Member Article

Sweet Sixteen South Asian Arts-uk, finalist for White Rose Award, celebrates 16th birthday

It’s been a momentous year for Keranjeet Kaur Virdee, (Keran) Chief Executive of South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk). Based in Leeds city centre, next to the Playhouse, SAA-uk is a charity that opened its doors in 1997 and is a centre of excellence for classical and contemporary Indian music and dance.

Playing an integral role in securing funding from the Arts Council of England and Leeds City Council, Keran demonstrates that the charity is meeting government set goals of ensuring talent and artistic excellence thrive and are celebrated. Over the last 16 years the Arts Council of England has continued to make significant investments enabling the organisation to grow and excel in its four cultural activities; Performance, Education, Community Engagement and Touring.

Keran comments, “Sixteen years on and the ethos and beliefs that South Asian Arts-uk were built on are still held today. Our aim is to preserve the traditional but help facilitate the contemporary. Nurturing young artists is the foundation of our organisation. We do maintain a very professional work ethic, but I would also say we’re a charity with a very big heart! We’re big on inclusion and passionately believe that everyone who attends our concerts should be treated like a special guest at a dinner party.”

Not only is the charity celebrating its 16th year, but for the very first time it has been shortlisted in the category of ‘Arts and Culture’ for a White Rose Award. Proud to have originated in Leeds, SAA-uk feels honoured to be competing against national organisations at the awards ceremony on the 11th November.

Keran, states, “This is the first time we’ve entered the White Rose Awards and we’re absolutely thrilled to be shortlisted. My long term goal is to ensure South Asian Arts-uk becomes a nationally recognised charitable institution, embedded in our cultural landscape, being a finalist in the UK’s biggest tourism awards definitely puts me in the right direction of achieving this goal.

“I believe that if people understand their heritage and are proud of it, children and young people can make a more positive contribution to society. Art is a great vehicle to transcend cultural boundaries and limitations. I personally feel that the arts have the power to release the creative potential in anyone. We want to encourage more young people and their families, whatever walks of life, ethnic origin or cultural beliefs to be involved in the arts.”

2013 has been a momentous year for SAA-uk. Record numbers attended the Summer Solstice Festival, which is the only all night music festival dedicated to the preservation of Indian classical music. For the first time ever the all night spectacle reached a global audience by offering a live-stream experience.

Some members of the organisation have been a part of the fabric since the start. Generation 21 concert Series held last year is a celebration of young people’s achievement. It was hosted by a group of artists who have grown with the charity, joining at only six years old they have spent 15 years perfecting their talents and gave a debut performance at the Generation 21 Concert at Leeds College of Music.

The remainder of the year is jam packed with a raft of events and concerts. 9th November will see Mencap Leeds (charity for the people of Leeds with learning disabilities) join forces with SAA-uk to host ‘A Slice of India’ which will showcase a wide array of Indian food, complimented with music, singing and signing, held at TJ’s on Woodhouse Street.

For a full list of events, concerts and initiatives, visit www.saa-uk.org.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Janie Readman .