Dewsbury arts organisation launches free digital festival to showcase local talent

The festival, which was due to launch in 2020 but was delayed due to Covid-19, will launch digitally on 25th January with a series of free live and recorded sessions from local artists including dance company the Northern Rascals and vocalists Samuel Hodgson, Rohith Sakthy and Savvy.

The events will incorporate a mixture of music, poetry, dance, speech and sound, showcasing the rich local talent and celebrating the creative diversity within the district.  As well as performances, the festival will see a number of virtual workshops taking place across various artistic mediums.

Supriya Nagarajan, founder and artistic director of Manasamitra said: “I am thrilled that we are able to connect with our online audience and launch the festival despite the current climate. The past year has been an incredibly difficult one, especially for those of us working within the arts sector.”

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Manasamitra was able to release the anticipated album Dusk Notes in November 2020, a project that saw the team collaborate with composer Duncan Chapman as well as producers at the University of Huddersfield. For the album, Supriya took inspiration from a range of sources including the Derbyshire Peaks, the river Jamuna in India and the beauty of sunsets.

Supriya added: “We must thank vital funding support that has enabled us to deliver this festival and allowed us to continue working on such exciting projects.

“This includes One Community’s Match it! programme which promises to match online public donations pound for pound until the end of January. The support from our community has been overwhelming and we can’t wait to deliver this festival to truly showcase the amazing artists on our doorstep and give back to all of those who have supported us over the years.

“I am really pleased that alongside the festival we can also deliver a series of virtual workshops across a range of artistic mediums including dance, percussion, and visual arts. I hope that we can help encourage people to embrace their creative side and learn a new skill or develop their existing talents.”

Performances will be accessible by YouTube on the following dates:


25/01/2021 – 30/01/2021: Northern Rascals – young people’s dance

01/02/2021 – 07/02/2021: Samuel Hodgson – original songs

08/02/2021 – 14/02/2021: Savvy and DJ Therealdemo – original rap concert

22/02/2021 – 28/02/2021: Pete Rosser – original songs

01/03/2021 – 07/03/2021: Becky Johnson – dance and visual arts

08/03/2021 – 14/03/2021: Rohith Sakthy – original songs

15/03/2021 – 30/06/2021: Full festival programme

Manasamitra is an artist-led organisation based in Dewsbury, delivering a range of exciting and original cross-cultural experiences. Its work is rooted in the creative vision of Supriya, a classically trained Carnatic singer who is inspired by the traditions of her South Asian roots combined with new ideas, forms and aesthetics from across the world, presented within a contemporary British context.

Manasamitra has previously received grants from Arts Council England and the PRS Foundation to deliver projects to venues and communities across the country.

To find out more about the Dewsbury ‘Not-the-Fringe’ festival, please visit: www.manasamitra.com/our-work/the-dewsbury-not-the-fringe-festival.