DARBAR ARTS CULTURE AND HERITAGE TRUST
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Mission Statement
Darbar is the world’s foremost diverse-led Indian classical music (ICM) provider, delivering excellence in events, education and training since 2006, accessed by millions in 160 countries, taking ICM into the 21st century. Based in Leicester, a diverse city: 37% Asian population and London. We work with and support talented musicians and creative practitioners, underserved Asian communities, children and young people, and those from marginalised backgrounds.50% of Darbar live audiences are non-Asian. Vision: To grow audiences and engagement and widen access to world-class Indian classical music through innovation in curation, presentation, and audience development in live festivals and events, music education, streaming, social media, and television. Mission: To capacity-build, upscale and invest in Darbar’s operations, maximising audience growth and engagement, generating new revenues and building future sustainability.
About This Cause
Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust is a UK based charity which exists to champion Indian classical arts. We believe Indian classical art is some of the world’s finest art forms and should be made accessible to global audiences. Our flagship event is the annual Darbar Festival in London which began in 2006 as a tribute to the late Bhai Gurmit Singh Virdee, a visionary tabla player. Since then, year on year, Darbar has sought to widen its artistic presentation by bringing in other art forms such as digital art installations connected to Indian classical music and more recently, classical Indian dance forms. Darbar is known for the quality of our live events and artistic curation which focuses on discovery and exploration of the art form. As Darbar’s brand presence has grown, audiences have grown to trust the fresh new music that they can hear on the London stage, as many artists are less well known and the Darbar Festivals are a springboard for their careers. Our introduction of Indian classical dance has brought in new audiences and we aim for some audience cross over from dance to music and vice versa under the Darbar brand. Darbar seeks to pull down social barriers by seeking to curate up t0 30% of female artists. In addition, the Festival uniquely presents Carnatic (North Indian), Hindustani (South Indian), dhrupad (one of India’s most highly evolved classical music forms) as well as Indian percussion solos – this is very rare in Indian classical concerts and festivals. An important part of our work is to ensure that Indian classical music is not seen as elitist by including music appreciation courses and free workshops and foyer events to increase accessibility to this genre for new and existing audiences. Reaching out through digital mediums, such as television programmes (on SkyArts TV) and online social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have been essential to building new global audiences. It is well documented that Black and Ethnic Minority (BAME) organisations are underrepresented within the wider arts and creative sectors. Those that exist are largely outside London. Darbar is the only south Asian arts organisation delivering world class Indian classical music events at London’s premier venues. We also work outside London wherever possible to ensure we reach non-London audiences. Our values We have always ensured our values underpin all our work and these are articulated in our Values Charter: Darbar Values Charter • Ensuring our work is representative of the varied traditions of Indian classical music and dance and do not place any one tradition above another. • Finding and bringing together the best quality artists from around the world to create a rich, exciting, enriching and memorable experiences for artists and audiences alike. We strive to include artists that aren’t necessarily big crowd pullers but those that are the top of their game. • Welcoming all our participating artists into the “Darbar family” in which they are each valued and treated equally with warmth, consideration and respect. • Celebrating each artist’s participation in our Festival and acknowledging the distinct offering they bring to Darbar. • Creating an intimate and collaborative Festival atmosphere in which artists are encouraged to spend time together, share their experiences with and learn from one another. To this end, we respectfully request our participating musicians to attend all concerts during the Festival (except on the day of their own performance) in line with the Indian tradition. This is a key element of our Festivals and we feel it is an important gesture of courtesy to fellow artists, helps encourage young up and coming musicians, draws in more audiences, raises the general standard of all performances and helps us create a legacy of excellence. • Striving to promote UK based musicians, who are often struggling to get the musical platforms they deserve. • Respecting our participating artist’s need for time and space to contemplate and prepare for their concert or performance on the day of their performance. • Obtaining and maintaining state of the art technical equipment to ensure the concerts we deliver are always of an exceptional quality. • Embracing the use of technology and working with our digital telecommunications partners to enable our Festival to reach new and wider audiences, including those who have not come across Indian classical music before. • Contracting separately with each musician to ensure they are paid fairly. • Working to ensure a balanced sex ratio in terms of female and male musicians in terms of live events, digital work and marketing materials. • Operating a non-repeat policy for artists for 4-5 years so that new musicians have the opportunity to perform each year. Each year, we try to find and showcase new artists in our Festivals so that we can continue to provide a unique and engaging offering to our audiences and expand the ever-expanding Darbar family. • Maintaining a strong ongoing relationship with each of our participating artists and welcoming them to perform again a few years after their last performance. • Respectful working relations amongst our staff, contractors, volunteers, trustees, partners, donors and audiences. Activity: Darbar Fringe Festival and year-round developmental live programme and long-term place-based audience development initiative. Core partners Curve, DMU, Leicester Museums, AAC and Spark Arts: engaging 4,000 people/yr. World-class Darbar Festival (DF) and year-round concerts, engage 7800 people/yr, with national BAME partners GemArts (Gateshead), Milapfest (Liverpool), SAAUK (Leeds) and Asian Arts Agency (Bristol), to benefit from the Darbar Festival world class musicians. Through DF media partners Sky Arts, free-to-view channel (6M views annually) we produce ICM TV programmes engaging diverse audiences from theatres to people’s homes nationally, removing geographical barriers and reducing environmental impact. This content is repurposed for our Netflix style Darbar Player (pilot): 750 annual subscribers and our YouTube channel – 100 million lifetime views. Responding to demands of cultural consumption in a digital age. Reputation for excellence makes us the go-to org for ICM in world-class venues and online spring boarding career opportunities for diverse musicians. We celebrate diverse art and culture into the very fabric of society.