TENANT PROFILE

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.

SOUTH ASIAN VISUAL ARTS CENTRE (SAVAC) STUDIO 450

If you made it to 401 Richmond this past Scotiabank Nuit Blanche you may have stumbled upon a moody and intriguing group of performances on the fourth floor. The artists: hidden inside black fabric boxes, drawing with their eyelashes, dancing in projector light, and reciting the Arabic alphabet were all part of the South Asian Visual Arts Centres (SAVAC, Studio 450) Ghost Stories. SAVAC created the program specifically for Nuit Blanche and designed the performances to relate to the building placing performers in unlikely spaces (like our freight elevator). Being a centre that operates without a dedicated exhibition and performance space, finding the right venue is something SAVAC deals with regularly. It is not just about finding a space but finding the right space that will fit specific works and ideally add something to the overall experience of the art. As Programming Coordinator Srimoyee Mitra explains; working without a space can be quite meaningful for the art. With each program we have to collaborate with a partner who is also investing in the work. Collaboration brings added energy to projects and fuels the process that often includes creative approaches to dealing with miniscule budgets. Finding the perfect partner match for a work can take time when we met, Srimoyee and Executive Director Haema Sivanesan had just secured a space for a two year old submission. The work cant just happen anywhere it takes all the right elements coming together for it to be realized and the SAVAC team arent willing to compromise on this. As Haema explains, you really have to do a lot of troubleshooting. Venue partners can have set routines and we come in and interrupt this its not always easy. For SAVAC this kind of outreach and collaboration is in keeping with their larger project of broadening their scope, their audience, and their membership. SAVAC, which has been in operation for sixteen years, recently transitioned from an artists collective to an artist-run centre reflecting changes in their overall approach. We wanted to put out the message that we were open to wider participation explains Srimoyee. This has translated into an increase in membership and visibility as they build new partnerships the audiences they have access to expand. For a centre who is interested in exploring the question of what South Asia is and where its boundaries lie having as many people at the table for those discussions as possible is vital. For Haema, issues surrounding cultural diversity are central to what SAVAC does. We could easily be marginalized and operate within a kind of ghetto. Its important to start building dialogues as a way to break down barriers and give different audiences exposure to our projects. Haema has been traveling across Canada working to build a more national profile for SAVAC and has noted how truly regional Canada is conversations around race and diversity are drastically different depending on the location. Having worked in Toronto for several years, Haema has been reminded not to take the cosmopolitan nature of the city for granted. SAVAC is still rooted in the social justice movement that incited their creation. The artistic practice of the South Asian contemporary artists they work with commonly reflect on what is happening in the world regarding race, politics, and diversity. Haema feels very positive about the current climate, We are networked into an international discussion and see changes in the landscape and discussions about race. These changes in world events also have an affect on how artists work. Its a really exciting time because there is a new kind of curiousity, interest, and openness to what were doing. Upcoming for SAVAC, Srimoyee has curated Crossing Lines: An Intercultural Dialogue that continues to January 22, 2010 at The Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant. Monitor 6: New South Asian Short Film and Video programmed by Richard Fung gets underway in March at the National Film Board. And in collaboration with the Images Festival (Studio 448), Bamiyan: the heart that has no love, pain, generosity is not a heart opens on April 3 at the Royal Ontario Museum. To find out more about SAVACs upcoming shows, events, and call for submissions visit www.savac.net.