An Indian Summer returns to Leicester City Centre this August, and this year the programme of events is more vibrant and eclectic than ever.
Celebrating South Asian arts and culture, the festival will once again take over the Cultural Quarter with their Festival & Community Day on Saturday 10 August. Expect delicious street food, music, workshops, activities and more at multiple venues. Plus, you can look forward to activities including outdoor cinema and cabaret across the weekend.
We caught up with Executive Producer, Parmjit Sagoo, to find out more about what to expect this year.
What makes An Indian Summer so unique?
An Indian Summer is a celebration of contemporary South Asian culture, arts and creativity. It is unique because it goes beyond the most widely portrayed South Asian artforms and traditions, delving into the full breath of South Asian artistry and how incredibly diverse this is. In particular, the festival centres upon the South Asian diaspora, exploring the intertwined culture of South Asia and the UK. We platform and nurture the creative alchemy and artistic richness that the diasporic experience inspires within South Asian artists and communities.
This year’s line-up is the festival’s most vibrant programme to date, how has the shape and feel of the festival developed?
This year is our biggest programme to date and there have been many changes going on behind the scenes, building upon the success of the festival since it began.
We’ve rebranded and are working on a new visual identity that represents our explorations of contemporary South Asian culture, which is a continually evolving dialogue between heritage, roots, migration, fusion and intersecting identities.
The festival has many layers and features work by young people, emerging artists and creatives at all stages of their career, local to international. This is something we’ve worked hard on this year, supporting creativity within communities, offering opportunities to local artists as well as bringing international talent into the city. This is leading us towards a festival programme that connects with people all year round, with the festival weekend being the moment when we showcase and celebrate all of these programmes and projects. We want An Indian Summer to be a festival that is deeply rooted in its home city, built on ongoing relationships and collaborations, through which we open doors to the arts within communities, as well as advocating and supporting artists with their career journeys.
What are some of the highlights for you this year?
I’m personally really excited about this year’s programme, and it’s very hard to choose highlights!
My personal highlights are Shakti Unleashed, our South Asian Drag & Cabaret Night on Friday 9th August, building on the work we’ve been doing with Queer South Asian artists this year.
I’m also excited about Bridging Beats, our youth music project with young people in Belgrave and Highfields, who have been working with local musicians/sound producers Akshay Sharma and Aaron Hira. These young creatives will present a unique sound experience at The Curve on Saturday 10th as part of our Curve Takeover Day, sharing music and soundscapes they have made and produced during the project sessions.
Another highlight is working with Midlands based jewellery designer Anisha Parmar, who will be bringing ‘My Adornment Is My Power’ exhibition and film to the festival, a project which explores the decolonisation of South Asian jewellery collections within heritage settings.
We have our festival favourite back, Arun Ghosh, with a lively and family friendly Indo-Jazz gig, be prepared to dance and bounce to this one!
And of course, our headline act, Orchestral Qawwali Project, a fusion of orchestral arrangements and Sufi music, with the highly acclaimed Abi Sampa and Rushil Ranjan, also featuring local Leicester dancer and choreographer Kesha Raithatha.
There is so much more I could mention, but I think these particular events and projects give you a flavour of the eclectic programme we have to offer, and the range and depth of creativity we seek to represent and celebrate through An Indian Summer.
What are the challenges involved in programming the festival?
As always, there is always the challenge of time! Inspirate has expanded over the last year and we’re working on more projects than ever before. Our year has been extremely busy, so we’ve pulled this programme together in record time!
The costs of putting a festival on have risen, due to the current economic climate as well as our own commitment to paying creative professionals fairly, so there’s a constant juggle of remaining ambitious, ethical whilst managing budgets.
Curating and programming a festival is an epic job, involving a huge amount of multi-tasking. It involves everything from in-depth research, having inspiring creative conversations with artists, working with multiple venues and partners, to working on event management spreadsheets and logistics late into the night! It’s a job that requires a wide range of skills and expertise, and relentless energy!
This year’s event also has a local independent feel to it, working with local businesses in the city. How important is this?
We have actively worked with local businesses this year, recognising the potential for growing the festival through local partnerships. We have such an exciting array of local, independent businesses in Leicester, and we want to support these businesses through a festival programme which brings people to these venues. Working together, rather than in isolation, is key to Inspirate’s values, An Indian Summer is a great opportunity for us and local businesses to pool resources, share ideas, and collaboratively create a festival that supports all us creatively and economically, and becomes a continually improving experience for our audiences.
If someone has never been to An Indian Summer before, how would you describe it?
An Indian Summer is a festival which celebrates contemporary South Asian artists and culture, and is open to all.
This year’s festival theme is ‘We Gather’ and we invite people to Gather and proactively build a sense of Joy and Community, taking part in Collective Moments, Creation and Action.
The festival is a space where people of all backgrounds can come together and immerse themselves in live music and dance, family friendly workshops, exhibitions, talks, discussions and film screenings. You can enjoy Bollywood outdoor film screenings, listen and dance to live Indo-Jazz performances, be mesmerised by classical and contemporary Indian dance, wander through immersive exhibitions, eat Bangladeshi Street Food, play street cricket and much more!
What are the free events people can enjoy this year?
The festival is a combination of free and ticketed events. Our free events include our Outdoor Cinema, this year we’re screening the hugely popular Rocki Aur Rani Ke Prem Kanani. Most of our Curve Takeover Day is free and is a very full and vibrant day of live performances and workshops, with some events being free and ticketed, while others are drop in and informal.
How can people find out more and get tickets?
The best place to find out more about the festival weekend is via our website https://www.indiansummer.org.uk/festival-weekend where you can find out more about the festival programme, the artists involved, book onto our ticketed events and plan your festival weekend!
You can also follow us on social media, where you will find a ‘quick browse’ version of our festival guide, and find out more about all events.
Instagram: @aisfestival (instagram)
Facebook: An Indian Summer
