SALIDAA Newsletter
01/11/2006

WELCOME to SALIDAA’s November newsletter. Read the SALIDAA News , check out the Voicebox , and see the Spotlight on featured artists. Get In the Picture about upcoming film launches and browse the extensive November Events Listings . View information for students, researchers, academics and arts practitioners in Calls for papers /Opportunities – this month there are many interesting opportunities for artists, choreographers and film-makers.

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Daredevas at the Purcell Room, London…
On Sunday 6 October, people gathered in the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank for the second Daredevas offerings from Akademi, the innovative UK-based South Asian dance company. The programme began with a performance of “Shakti” by Divya Kasturi who portrayed the dance of a youthful Shakti through her arresting kathak movements. This was followed by a solo performance by Shamita Ray titled “Dark Matter” in which the graceful strength of the dancer’s body captivated the audience as she moved from moments of sudden stillness to strokes of controlled movement. Sarra Whichloe danced “Bhole Nath”, in a performance full of positive energy. The brilliantly unsettling duet titled "Brisk, Bright but Broken" by Marcella Cappelletti and Yamuna Devi stood out for me as the performance of the night – from an opening tableau in which the dancers’ bodies were entwined in a silhouette cast upon the backdrop, their performance evoked fear and desire, antagonism and magnetism as the two figures’ bird-like movements elicited startling or suggestive reactions from each other. Hanna Mannila’s performance, “Duet 4 One”, united Finnish and Indian styles and imaginatively conveyed Akademi’s manifesto of combining the richness of South Asian tradition with an international outlook. Finally, Seema Patel’s “Raising the Wind” brought the journey back to a more traditional and equally accomplished conclusion. The intimacy of the Purcell Room was an ideal setting for these performances as with the stage only a few feet away, the audience could hear the breath of the dancers and see the strong yet delicate movements of hand, foot and face as they transformed the bare stage into their own landscapes of movement and expression.

Do you have a review of a recent event, book or film that you’d like to share with the SALIDAA community? We invite you to sound out the Voicebox for yourself. Write in with 200-300 words to sharanya@salidaa.org and let us hear your voice. Please write in before the 21st November 2006 for December’s issue.

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Surface Tension, 2001
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (1988-)
Copyright: Chris Nash
This image was taken during a performance of Surface Tension by the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company during the 2001 UK tour. The image, taken by Chris Nash, features two dancers from the dance company, Chitra Srishailan and Sowmya Gopalan. It depicts the dancers mid air, and has been digitally manipulated to depict a third dancer on the screen.
Click here to see the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company Collection

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Researcher’s Directory : We aim to provide a forum for ongoing engagement with our collections, and invite all those interested in South Asian Diaspora literature and arts to contribute to a Researcher’s Directory that will appear on our website. The list may be used as a point of contact for those interested in debate, discussion and collaboration with others and it will foster a research community around the SALIDAA digital archive. If you are interested in being included in the directory, please send your name, affiliation, areas of research/interest, and email address to sharanya@salidaa.org.uk.

Forthcoming Events : If you would like the SALIDAA Newsletter to list your forthcoming events please email sharanya@salidaa.org with all details including Event Title, Dates and Times, Location, Description (max. 200 words), Admission Fees. Please notify us about your forthcoming event by the 21st of each preceding month, i.e. to have your event listed in December’s newsletter, please send information by 21 November.

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Umrao Jaan opens 3 November across the UK
“If Lucknow was the heart of Avadh, Umrao was the heartbeat!” – Aishwarya Rai stars in this remake of the 1981 film directed by Muzaffar Ali and originally starring Rekha in the title role. Set in late nineteenth century Lucknow, the film charts the life of an eight year old girl named Amiran, the daughter of a jamadar or sweeper. Following the troubles of her father, she is kidnapped and sold to a brothel where is renamed Umrao Jaan. Trained to sing and dance she also learns to read and write and captures the heart of the Nawab Sultan (Abhishek Bachchan). However, this love story does not unfold simply and Umrao Jaan’s life brings her much love, loss, and the painful promise of a return to her family. The music from the film, composed by Khayyam and with several songs sung by Asha Bhosle is considered to be a classic soundtrack.

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Faith & Identity in Contemporary Visual Culture Conference, 10-11 November 2006
A symposium at the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester.
As part of the nation-wide Festival of Muslim Cultures (2006-7), this symposium will explore how the issue of identity, building on the identity politics debates of the 1970s and 1980s, is re-emerging as a more nuanced, but just as potent, force in the 21st century. The post- September 11 and July 7 contexts - marked both by the burgeoning of artwork dealing directly with diasporic British Muslim identities and by the ubiquity of popular cultural imaging in Britain of local and distant versions of Islamic cultures - lend the discussion of faith and identity in relation to the visual arts and visual culture a particular resonance and even urgency.
http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/subjectareas/arthistoryvisualstudies/faithandidentity/

The Annual Lecture of the Society for South Asian Studies, 13 November 2006
The Society organises an annual lecture each year in November. The lecture is delivered by a distinguished scholar who is invited to submit his or her paper for publication in South Asian Studies. This year’s speaker is Prof. Phillip B. Wagoner, Wesleyan University, Connecticut who will speak on “Reviving the Chalukyan Past in the 16th-century Deccan: Archaeological and Literary Perspectives”. The lecture is held at the Royal Asiatic Society, London on 13 November 2006 at 17:30. The convenor of this year's Annual Lecture is Dr. Jennifer Howes, British Library.

Artist/Choreographer
Arts Council England, GlaxoSmithKline and essexdance in Chelmsford are pleased to announce a unique opportunity for an established dance artist/choreographer to work in residence at GlaxoSmithKline's Harlow campus. One individual will be selected to spend up to 3 months working in residence at GlaxoSmithKline to commence April 2007. This artist placement offers a £10,000 bursary, inclusive of accommodation and travel, plus specialist support. Applicants must be free to commence this placement no later than May 2007. The opportunity is open to artists working in any art form (unless specified) with significant professional experience who are living and working in England only. Recent graduates are not eligible.
Closing date: 30 November 2006

Artist
Arts Council England's Artists' INSIGHTS programme aims to unlock artists' professional potential and develop the arts throughout England to the benefit of everyone. We are finding new ways for artists to INTERACT through innovative placements in research and industry environments.
Bangalore : An opportunity for an artist working with digital media to undertake a placement within Biocon Ltd www.biocon.com, a leading biotechnology company focused on the research and development of biopharmaceuticals, drug discovery and development. The artist will be able to go on an initial week long fact-finding visit followed by a longer visit of 6-8 weeks, and will be entitled to a bursary of approximately £3,500 plus expenses and travel.
Birmingham : An opportunity for an artist working in any art form to spend time over a nine-month period in either the School of Biosciences or the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham. The artist will have the opportunity to work with the research staff within the departments, and be entitled to a bursary of £9,000 plus some limited expenses. The opportunity is open to artists working in any art form (unless specified) with significant professional experience who are living and working in England only. Recent graduates are not eligible. Arts Council England, Arts and Business South East, and Vestas Blades UK Ltd - Isle of Wight are pleased to announce this opportunity for an artist who is interested in communication, change and ideas of community and shared social activity. Vestas Blades develops and produces wind turbine blades, and has an award winning approach to reducing environmental impact during manufacture. The successful artist will be offered a 5 month placement to develop their practice with Vestas. This placement offers a bursary of £1,000 per month, plus an accommodation allowance of £2,250, a travel allowance of £750, and support from an artists' coach.
Closing date: 30 November 2006

Digital Artist-in-Residence
Rosetta Life is a dynamic digital arts organisation working in hospices across the world to enable those living with life threatening illness to tell their stories and share them online and with their community. We are looking for a Digital Artist-in-Residence - 2.5 days p/w based South London. £25k pro rata, to work as a part of a dynamic and creative team at Trinity Hospice.
Closing date: 05 November 2006

Submissions for the 2007 Birds Eye View Film Festival are officially open
Birds Eye View will launch on International Women's Day (8th March 2007) at the National Film Theatre, and continue at venues including the ICA for a four-day programme. They are seeking submissions from women filmmakers from around the globe, to be a part of a showcase programme of innovative and inspirational shorts, features and documentaries. Awards will be presented to Best Short Drama, Best Short Animation, Best Documentary and a special Award for Innovation. Past winners include Gaelle Denis (City Paradise), Harry Wootliff (Nits), Kaat Beels (Cologne), Sharon Colman (Badgered) and Anja Breien (Uten Tittel). For all further information please see www.birds-eye-view.co.uk or email submissions@birds-eye-view.co.uk
UK Deadline: 10 November 2006/ International deadline: 17 November 2006

Own It Event Date, 29 November 2006, 18:30 to 20:30

Artist’s Resale Rights – What they are, how they affect you and what you need to do. Held in collaboration with DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society) this event looks at the first year of this legislation in action, how it works and how, as a visual artist, photographer, illustrator or other creative talent, you can be paid a royalty every time your work resells. Venue: Podium Lecture Theatre, University of the Arts London, London College of Communications, Elephant and Castle, SE1 6SB. 78 of 120 places available – Go to: http://www.own-it.org/events/details/?eventId=180

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Please note: This archived version of the SALIDAA newsletter does not contain the monthly events listings. If you would like to be signed up to receive the full newsletter please email sharanya@salidaa.org.uk.

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