sampad artists invade Madrid

Tuesday 27th September 2011

From 6 – 12 October, sampad is sending four artists to Madrid to work with Medialab Prado and Matedero as part of the Samapd ExchangeLab.

The Sampad ExchangeLab is a research project exploring how the South Asian arts sector can better engage with digital technology.

Co-ordinated by David Roderiguez (aka Tina Patterson) they will be working with collectives, artists and programmers to experiment and create new work.

The group includes:

• Piali Ray, director of sampad, a leading development agency for South Asian arts and a trained classical Indian dancer and choreographer
• Anusha Subramanyam, artistic director of dance theatre company Beeja, and a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, teacher and dance movement therapist
• Divya Kasturi, a Bharatanatyam and Khatak dancer, carnatic vocalist, former presenter and director for Indian Television and qualified electronics engineer
• Saranjit Birdi, a contemporary multimedia artist, working with drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and film, and a street-jazz dancer and qualified architect

The ExchangeLab is part of an ongoing programme of placements organised by Sampad. Throughout 2011, 15 members of Sampad staff and external artists working in the field of South Asian arts are carrying out two-week placements with MediaLab Prado (MLP), in order to broaden how Sampad works digitally across its artistic programme, and also in relation to education and outreach, audience engagement and development, and how it works operationally.

MLP is an organisation funded by the Department of Arts of the City Council of Madrid, aimed at the production, research, and dissemination of digital culture and of the area where art, science, technology, and society intersect.

The project is funded by the Leonardo de Vinci Mobility Programme which supports the development of skills and training. It funds work placements for trainees, workers and staff, and supports European projects to discuss common issues or develop training materials, courses and frameworks.