1) What is SALIDAA?
SALIDAA stands for South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive. SALIDAA is a national charity which was set up in 1999 with the aim to create a physical and digital archive of material relating to the literature and arts produced by South Asian writers, artists and performers in Britain.

2) Why an organisation like SALIDAA?
SALIDAA was founded by a group of 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. SALIDAA fills this gap.

3) What do you mean by South Asian Diaspora?
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.

4) What is the SALIDAA digital archive?
The SALIDAA digital archive is a project supported by the Big Lottery Fund , a Lottery distributor, as part of a groundbreaking UK-wide Government sponsored digitisation programme. The SALIDAA digital archive aims to showcase the richness and diversity of contemporary South Asian literature and arts in England by digitising a variety of text-based and visual material accompanied by descriptive and contextual information.

Although not comprehensive, the digital archive provides a representative sample of the artistic and cultural contribution made by South Asian people to the developments of arts and literature in England.

5) Which subject areas and time span does the digital archive cover?
SALIDAA’s digital archive covers five main areas: literature, visual arts, theatre, dance and music produced by South Asian writers and artists in England since, approximately, 1947 to the present.

All digitised material is in the English language and ranges from excerpts of fiction, poetry and plays, manuscripts and writers’ notes, images of art works, photographs, leaflets, brochures and programmes of events, stage and costume drawings of theatre and dance performances, lyrics, CD and record covers, and music scores.

As a future development, one of the main priorities for SALIDAA is to add material in South Asian languages as well as audio-visuals, and to extend the coverage to include films. We will also aim to cover the rest of Britain and collect material which pre-dates 1947.

6) How do you select material for digitisation?
As part of the digital archive project, SALIDAA is working closely with donors of archive material, both individuals and organisations, to select items for digitisation and collect material to house and preserve in the physical archive in the long term.

Our selection policy and the advice from experts making up the SALIDAA Content Selection Committee provide the guiding principle for determining what to collect and digitise. On the whole, we try and convey, through the digitised items, a feel for the variety of works, activities and developments of an individual or organisation through time.

British-based writers, artists, theatre or dance performers, or musicians of South Asian origin who would like to be featured in the SALIDAA digital archive or deposit material in the physical archive, should contact us

7) Can people visit the physical archive?
As part of the digitisation project, SALIDAA is assembling archive material which is available for consultation at its premises.

If you have any enquiries or would like to visit SALIDAA, please contact us:

SALIDAA
c/o Stakeholder Forum
c/o Holyrood Street
London SE1 2EL
Tel: 020-7357 6527
info@salidaa.org.uk

Visits are by appointment, Mon-Fri, 10.00-16.00

8) Who is the archive for?
The archive is aimed at anyone with an interest in contemporary literature, visual arts, theatre, dance and music.

In particular, it is a useful resource for students, researchers, academics, teachers, those working in the literary and cultural sector as well as the media.

September 2004