Annual Report 2018-19

SAA-uk IMPACT REPORT 2018/2019 Preserving the traditional, facilitating the contemporary

CONTENTS Chairman’s Message

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C.E.O and Artistic Director’s Message 5 Facts at a Glance 6 The Case for SAA-uk 7 Performance Programme 8 All the Facts 9 SCORE IT! 10 Innervision @ Leeds International Festival 18 12 @ Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 13 SAA-uk Education Programme 14-15 Case Studies 16 Summer School 2018 17 SAA-uk Community Engagement + Strategic Engagement 18-19 SAA-uk Strategic Development 20-21 SAA-uk People 22-23 International Visiting Artists 24 Sounds of Asia 25 Upping the Game 26 Marketing and Communications 27 Financial Report 2017-18 28-29 Staff and Trustees 30 Funders and Partners 31

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SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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Chairman’s Message Another year passes and the world keeps changing in ways we could not have envisaged. I started last year’s message with a similar sentiment but couldn’t have imagined the changes and challenges we have faced as a society over the last year.

They can have a direct impact on the arts sector, in terms of funding, and people’s desire to participate through learning a musical instrument or experiencing the arts firsthand.

However, SAA-uk has still managed to grow and evolve through these challenging times, whether it is nurturing new artistic talent, showcasing the best in Indian classical music or collaborating with other artists and artistic disciplines.

None of this is possible without the fantastic SAA-uk Board which I am privileged to chair.

My thanks go to Paul French and Wesley Zepherin as well as newest board members Jo Nockels, Dr Paul Abbott and Dr Sahil Warsi for their support. Thanks also to Pritpal Singh, who left the board this year.

Lastly, I thank Keran and the SAA-uk staff, volunteers and the funding organisations for all their hard work.

I am looking forward to another exciting year ahead.

Jatinder Singh Mehmi Chair of Trustees – SAA-uk

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Chief Executive and Artistic Director’s Message 2018-2019 was the first year of our very ambitious 4-year Development Plan, 2018 to 2022. I was fully aware of the opportunities and challenges my team and I had ahead of us. However, I am delighted there have been so many achievements, several of which are celebrated in this report.

SAA-uk maintained its policy of delivering high-quality artistic output, coupled with financial prudency, and delivered an expansive programme of firstclass arts (whilst posting a surplus) as we continued to:

All of this is made possible by the support of our funders, donors, volunteers and supporters.

All of this is made possible by the support of our funders, donors, volunteers and supporters.

To make sure this wonderful success continues, we have some exciting plans to turn the challenges into opportunities.

We are determined to bring a ‘STEP CHANGE’ within the organization, allowing for growth and greater resilience, as we continue to deal with

We aim to achieve this through our artistic programmes and continued investments in innovation and research.

We will continue to ensure we are well led and well governed as an organization, and invest in our staff and volunteers without whom we cannot achieve our ambitions.

• Drive excellence and nurture talent

uncertainty while driving our

• Innovate and invest in Research and Development

this, over the next year, we will

• Invest in development of Children and Young people

provide a roadmap for the future

• Invest in artists development

We want to lead the way in

• Retain and grow audiences

creating equal opportunities for

• Advocate for the Creative Case for Diversity and Environmental sustainability

all, irrespective of background,

• Build financial resilience within our organization

At the heart of what we do is to inspire and provide

Keranjeet Kaur Virdee

• Sustain and develop partnerships.

transformative, enriching

C.E.O and Artistic Director – SAA-uk

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

mission forward. Considering develop a 10-year strategy to of our charity.

to make, engage and participate

As you read this Impact Report, I hope you enjoy reflecting on our successes from the past year, including three exciting new commissions: SCORE IT! (page 10), InnerVision (page 12) and THREAD (page 13). And we look forward to you joining us on our journey ahead.

in South Asian arts and culture.

experiences for everyone.

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65.7% Proportion of our Income derived from government funding.

Facts at a glance

4,014

Total audiences engaged during 2018-19 enjoyed an artistic activity provided by SAA-uk.

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Freelance artists.

SAA-uk’s commitment to developing and supporting UK talent.

5

International visiting artists.

One key achievement was curating each of the concerts to encourage networking opportunities for both visiting artists and UK artists

90%

Proportion of our performances that were Family and Child Friendly 6

30%

Proportion of our shows that were completely free. We achieved this through strategic partnerships and the support of our funders

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Concerts and performances undertaken

by SAA-uk during the whole year.

6

Number of BAME Artists supported in the opportunity to create new work. This is reflected onto our Special Projects and Performance Programme

The CASE for SAA-uk

91%

Proportion of retained students in our Music and Dance Academies.

Delivering a range of disciplines in South Asian classical music and dance

£11,161

Individual donations and projects delivered from trust and foundation support. A huge thanks to everyone who donated to us allowing us to thrive and deliver outstanding work.

241

The number of live viewers during our online streamed performances, allowing us to reach a wider audience for both ourselves and the artform

1,151,086 519 YouTube views on our popular channel showcasing concert excerpts from our performances. A 100% rise from last year’s figures

Academy sessions in our Music and Dance Academies.

Delivering a range of disciplines in South Asian Classical music and dance

4.1 million people, 7.8% of the UK population classified themselves as Asian or British Asian in the 2011 census; 6.2% on those Asian or British Asian people are located within the Yorkshire Region. Founded in 1997, SAA-uk was established to provide culturally relevant learning, experience and art to the Asian and British Asian populous in the UK, and to offer people of all ethnicities and backgrounds the opportunity to experience the rich artistic expressions, ancient traditions and kaleidoscopic contemporary outputs of South Asian art.

Through a prism of excellence SAA-uk creates the highest standard of artistic output and celebrates the diverse population of the UK today with the Creative Case for Diversity and Equality at its heart. This year SAA-uk celebrated and promoted the extraordinary talent to be found in children and young people with enormous success and continues to do so by its very nature. In the coming year, SAA-uk will celebrate gender equality within the arts, showcasing men in dance and women in music in response to finding the current imbalance.

SAA-uk continued to work tirelessly to engage, inspire and raise the next generation of artists and arts leaders. Since launching the first ever Summer School in the UK in 1998, SAA-uk now operates 4 academies teaching Punjabi Folk, Carnatic music, Indian dance and Hindustani music that are permanently growing and evolving in line with the needs of its participants. Combined, these academies offer 900 sessions per year to 250 participants from age 3 to 70, 83% of whom are children and young people. This year SAA-uk has celebrated the most gifted and talented of these students, providing them professional stages to raise aspirations, share their talent and give vital performance experience. In addition to these performance opportunities, SAA-uk has built upon past success of organically shaping the next generation of arts professionals and this year began recruitment for two young Generation 21 trainees to be offered full time training inside the SAA-uk office, kick starting their careers as BAME leaders of the future.

SAA-uk continues to play a vital role in the cultural development of the region and beyond through its Special Projects programme. The great success of multi-medium live performance piece, , originally commissioned by Leeds University in 2016, was revived this year as part of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and this time included engaging schools’ workshops and a highly acclaimed performance. ‘Womanhood’ saw SAA-uk continue to build on its long-time relationship with Northern School of Contemporary Dance and collaborate with Amina Khayyam Dance Company in its first ever hard-hitting social commentary piece, and continued this new direction in supporting ‘Aasha,’ and brand new original dance piece choreographed by SAA-uk resident artist, Santosh Menon.

The standard of SAA-uk’s Performance Program continues to be staggeringly high, this year maintaining the commitment to program 60% UK based artistes and offering the local populace the chance to experience performances and workshops from International visiting artistes. With our community engagement works reaching over 4,000 participants annually and an astonishing increase in audience numbers to 96% with ‘Serenaded by Sitar’ in the final quarter of the year, SAA-uk achieved great success and feedback was immensely positive.

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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Performance Programme This year we increasingly focused increasingly on refining our performance programme by committing to talent development and enriching the depth of our engagement with audiences and participants alike.

In 2018 we moved part of our regular concert series to larger venues in the city centre including The Venue at Leeds College of Music, Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre at Northern Ballet and Carriageworks Theatre. This choice has allowed us to strengthen our existing partnerships and build new relationships with some of the key players in the city as well as showcase the excellence in Indian classical music on major professional stages.

This Financial Year we have also laid the foundations for a SAA-uk Enrichment Programme by offering the students of our Academies the opportunity to learn from internationally renowned artists. All events were free for registered students and open to the wider public.

Another step in this direction has been to introduce pre-show talks at the start of each event in our performance programme.

In 2018 we have also been invited to re-imagine one of our most successful Special Projects to date: . Originally commissioned in 2018 by University of Leeds, 2018 saw + at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, this time including a series of workshops for the young people of Kirklees.

Spring/Summer Programme 2018 29th April 2018

Art of Tabla with Pandit Yogesh Samsi

21st – 22nd June 2018

Summer Solstice Festival 2018

1st August 2018

Sounds of Asia

Autumn/Winter Programme 2018-19 15th – 16th September 2018

Legends: Arjuna

29th September 2018 East to West, from China to India and back @ World On our Doorstep Festival 11th October 2018

A Thousand Faces

16th November 2018

Gods & Goddesses + Aasha

5th December 2018

Gayaki – Midday Mantra

7th February 2019

Hum Teen : Us Three

3rd – 10th March 2019

International Sitar Festival

Staff review

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You know a concert is successful when the crowd is cheering without a break, or so silent they’re concentrating on hearing every composition played. At Hum Teen, this was the latter.

The Hum Teen concert delighted audiences with its three exceptionally talented musicians.

Manish Pingle glided his fingers effortlessly across the strings of the slide guitar, creating a new warm sound. Jack Jennings’ modified guitar resonated across the auditorium showing how the boundaries of modern music can be crossed, and new sounds can be discovered.

Gurdain Rayatt gave the tabla a voice among the two guitarists. His rapid speed and precision show his dedication to the instrument and his flawless technique that years of practice proves will pay off.

Overall, the evening was delightful and entrancing. The music felt new and different but still held the weight and progression of centuries of classical Indian music being passed through the ages. The audience was captivated and mesmerised, hanging onto each note, careful never to applaud too early or too late, merely escaping into the melody.

My personal favourite out of the compositions was the final one, written by Manish himself.

The tone was joyous, the rhythm felt bouncy and engaging with the electric guitar and the tabla. You could see on the musicians’ faces they were enjoying performing it. With the rhythms and spirited tone, the music felt composed around these three instruments and showed the audience the ranges that they could achieve.

By Prishant Jutlla SAA-uk Volunteer

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All the facts

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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Audience

3,337

Venues

6

Musicians

26

Dancers

9

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SCORE IT! Talent development, investing in the next generation SCORE IT! was a trail-blazing youth project that brought together some of the world’s most popular Western film scores into an awe-inspiring medley, all played on Indian classical instruments. The project was a development of the Power of 5, a small ensemble of young musicians that performed in Summer 2017 during the Tetley Weekender. SCORE IT! was funded by LMEP and Leeds Inspired and fulfilled our mission of preserving the traditional and facilitating the contemporary expression of Indian classical music.

Five popular film scores were voted in a consultation between the 18 young musicians (Pink Panther, The Simpsons, James Bond, Harry Potter, Pirates of Caribbean) before Jasdeep Singh Degun, musical director of the project, composed a series of new arrangements with the help of two other senior musicians.

• SCORE IT! Premiere + Livestream 8 November 2018, Leeds College of Music The Venue • SCORE IT! @ HEART 29 November 2018, HEART Centre part of Classical Platform • SCORE IT! @ Musicathon + Livestream 8 December 2018, Chapel FM • SCORE IT! @ Child Friendly Leeds Award 7 February 2019, City Varieties Music Hall

During a 5-days creative week in the summer of 2018, the young musicians were first introduced to the complete set of material, which they then prepared to perform across the city of Leeds in the following months.

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It has been really inspiring to see the enthusiasm and hard work shown by the young musicians, making this project, for me, a truly unforgettable experience. SCORE IT! is particularly special as whilst the participants have chosen to perform pieces from their favourite films, the music remains firmly rooted in Indian classical music.

Jasdeep Singh Degun, composer and musical director of SCORE IT! project

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Our tutors have been massively helpful and have guided us throughout. They have been incredibly patient and have taught us many new skills such as making tihais. Wouldn’t have been able to do it without them!”

“I have learnt how to collaborate with different instruments to bring a piece together and many new skills within my own instrument.

Young musicians

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SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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INNERVISION @ Leeds International Festival 18

@ Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

textiles and how they connect

1 May 2018, Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre part of Leeds International Festival 18

is a SAA-uk original dance and music production, commissioned by the University of Leeds in 2016 and re-imagined for the Huddersfiled Contemporary Music Festival in 2018.

This new development of the , production included a community heritage and arts project taking place during the Autumn half-term.

InnerVision Orchestra, an orchestra of blind and partially sighted world musicians, were commissioned by Leeds International Festival to create a 40-minute music piece. The Orchestra, led by Indian music maestro Baluji Shrivastav OBE, performed as part of the Festival main programme of live performances.

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I really enjoyed this concert.

Inspiring musicians and what a great idea for a commission! It was very thought provoking and I loved the setting of the audience close to the musicians. One particular section moved me - the sitar, guitar and sax together. I also loved the piano/recorder parts. More please!

Audience members

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The project took the shape of a one-day school workshop for Y9 students in Kirklees exploring the hidden history of mills and the evolution of

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Britain with India pre-1947 through sound, music and dance. Three professional artists helped the students produce an original piece they then performed as an opening act of the main SAA-uk production at HCMF. Both the young people performance and the professional piece were performed for a full house at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and were extremely well received.

19 November 2018, Bates Mill Photographic Studio in Huddersfield

Baluji and Baluji Music Foundation have a long-standing relationship with SAAuk. It was a creative challenge to be asked by SAA-uk to create a seamless piece of music of 40 mins. This is a challenge for any composer but especially challenging when the composer, conductor and 10 musicians are all blind and come from different musical traditions!

So, thanks to the Festival and to SAA, and Keranjeet in particular for her faith in Baluji to create a marvelous performance. The welcome that all the staff gave us at the theatre, hotel and restaurant was wonderful and made the whole event very special to all of us and made it a memorable and precious experience for us all.

Linda Shrivastav, InnerVision Orchestra 12

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SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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SAA-uk Education Programme Our Music and Dance Academies (11 music disciplines and 2 dance styles) continue to thrive with 158 participants attending regularly for 30 weeks of the year.

Our classes give a solid platform for our students to grow and progress their own artistry and expression through classical Indian music; this helps them further develop their confidence and motivations throughout their lives.

SAA-uk also held an end of year showcase at Carriageworks Theatre that provided children, young people and adults of our Academies the opportunity to perform on a professional stage.

The day was structured as a “takeover” of the Theatre, with late morning workshops, authentically catered lunch break and an afternoon showcase. The performances were of a very high standard and students from all disciplines worked hard on their individual pieces.

SAA-uk Carnatic Music Academy The Carnatic Music Academy offers a unique experience for our students to gain expert training in a safe environment, taught in the distinctive South Asian classical style.

SAA-uk has a target of 5 young people enrolled to take and achieve an Arts Award. In September 2018, 3 young people registered for the Bronze arts award, which they are due to complete in the next Financial Year.

SAA-uk also delivered ISTD South Asian Dance Grading Exams in 2018. Of the 24 young dancers that took their grade 1 to 4 exams, all achieved their grades with distinctions and merits.

SAA-uk laid the foundations for an Enrichment Programme to ensure that the present, organically developed opportunities within the Academies (buddy scheme, mentors and support tutors) become pathways that enable each child and young person to experience the richness of the artforms we provide.

With the Enrichment Programme we have also introduced the opportunity for students across the Academies to learn from renowned international visiting artists. These workshops were led by world class artists Jayanthi Kumaresh, Pandit Yogesh Samsi and Shakir Khan, and have inspired and rewarded the students, while enhancing their experience and connection with the art forms.

This Academy, now into its 3rd year of activity, has offered a compelling alternative to Western classical music for students students of all ages and experience levels? (Some adults are beginners, some youngsters are quite experienced) SAA-uk Indian Dance Academy For members of the South Asian community, the classes in Kathak and Bharatanatyam dancing provide with an engaging way to feel the impact of their cultural heritage. For those of other backgrounds, these disciplines provide an opportunity to explore new customs and broaden their outlook.

A group of students from this Academy took ISTD Grading Exams in Spring 2018, and they all achieved their grades with distinction and merits.

SAA-uk Punjabi Folk Academy The Punjabi Folk Academy is the perfect space to create and enhance cultural awareness of Asian festivals and other related activities.

SAA-uk Hindustani Music Academy The Hindustani Music Academy offers a wide variety of instruments for our students to choose from, including the sitar, the tabla, the santoor and bowed instruments. Our classes are taught by UK based world-renowned artists, some which started as students of the SAA-uk Academies themselves.

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All the facts

Classes

390

Regular Students

158

Academy Tutors

15 SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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SAA-uk Strategic Development

Case Studies A Thousand Faces 11 October 2018, Riley Theatre A Thousand Faces was delivered in partnership with Amina Khayyam Dance as part of an audience development initiative with Northern School of Contemporary Dance and KalaSangam.

The main act was introduced by “Womanhood”, a short 10 mins piece choreographed by SAA-uk resident artist and Kathak tutor Jyoti Manral and produced by SAA-uk.

SAA-uk received a free dance workshop delivered by Amina Khayyam, that led to SAA-uk Kathak Class as well as two students from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance to create a new piece which was performed as a curtain raiser.

“

I am very grateful to SAA-uk for this opportunity, first and foremost because, as an adult learner, I get the chance to exercise and to learn a little bit more about my body.

I started learning Kathak dance a couple of years ago. We have a great, inspirational teacher, Jyoti Manral, and a very supportive organization behind, with Keran being very supportive, always on top of things and making sure that the course will run smoothly.

I have waited way too long before summoning up the courage to join these classes. I urge the young and the not so young anymore, like me, to seize this opportunity, as we are really blessed to have Jyoti and Keran working together in Leeds. Either you choose to join it to take grades or to perform on a stage or just to learn a new skill, there is something for everybody, I believe.”

Elena, Kathak dance student 16

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SAA-uk has taken on the role of positive critical eye and producer, to inspire and signpost opportunities for South Asian artists facing the challenges of taking their art forward and evolving it; packaging it without losing its essence.

National Bhaitak Network Through the University of Leeds and the “Engaging the Modern City” module, SAA-uk has worked with 5 postgraduate students to complete the Research and Development phase of the National Baithak Network. The recommendations in the report are to be carefully considered and an action plan will be defined to produce a test a pilot of this project in 2019-2020.

Generation 21 Generation 21 focuses on the development of future BAME leaders in the Arts and Creative industries.

The draft design of this 2-year talent development programme was completed in February 2019 and will offer two BAME young people a full-time, paid position at SAA-uk, where they will be able to make their first step into a career in the arts. In addition to that, they will have access to a minimum of two placements in renowned partner organisations based in Yorkshire, and a day-in-the-life of Arts leaders of their choice.

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

Specific training will be offered as well as live projects to deliver at SAA-uk and at their partner organisations of choice. SAA-uk has been successful in getting partnership agreements in place with 5 host organisations (National Centre

for Early Music, Civic Barnsley, Opera North, Northern Ballet and Leeds Playhouse).

The launch of the first Generation 21 pilot programme is due to take place in May 2019.

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SAA-uk Community Engagement plus Strategic Engagement SAA-uk has an established history of working with arts organisations and community groups across Leeds. SAAuk’s Community Engagement Strategy has been organically evolving from our commitment to showcase and celebrate the diverse South Asian community, whilst regularly contributing to the wider cultural offer in Leeds.

In 2018-19 we took the next step in our Community Engagement Strategy by working on the R&D of our “Mobilizing South Asian communities” project. The project aims to further contribute and advocate for equality in the arts by working with four different South Asian communities each year to develop a sense of and at their partner organisations of choice to the city. The project will be delivered in 2019-20, celebrating the musical heritage and diversity of Leeds and providing fertile ground for crosscultural collaborations.

2018-19 has also been a year of developing new partnership and strengthening existing ones. Our Strategic Engagement programme has seen us contribute to regional and national networks (Music:Leeds, Leeds Dance Partnership, Leeds Dance Network, Leeds Music Education Partnership, South Asian Dance Alliance, Cultural Institute Partnership, IVE – Arts) as well as cultural organisations and institutions (Leeds Inspired, Leeds International Festival, University of Leeds, Royal Armouries, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Leeds International Concert Season).

• Nagar Kirtan @ Vaisakhi Parade • Varnam, Reaching the Unreached @ Beeston Care Home • Punjabi Mela @ Ramgarhia Board Gurdwara Leeds • Health and Wellbeing Charity event @ Hindu Mandhir • Samarpan @ Burley Lodge Community Centre • Glasgow Programming Advisory Group • @ Textile Institute World Conference • Mini Symposium – Arts and Diversity in Leeds at Stage @ Leeds • Encore - Opera North • Arts Together network - Opera North

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SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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All the facts

Summer School 2018 SAA-uk’s annual Summer School provided children, young people and families across the UK a 7-day immersive experience into the richness of Indian classical music. Summer School 2018 offered a vibrant schedule of activities and was delivered by 9 artists including 1 international musician, renowned UK Ustaads and up-coming young Tutors.

Students

47

This year’s Summer School supported bursary applications and free loan of instruments, following on from our commitment to ensure that financial barriers to participation in dance and music making are removed or reduced.

The Summer School 2018 was delivered at Khalsa Science Academy for the first time. In the months leading up to the Summer Schools, we delivered a 10-week singing workshop at this new partner venue, which led to an increase in new students’ intake.

This year’s Summer School also saw the development of a specific programme for Early Years students (5- 8yrs). The specially planned timetable for these students, including vocal exercises and rhythm practice, has been particularly successful with both students and parents, suggesting new potential developments for the format of our Summer School.

Sessions

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Some feedback from the participants:

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“ Today was the best day of my life!”

“ Best SAA-uk Summer School so far”

“ Getting to know SAA-uk has been lifechanging for us.”

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Artists

9

Staff & Volunteers

8 20

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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SAA-uk People Board Open Evening 21 June 2018, Leeds College of Music Board recruitment and development are priorities for SAA-uk, as this is an area where the organisation needs to strengthen itself and be resilient in order to achieve the ambitions of our Business Plan 2018-2022.

Considering this, SAA-uk’s first Board Open Evening was held in June 2018. The event and the recruitment work around it, led to three new Board members joining SAA-uk in 2018 (Dr Paul J Abbott, Dr Sahil K Warsi and Jo Nockels).

Each year SAA-uk holds a dedicated budget to give beneficial and relevant training to volunteers, resident artists and staff. This training is selected to contribute to both SAA-uk development and individual growth, empowering the people of SAA-uk with knowledge, experience and support to allow them to fulfill their potential. This year much of the training undertaken has focused on creating the Individual Giving programme, updating Safeguarding training, and beginning to implement Arts Award as a framework for our informal education programmes.

Farewell Pritpal Singh Board Lorna Donaghy Learning & Participation Officer Darren Tiffney Finance and Business Manager

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When asked to write a short testimonial of my time at SAA-uk, my mind immediately returns to the first week I joined this wonderful organisation. I was asked to not merely produce the accounts (for which I was employed), but also produce a poster and flyer, deliver a Summer School class in arts & crafts video record a concert and host a live radio show in Indian classical music! The above outlines what makes SAA-uk so remarkable, and why I will always cherish my time with them.

Since those early days tucked away in a small office at Yorkshire Dance, I have witnessed and contributed to a flourishing arts organisation. One that initially had 40 students and that now has 200, that continues to produce and celebrate excellence in the Arts, which is all the more remarkable when you consider the modest resources at its disposal. he last 9 years have marked an important era in my life and I T sincerely thank the Chief Executive, Board members and work colleagues for their generosity, spirit and trust in making a contribution to this wonderful charity. I will remain a lifelong supporter and aficionado of South Asian arts and more specifically SAA-uk and watch in eagerness to see how it develops in the next decade.

Darren Tiffney 22

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New at SAA-uk Jenny Atkinson, Kalvinder Mellor, Dr Paul Abbott, Jo Nockels, Dr Sahil Warsi Volunteers

Jaspreet Virdee, Fiona Murray and Prishant Jutlla

Training Kal Mellor Arts Award Darren Tiffney CIMA Team Safeguarding Jenny Atkinson Dementia Friendly and Creating an Amazing Donor Expreience Barbara Cardone and Lorna Donaghy Bid Writing Keranjeet Kaur Virdee and Barbara Cardone Fundraising with focus on individual giving Lorna Donaghy and NYMAZ , Early Years Conference SAA-uk Tutor Ramya Tangirala How to make the Education programme more inclusive to Early Years learners. Left with useful toolkits which were implemented into Summer School 2018 and the Carnatic music Academy.

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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International Visiting Artists

Sounds of Asia

Hum Teen: Us Three 7 February 2019, Seven Arts Leeds

International Sitar Festival 3 – 10 March 2019, Various Venues

The concert was well attended with some audience members travelling across the Country to follow the artists on their UK tour.

This is the first National Sitar Festival organized in partnership with Sitar Music Society, Leicester. The three dates of the Festival in Leeds featured workshops and performances by Ustad Dharambir Singh and his student Siddarath from the Netherlands, and Shakir Khan, 8th generation musician and son of renowned sitartist Ustad Shahid Pervez.

Hum Teen : Us Three is a trio of musicians from diverse backgrounds, ages and training and featured the first slide guitarist playing at SAA-uk, who is also an Internationally renowned visiting artist. The artists’ interaction with the audience created a wonderful atmosphere and the overall response was very positive.

For the first time in 2018 -19, all tickets distributed online (advance bookings) were sold out. From feedback gathered on the night of the event, the fact that the show was featuring a visiting International artist had been a key motivator to attend for several audience members.

Sounds of Asia 1 August 2018, Millennium Square Summer Series Sounds of Asia is a free outdoor event, outcome of an invitation by Leeds City Council event team to make free use of stage, lighting and sound to present music in Millennium Square during the Leeds City Council Summer Series. The concert was divided in three sections, each one dedicated to a different set of artists. The event took place during our Summer School week, which created the perfect opportunity for some of the students, parents and tutors to attend the concert.

• Sitar Baithak (workshop) 3 March 2019, GNNSJ • Serenaded by Sitar 9 March 2019, Seven Arts Leeds • Sitar Masterclass with International Maestro Shakir Khan (workshop) 10 March 2019, GNNSJ

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First they played the Jhinjhoti ragam also known as ‘evening melody’. It contained the sweetest of notes and created a calm, relaxed and divine atmosphere in the hall. The candles and flowers and velvet cushions were icing on the cake creating a truly perfect atmosphere. The musicians were deeply enjoying their music as well, especially Shakir Khan Sir; he was being the notes he was playing. You just look at his expression to know what he is playing, Picture this - the ragam would move from a very low note to high note and to show this he would bend low and slowly emerge up clearly showing he enjoys music a lot.

”

Harini, SAA-uk students Arts Award review 24

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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Upping the Game plus Donations Through the Catalyst: Evolve programme, SAA-uk has embarked on an incredible as well as challenging 3-year journey, that has generated positive change and development in key areas of the organisation. The programme has led to greater confidence in achieving resilience and long-term sustainability in these uncertain times. SAAuk failed to recruit a professional fundraiser, despite two recruitment rounds and the support received from the DARE programme.

However, through the process of trial and error, we developed internal skills, leading to 2 successful bids secured from Trusts & Foundations.

Catalyst: Evolve - Upping the game The whole team took part in dedicated Fundraising training specifically focused on developing our Regular Giving strategy.

The training was led by John Grain Associates Ltd and the outcome was an Individual Giving Development Report, which was shared with the Team.

The strategic recommendations were: • Simplifying the Individual Giving Proposition (or ‘ask’) • Developing a clearer SAA-uk brand to more consistently articulate the vision and values of the organisation • Planning (in advance of promotion) the Supporter Journey for regular givers • Promoting the regular giving needs of the organisation to all key potential audiences • Use of targeted different materials and messaging for concert goers and class participants

Marketing and Audience Engagement

Individual gifts and donations Instrument Purchase Santoor for one Hindustani music Academy Student Moor Allerton Primary Large instrument donation to the SAA-uk Academies Sitar students’ class fees and instrument hire SCORE IT! Premiere Fundraising event and large donations (up to £1,000) Air ticket Opportunity for Keertan Kaur to refine her artistry in Kolkatta

“

This trip is a brilliant experience for me allowing me the opportunity to have dedicated 1-1 tuition for my vocal training which is not available for me in the UK at this level.

My weeks have been structured so that Monday -Thursday I am sitting with my Guru ji (teacher) for a few hours each morning. I am working on my ability to creatively express a raag through alaap, composition, free improvisation (taan) in saragam akaar and boltaans. This to be also combined with awareness of rhythm, pitching and speed. The trip is challenging for me and the lessons/guidance that I am receiving here will enable me to structure my own riyaaz (practice) more solidly when I return to the UK to help me progress further.

In this financial year, SAA-uk has stopped outsourcing its PR and it is now delivering all the key stories involving the organization and its project partners throughout the year. This has also been the year where our organically developed approach to audience engagement has started to shape into a more defined plan. Our full Audience Engagement and Development Strategy will be finalized and discussed by SAA-uk Board and Team in the first half of the financial year 2019-20.

In 2018-19 we developed our audiences, connected with those least engaged, in conjunction with increasing depth and quality of engagement by: • Proactively engaging with children & young people through long-term special projects (SCORE IT!, more at page 10) & strategic

partnerships (Legends: Arjuna) •B uilding up an increasingly large audience for South Asian dance (A Thousand Faces, more at page 16; Gods & Goddesses + Aasha) • S upporting a group of young dance students of our Academies in performing for people in residential care facilities (Varnam, more at pages 18-19) •D eveloping SCORE IT! youth project reimagining Western film scores on Indian classical instruments. The project engaged 18 participants, 6 professional artists, and over 400 audience members •O ur annual Summer School provided children, young people & families across the UK to 6 days developing understanding of the richness in Indian classical music & improving their practice in music making.

We also actively worked at expanding our digital distribution with the following activities: • S AA-uk website registered 5.77% increase in web traffic with 28.70% increase of viewers from India •Y ouTube had a 100% increase in all figures, including 1,151,086 views •W e produced a new series of online content named “SAAuk Knowledge Centre” to introduce a wider audience to South Asian culture, history and art. This format has proven successful and will be integrated in the new SAA-uk website •T he SCORE IT! project included two livestreaming events which reached 241 viewers on the night of the event and over 700 views over the 5 days following each event.

The trip is inspiring me daily and a blessing. It is so nice to sit face to face with a tutor who can help guide me and is a much more rewarding way of learning.

”

Keertan Kaur, SAA-uk Artist and tutor 26

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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Financial report 2017-18 Contributed income exp.

2.5%

The principal financial target for the year 2018-19 was to continue to make a surplus to reinforce the organisations reserves. It is pleasing that SAA-uk has achieved this ambition, posting an annual surplus of £15,930, bringing the total reserves to £36,193.

As SAA-uk moves into the final stage of the Catalyst Evolve programme, the organisation will see much greater activities of contributed income, particularly in trust and foundation and the introduction of new individual giving schemes such as Alumni & Members. Through the Catalyst scheme, SAA-uk now has solid understanding and a developed fundraising strategy to diversify our income further to our target of 20% of annual income; including regular giving online platforms, pipelining trust and foundation application bids, an annual fundraising event, and capacity for legacy giving.

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Strategic planning 2.8%

Notes

Unrestricted funds 2019 £

Total Funds 2019 £

Total Funds 2018 £

Income and endowments from: Artistic Overhead 10.1%

The organisation is aware that £10,000 of expenditure originally budgeted for 2018/19 will not be incurred until 2019/20, but this has been included in the budgets for that year, which are still planned to provide a surplus for the year.

Arts Council England and Leeds City Council continue to provide funding for the organisation, and we are grateful for their support, but we are continuing our efforts to reduce our reliance on grant funding and develop new, reliable sources of funds. Through the Catalyst Funding scheme, SAA-uk has continued to develop its capacity and levels of contributed income in 2018/19. Contributed income was £11,161 from £8,043 (an increase of 39%), with Catalyst match funding of £7,384.

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year ended 31 March 2019 (including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

Human Resources 42.3%

Artistic Fees 27.9%

Donations and legacies

4

236,836

236,836

166,868

Charitable activities

5

60,908

60,908

78,211

Other trading activities

6

1,020

1,020

935

Investments

7

296

296

124

Other

8

105

105

227

299,165

299,165

246,365

Total Expenditure

Admin and Overheads 10.4% Resources 10.1%

Raising Funds

9

133,816

133,816

116,859

Other

10

149,419

149,419

123,362

283,235

283,235

240,221

15,930

15,930

6,144

15,930

15,930

6,144

15,930

15,930

6,144

Total funds brought forward

20,263

20,263

14,119

Total funds carried forward

36,193

36,193

20,263

Notes

2019 £

2018 £

13

2,549

409

2,549

409

Total Net income

Communication & Aud. Dev. 3.5%

11

Net income before other gains/(losses) Other gains losses: Net movement in funds

Sales of Service 5.5% Special projects Performance income 1.2% 0.4%

Misc income 0.4%

Reconcilliation of funds:

Fixed assets Academy fees 13.0%

Tangible assets Current assets

Contributed income 0.4%

Debtors Core funding 75.4%

Creditors: Amount falling due within one year

Key financial KPIs

14

Cash at bank and in hand 15

8,156

20,516

74,463

33,373

82,619

53,889

(48,975)

(34,035)

Net current assets

33,644

19,854

Total assets less current liabilities

36,193

20,263

Total assets excluding pension asset or liability

36,193

20,263

Total net assets

36,193

20,263

36,193

20,263

36,193

20,263

36,193

20,263

The funds of the charity

• Financial Sustainability: increase drive to raise £50,000 per annum in contributed income

Restricted funds

• Fair Pay Conditions: assess fair payment for artists and staff

General funds

16

Unrestricted funds

Total funds

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

16

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Staff and Trustees The Trustees who served during the year 2017-18 were: Chair Dr Jatinder Singh Mehmi Treasurer Paul French Secretary to the Board, April-July 2018 Darren Tiffney Secretary to the Board, since July 2018 Jenny Atkinson Trustees Pritpal Singh, Wesley Zepherin, Dr Paul Abbott, Jo Nockels & Dr Sahil Warsi All Trustees are non-executive and are not remunerated for the services rendered to South Asian Arts-uk.

Management Team Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Keranjeet Kaur Virdee BA Hons Head of Operations and Finance, Darren Tiffney CIMA BA Hons Marketing and Audience Development Officer, Barbara Cardone MA Learning and Participation Officer, Lorna Donaghy BA Hons Administrative Assistant and P.A., Jenny Atkinson BA Hons Academies Co-ordinator, Kalvinder Mellor BA Hons

Funders and Partners

Dance Bharatanatyam

Kathak

Event Partners

Santosh Menon Ramya Tangirala Jyoti Uniyal (Nee Manral)

Registered Office Mill 1, Ground Floor North, Mabgate Mills, Macauley Street, Leeds LS9 7DZ Charity Registration Number: 1080292 Company Limited by Guarantee: 3391845

Placements University of Leeds MA students, ‘Engaging the Modern City’ Module Charles Gray, Emma Briones, Fei Chen, Lu Zhao and Oluwadare Balogun

Legal and administrative details The registered name of the charity is South Asian Arts-uk. The charity was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee 10th June 1997.

The charity is governed by the provisions of its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Volunteers Jaspreet Virdee, Prishant Jutlla and Fiona Murray

Professional Advisors External Auditor: HCA Group Accountants Bankers: Lloyds Bank, Briggate, Leeds

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Principal Funders

Artistic Team Music Head of Music Academy / Tabla Bhupinder Singh Chaggar Sitar Ustad Dharambir Singh Sitar Jasdeep Singh Degun Santoor Ustad Harjinderpal Singh Matharu Santoor John Ball Bowed Kirpal Singh Panesar Hindustani Vocals Poloumi Chakraborty Vocal support Keertan Kaur Carnatic Vocals Ramya Tangirala Keyboard Vijay Venkat Violin Vijay Venkat Gidha Boliyian Kanwaljeet Kaur Gill

Kalvinder Kaur Mellor Dhol Raj Singh Virdee

Meanwood Community Centre

SAA-UK | IMPACT REPORT | 2018-2019

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