which includes dancers, writers, musicians and theatre makers, will advise and support our programming team as we move towards the opening of Bradford Arts Centre next year.
The Artist Advisory Group will meet twice a year to provide feedback and input into our programming plans and offer guidance on how we can continue to develop our support for artists and creatives. They will help to ensure all work programmed at Bradford Arts Centre aligns with our Programming Strands – South Asia Now, This is Bradford and British Diversity – and they will also help us to embed sustainability more deeply into our artistic programme.
The nine artists each bring a wealth of experience and knowledge in artforms including Classical Indian performance, contemporary dance, theatre, folk music and opera.
As we look to reopen as Bradford Arts Centre, during the district’s year as UK City of Culture, it was important to us to have some brilliant Bradford voices as part of this conversation. Ella Tighe is a Bradford based independent Dance Maker, Kamal Kaan is a Bradford born, working class, British-Bangladeshi writer, and Leah Francis is a theatre maker currently in Leeds but who was born here in the city.
Kala Sangam has had a long, rich history supporting the development of South Asian arts, and we wanted to ensure that our Artist Advisory group had the skills and expertise to help inform this delivery long into the future under the Bradford Arts Centre banner. With this in mind, we are delighted that Huddersfield-based practitioner and specialist in Bhangra Hardeep Sahota, Contemporary and Indian Classical dancer Divija Melally, and Bharatanatyam performer Kavya Iyer will be joining the group.
We’re also excited to welcome some amazing artists from around the country to the group, bringing different perspectives and a diverse range of lived experiences to the table. Neil Balfour is an Indian-Scottish, award-winning opera singer and voiceover artist, Diana Abankwah is a solo dancer and interdisciplinary artist from Uganda, currently based in Stoke on Trent, and Maddie Morris is a musician who specialises in folk and traditional songs.
Creative Director, Alex Croft said, “We were blown away with the number and quality of applications we received to join our Artist Advisory Group. The strength and depth of applications means we’ve been able to assemble an incredible group of artists with a real breadth of experience and knowledge. While some of them are familiar with our work, some are new to both the company and Bradford and should hopefully bring some exciting perspectives to our discussions.”
The group will meet for the first time in September. Read Full biographies for the Artist Advisory Group members here.
