7/30/2019 401 Richmond Update Tenant Profile_South Asian Visual Arts Centre

1/1

SOUTH ASIAN VISUAL ARTS CENTRE (SAVAC) STUDIO 450

TENANT PROFILE

If you made it to 401 Richmond this past ScotiabankNuit Blanche you may have stumbled upon a moodyand intriguing group of performances on the fourth floor.The artists: hidden inside black fabric boxes, drawingwith their eyelashes, dancing in projector light, andreciting the Arabic alphabet were all part of the SouthAsian Visual Arts Centres (SAVAC, Studio 450)Ghost Stories. SAVAC created the program specificallyfor Nuit Blanche and designed the performances to

relate to the building placing performers in unlikelyspaces (like our freight elevator).

Being a centre that operates without a dedicatedexhibition and performance space, finding the rightvenue is something SAVAC deals with regularly. It is not

just about finding a space but finding the right space thatwill fit specific works and ideally add something to theoverall experience of the art. As Programming CoordinatorSrimoyee Mitra explains; working without a space canbe quite meaningful for the art. With each program wehave to collaborate with a partner who is also investing inthe work. Collaboration brings added energy to projectsand fuels the process that often includes creativeapproaches to dealing with miniscule budgets.

Finding the perfect partner match for a work can taketime when we met, Srimoyee and Executive DirectorHaema Sivanesan had just secured a space for atwo year old submission. The work cant just happenanywhere it takes all the right elements coming togetherfor it to be realized and the SAVAC team arent willingto compromise on this. As Haema explains, you really

have to do a lot of troubleshooting. Venue partnerscan have set routines and we come in and interruptthis its not always easy.

For SAVAC this kind of outreach and collaboration isin keeping with their larger project of broadening theirscope, their audience, and their membership. SAVAC,which has been in operation for sixteen years, recentlytransitioned from an artists collective to an artist-runcentre reflecting changes in their overall approach.We wanted to put out the message that we were opento wider participation explains Srimoyee. This hastranslated into an increase in membership and visibility as they build new partnerships the audiences they haveaccess to expand. For a centre who is interested inexploring the question of what South Asia is and whereits boundaries lie having as many people at the tablefor those discussions as possible is vital.

For Haema, issues surrounding cultural diversity arecentral to what SAVAC does. We could easily bemarginalized and operate within a kind of ghetto. Itsimportant to start building dialogues as a way to breakdown barriers and give different audiences exposure toour projects. Haema has been traveling across Canadaworking to build a more national profile for SAVAC andhas noted how truly regional Canada is conversationsaround race and diversity are drastically differentdepending on the location. Having worked in Torontofor several years, Haema has been reminded not to takethe cosmopolitan nature of the city for granted.

SAVAC is still rooted in the social justice movement thatincited their creation. The artistic practice of the SouthAsian contemporary artists they work with commonlyreflect on what is happening in the world regardingrace, politics, and diversity.

Haema feels very positive about the current climate,

We are networked into an international discussion andsee changes in the landscape and discussions aboutrace. These changes in world events also have an affecton how artists work. Its a really exciting time becausethere is a new kind of curiousity, interest, and opennessto what were doing.

Upcoming for SAVAC, Srimoyee has curated CrossingLines: An Intercultural Dialogue that continues toJanuary 22, 2010 at The Glenhyrst Art Gallery ofBrant. Monitor 6: New South Asian Short Film andVideo programmed by Richard Fung gets underway inMarch at the National Film Board. And in collaborationwith the Images Festival (Studio 448), Bamiyan: theheart that has no love, pain, generosity is not a heart

opens on April 3 at the Royal Ontario Museum. To findout more about SAVACs upcoming shows, events, andcall for submissions visit www.savac.net.

SAVAC staff (left to right): Executive Director Haema Sivanesan, Programming Assistant Srimoyee Mitra, Kohila Kurunathan,

and Niwah Visser. Below right: Artist Leila Gajusingh performing as part of SAVAC's Ghost Stories during Nuit Blanche.