Kala Sangam - Bringing people together through South Asian and Interdisciplinary Arts

Since our foundation in 1993 we have been delivering work through four main departments:

• Arts in Education
• Community and Box Office Performances
• Arts in Health
• Youth Arts

Arts in Education

Through our Arts in Education department, we:

• Teach weekly classes in classical instrumental music and folk dance to people of varied cultural backgrounds.
• Work in primary schools, secondary schools and in further and continuing education establishments to deliver workshops, residencies, and performances during class time and out of school hours activities.
• Offer training in south Asian dance and music to students and artists.
• Encourage volunteers of all ages and cultures to gain practical skills and experience through inter-cultural teamwork.
• Offer work experience placements to young people in schools and colleges, older people who are aiming to return to work, people with disabilities, and people with autism and Asperger's syndrome.

Community and Box Office Performances

In our Community and Box Office Performances department we create collaborative art and cultural performance events, in addition to the invited guest performances which feature students, staff, freelance artists, and national and international artists from both South Asian and other disciplines. We have been privileged to work with the world's finest artists and benefited immensely from collaborations with other organisations to create performances in the following art forms:

• Fusion music featuring didgeridoo and Western drums with sitar and tabla
• Performance contemporary digital imaging
• Poetry recitals choreographed using Indian dance
• Global dance/music events
• Collaborations with members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
• Educational residencies
• Collaboration with English Heritage delivering story telling, music and dance performance
• Rural touring, reaching twenty one villages across the UK
• Dance development project training and developing dancers across three regions
• Our annual show, Kala Utsav, celebrates the years work. Students and accomplished artists come together for a festive performance.

Arts in Health

Our Arts in Health department is committed to using arts in health and working with people with disabilities. We have, and continue to, deliver projects and workshops in these areas:

• Creative movement work for people with learning disabilities.
• Craft activities
• Working with Asian women with learning disabilities.
• Healthy Living Networks
• Placements from Mind The Gap and SACAR
• Music projects for people with Autism and Aspergers syndrome
• Arts in Health Conference reception with multi-cultural dance and music performance.

Youth Arts

Youth Arts at Kala Sangam began as an Arts Council of England fellowship scheme in 2004 and continues to expand in size and reputation. We are committed to using arts to inspire creativity in young people through the following projects.

• Youth consultation participation
• Young offenders exploring ownership of their city using a variety of art forms and arts excursions
• Drama and film-making for young people with autism
• Workshops and showcases
• Rural project in drumming, dance, drama & crafts across the Craven district
• Partnership with the Junior Youth Inclusion Project around Every Child Matters
• World fusion music workshops and performance
• Urban-rural exchange in web design and DVD production resulting in a publication.

You tube video of Emma.

Awards

We have received the following awards and accolades for our work:

• Positive about Disability
• Investors in People
• Short-listed for the Raymond William prize
• Runner up for the Asian Business Link Diversity Award 2006
• Outstanding Community Project, Just Creativity Awards 2007