A brief history

SALIDAA was founded in 1999 by a group of concerned academics, experts and practitioners of South Asian literature and arts in response to a widespread and growing concern that the contribution of the South Asian community to literature and arts in Britain was disappearing and becoming inaccessible primarily as a result of lack of resources. The body of works by South Asian Diaspora writers and artists in Britain has grown in volume in the last few decades, but to date there is no provision for an institution dedicated to gather, preserve and make this material accessible.

In 1999 SALIDAA commissioned a feasibility report to identify the range and type of holdings, the volume and condition of materials and the level of interest in such an archive. The Arts Council of England (ACE) had carried out its own survey, Archiving the Arts of England’s Culturally Diverse Communities (1999) which included 43 South Asian respondents. SALIDAA targeted a list of another 30 organisations and individuals who were as representative as possible in terms of artistic and literary disciplines, regional and linguistic backgrounds and geographical spread. It was felt that a database of approximately 70 cultural holdings (including the ACE data) would provide an adequate picture for the purposes of the feasibility report. The response was extremely positive. Eighty three per cent of respondents in the SALIDAA survey and a majority of the ACE respondents were happy to donate materials to a well-organised, community-based initiative.

A user survey was also carried out on a small but representative sample of users who testified to the need and importance of such a resource.

In June 2001 SALIDAA was successful in obtaining a grant of £266,000 over three years from the New Opportunities Fund (NOF), a Lottery distributor, as part of a nationwide digitization programme, which aims to bring together the community and voluntary sectors, libraries, archives and museums, as well as further and higher education institutions.

SALIDAA’s digitisation project consists of the creation of a digital archive of South Asian Diaspora literature and arts material, and is the first stage towards the long term creation of a physical archive.

Vision

SALIDAA’s vision is to ensure that the artistic, literary and historical contribution of the South Asian Diaspora becomes a visible part of the national heritage of Britain, supports lifelong learning, informs and inspires the creativity of all communities.

Aims

SALIDAA’s aims are:

• to highlight the creative achievements and developments of South Asian Diaspora writers, artists and performers in Britain
• to improve access to such resources for all interested users
• to preserve materials in danger of deterioration and of being lost
• to support lifelong learning

Cultural Diversity statement

The archive aims to be a secular and anti-communalist project, representing equally all the languages, regional and cultural traditions of the South Asian subcontinent, including all minorities defined by gender, class, caste, disability, religion and sexuality.

Core activities

SALIDAA’s core activities are:

• Access: to improve access to resources on South Asian Diaspora arts and literature in Britain
• Information: to provide an information service on South Asian Diaspora arts and literature in Britain
• Programmes and activities: to organise projects and events aimed at promoting South Asian Diaspora arts and literature in Britain, and foster research in this area of study

The SALIDAA digital archive project

What is it?
The SALIDAA digital archive is a three-year digitisation project (2001-2004) supported by the New Opportunities Fund (www.nof.org.uk). The digital archive web site (www.salidaa.org.uk) was launched in December 2002 and is in the first stage of its development. The archive will grow to include more collections and approximately 3000 digitised items by October 2004.

Coverage
The SALIDAA digital archive covers five subject areas: literature, visual arts, theatre, dance and music.

It features a wide variety of text-based and visual material such as excerpts of fiction, poetry and plays, manuscripts and writers’ notes, art works, photographs, leaflets, programmes of events, stage and costume drawings of theatre and dance performances, lyrics, CD and record covers, and music scores relating to the substantial body of work produced by South Asian writers, artists, performers and musicians in England from 1947 to the present.

All material is in English, but as a future development SALIDAA plans to add material in South Asian languages as well as audio-visuals, and to extend its coverage to include films. We will also aim to cover the rest of Britain and collect material which pre-dates 1947.

Collections
The archive showcases individuals and organisations who have agreed to participate in this project, and therefore is not comprehensive. However, it provides a representative sample of the artistic and cultural contribution made by South Asian people to the developments of arts and literature in England.

New aesthetic forms have grown out of the interaction between more traditionally perceived “Western” art forms and those of the Subcontinent, both classical and contemporary. This is visible across all disciplines, from literature to theatre, dance, visual arts and music. What emerges from the collections featured in the archive is an interesting tapestry of connections among the individuals and organisations involved in the production of these works, both across art forms and within a specific genre as well as key thematic and stylistic concerns, which practitioners have approached in different ways. The digitised material also shows the fertile interaction between South Asian art forms and the wider literary and cultural scene.

Although the archive does not constitute a comprehensive reflection of contemporary South Asian literature and arts in England, many of the individuals and organisations featured have played an important role in the development of the art forms covered in the archive. These include, for example, the many writers who belonged to the now defunct Asian Women Writers Collective, established theatre companies such as Tara Arts and Kali Theatre, dance companies like Pushpalata, musicians such as internationally renown Najma Akhtar and punk world music label Nation Records, as well as visual artists such as the late Pakistani photographer Samena Rana and painter Amal Ghosh.

Partnerships

Partnerships are a key element of the way SALIDAA operates. Since its inception, SALIDAA has been working in collaboration with a variety of individuals and organisations, on different aspects of its work: with writers, artists and performers with regard to collecting material, preserving it and showcasing samples of their works on the digital archive; with community and arts and literature organisations in setting up projects and events which promote South Asian Diaspora literature and arts to a wider public; with voluntary and training organisations by offering volunteers and students a stimulating environment for a work placement; and with universities, in order to encourage and support research in this area.

If you are an individual or organisation who would like to work in partnership with SALIDAA, please contact us.

Terminology

Adopting labels and short-hand terminology to reflect a much more complex reality is always problematic, and SALIDAA is aware that, at times, terms such as “South Asian Diaspora” are not entirely satisfactory. However, for the purpose of establishing some reference points for the organisation of a physical and digital archive, the following terminology has been adopted:

• South Asia refers to the Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
• Diaspora is used in its wider meaning of “dispersion or spreading, as of people originally belonging to one nation or having a common culture” (Oxford English Dictionary)
• South Asian Diaspora indicates all those people of South Asian background born in Britain or South Asia, who are resident in Britain or, if no longer resident, who have spent a considerable amount of their life in Britain. People of South Asian background who were born in a country other than Britain or the Subcontinent but live or have lived in Britain are also included, such as those of South Asian origin from Africa and the Caribbean.

Organisation structure

SALIDAA is a registered charity, No 1081584.

Trustees: Rukhsana Ahmad, Richard J Bingle, Shehzad Charania, Lakshmi Holmström, Rahila Gupta, Bhajan Hunjan, Susheila Nasta, Rozina Visram

Patrons: Lord Amirali Bhatia and Lord Bhikhu Parekh.

Digital Archivist: Sharanya Jayawickrama

Literature Access Officer: Dipli Saikia

SALIDAA
Toynbee Hall
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6LS
T/F: (+44) 020 7092 999
Email: info@salidaa.org.uk