Dewsbury arts organisation secures funding to support local arts projects

Match It! works by matching online public donations pound for pound between November 1 2020 and January 31 2021, doubling the value of donations, providing essential funding to support future activity within Kirklees communities.

The funding will go towards Manasamitra’s performances in the Dewsbury ‘Not-the-Fringe’ Festival, showcasing the best that Dewsbury has to offer through local artists presenting songs, poetry, speech or sound, which will now be held digitally from January 2021.

The funding will also support other ongoing works by Manasamitra including the Festival of Conversations and The Sound of Tea, as well as Manasamitra’s mentoring programme which supports emerging female composers from minority communities.

Supriya Nagarajan, founder and artistic director of Manasamitra said: “Being selected to be part of the Match It! programme is fantastic news for our team. The arts have had an incredibly difficult year due to the pandemic, for us that meant we had to cancel our live performances locally, as well as our national tour, and look at alternative ways to deliver our programmes digitally.

“This funding will play a vital role in ensuring we can support our local communities and deliver arts programmes virtually, to help connect and inspire the people of Dewsbury and the wider Kirklees district, as well as nationally.”

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 not only the traditions of her South Asian roots but also by a drive to work 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.