British Council Arts programmes are designed to connect the creative sector in India, and wider audiences, with the best of UK contemporary arts.
We build strong relationships between artists, producers, festivals, venues, curators and directors in the UK and their counterparts in India, encouraging them to work together and championing the great things that emerge in the UK and in India.
We’re not a funder of projects: instead, we work through a small number of key projects each year that we develop in partnership with others. Those projects range from networking and skills development through to creative exchanges, collaborations and showcases of new work.
We work with partners in India to curate programmes that range from theatre, dance and music to visual arts, literature, design and interdisciplinary creativity. But no matter what the type of project, and no matter what the art form or creative sector, they are all ultimately aiming for the same goal: the building of stronger relationships between the UK and India in the arts.
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- Arts Education
The Arts Education programme is a pioneering initiative of the British Council launched with the NCERT to support the Indian Government’s mission to promote education for all, in the most creative and effective manner. It brings together expertise from UK and India to build capacity of teachers, create resources, in order to provide school children with the opportunity to use arts to develop life skills – innovative and creative thinking, social adaptability, cultural awareness, communicational and inter-personal skills.
- Dance
Impulse – the Dance Season showcase brought renowned performances from Akram Khan, Scottish Dance Theatre, Aakash Odedra, Protein and Champloo to India. This year, Impulse-Fringe will focus on development and collaboration focussing on dance appreciation, capacity building, arts management, artist and audience development and reach out to children and young dancers as well as showcases of our collaborative work.
- Design and Architecture
Aspiring to make design more visible, we support design writing, curating and design festivals in India to build a culture of capturing design stories - with a focus on socially relevant design. British Council also facilitates collaborations and opportunities for UK designers to work alongside their Indian counterparts on projects which can lead to positive social change.
- Literature
Our Literature programmes connect contemporary UK writing with readers and writers in India, through festivals, universities, translators, schools, and public events.
- Museums
India’s heritage forms one of its greatest cultural assets, and its museums are the key to unlocking the potential of that heritage. To help achieve that ambition, there’s a widely recognised need to develop policy, skills and up-to-date sector expertise.
- Music
Our latest music project is an exciting three-year programme that explores folk traditions. Folk Nations brings together artists from the UK and South Asia, creating music steeped in folk sounds rooted in these cultures. The project showcases contemporary, indie, and traditional musicians collaborating with other artists to develop a body of work unique in its mix of styles.
- Theatre
British Council’s theatre programmes see the best contemporary UK productions touring in India, foster new relationships between the UK and Indian theatre sectors, and connect high quality theatre with the education sector.
- Visual arts
Latika Gupta’s curated exhibition, Homelands, with works by thirty of the UK's greatest contemporary artists, will tour to Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru in 2013. Meanwhile the Queen's Gallery in Delhi offers a rolling programme of exhibitions connecting the UK and India.
- Networking and Opportunities
We are developing fresh ways of bringing creative minds together across the cultural spectrum and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders to engage and collaborate.
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