Mela 2011

 
This year Art Asia is 30 years old, a special age of confidence and success, it’s also a time of excitement and energy for all that is still yet to come.

We have been promoting arts from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) for 30 years, many great musicians, dancers, actors and visual artists have started or celebrated their career with us. As well as creating platforms for high quality artists, Art Asia has also been in the heart of the community – supporting local musician, schools, and organisations. This year we’ve had an amazing mix of events and performances to mark our 30th birthday and as we end towards our autumn season we have more to come.

The Southampton Mela Festival is in its 9th year (Saturday 16 July) and we have grown in numbers and activities year on year. New to 2011 was the Art Asia Stage Bus featuring the best of Indian classical music and dance by leading British performers. Stage2 returned for its second year with a mix of professional and community performers playing from Polish Folk Dance through to flutes from around the world with Keith Waithe. The main stage’s outstanding line up of national and international artists attracted crowds all day and around site the various activities were popular as ever – with 17,000 of you experiencing South Asia Arts.