An Indian Summer continues to grow every summer, with this year providing their most vibrant and extensive programme of events to date. The unique and contemporary celebration of South Asian arts and culture, is such an asset to Leicester, and we caught up with the festival’s Executive Producer, Parmjit, to find out more.
An Indian Summer runs from 2 – 6 July across multiple locations in Leicester.
For anyone who has never visited An Indian Summer before, how would you describe the festival?
An Indian Summer is a very unique celebration of contemporary South Asian arts and culture. The festival platforms South Asian artists from across the country, curating an exciting programme that is rooted locally and also brings in talent from beyond the city.
This year the festival is happening across five days, taking over spaces across Leicester city, including University of Leicester Botanic Gardens, Jubilee Square, Curve, Real Ale Classroom, Phoenix and Big Difference. The festival is a combined arts festival, happening in indoor and outdoor spaces, offering a vibrant programme of live music, dance, theatre, storytelling, workshops and film.
What are some of the festival highlights this year?
The outdoor arts programme across the whole festival is a big highlight, as it’s very different to previous years. This year we have multiple performances happening across University of Leicester Botanic Garden and Jubilee Square, with our three main shows Tell Me, Ancient Giants and Roots To Rise.
We’re also delighted to welcome Vidya Patel to Leicester, who will be premiering a new piece of work at the festival, A Bride’s Woven Plea, created through her residency with Philharmonia Orchestra. Her performance will be followed by a Q&A ,offering an insight into the process behind this unique collaboration that brings together South Asian dance and music, contemporary dance and orchestral music.
In contrast to the outdoor events, I’m also looking forward to the more intimate events at Real Ale Classroom, which include Lucky Tonight, a pub quiz meets one woman theatre show by Afreena Islam-Wright, and a folk and soul night with Amit Chadda.
The festival really focuses on bringing together very different aspects of South Asian culture, how has this been to programme?
How South Asian culture is represented within the UK is very limited, and tends to platform a very narrow range of artforms and traditions, and it’s time the lens on South Asian arts is broadened and widened. There is so much more for our audiences to explore and delve into, especially when you shine a light on diaspora artists who have their roots in South Asia and have grown up in the UK. These artists are creating new forms of expression that combine both traditional and contemporary. Creating a programme that brings this together is challenging, exciting and involves taking huge risks. I think this year’s programme pushes the boundaries of what An Indian Summer has been so far, and we hope our audiences will join us on this journey. We are bolder and braver with the work we are programming, and we’re actively giving space and voice to a generation of artists that are experimenting, exploring, reframing and reclaiming.
Events such as the Drag & Cabaret night are very different to what people might expect from the festival, how was this received when it was introduced last year?
Shakti Unleashed was a new element of our programme last year, and it was undeniably a huge success last year, The event sold out and people have been asking for it to return this year. The atmosphere was electric at last year’s event, with artists and audiences alike feeling waves of excitement, joy and pride that this event was happening and was received with so much positivity. During a time when trans rights are under threat across the world, we are proud and passionate about bringing Shakti Unleashed back this year and hope it will continue to be supported by our festival audiences.
This year sees the first time the festival is expanding to the University of Leicester Botanic Garden. What can people expect from that day?
This is the first time we’ve taken our festival to Botanic Gardens, through a new collaboration with Attenborough Arts Centre and University of Leicester. It’s a full day programme, suitable for all ages. Performances include Mirchi Mob, a fusion of tabla, DJ and spoken word, and Inspirate’s very own show Ancient Giants which combines large scale puppetry with martial arts. The Roots Of Our Tree workshops will involve collaboratively creating bunting that represents our identities and heritage. And our newly co-commissioned shows, Tell Me and Roots to Rise, will bring dance, circus and visual storytelling to the grounds.
For you, what are you most looking forward to seeing in this year’s festival?
It’s hard to pick one event as all the artists are such a valued and important part of the festival, and I’m looking forward to bringing them all together after months of individual conversations and planning!
I’m keen to see how this fresh and new programme will be received by all who come along to the festival.
I’m also looking forward to enjoying what each artist brings to the overall festival theme of The Stories We Bring, The Stories We Shape.
As I’ve curated the festival, I’ve carefully put together a programme where people can experience stories being expressed, created and shared in different ways, and I can’t wait to see how this evolves and comes to life during the festival days.
To sum up, how would you describe An Indian Summer in 5 words?
Bold
Thought-provoking
Vibrant
Exploratory
Welcoming
How can people stay up to date and find out more about the festival?
To read about the programme in detail and book onto the ticketed events, visit our festival website www.indiansummer.org.uk
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