National Lottery Heritage Fund | Grant Announcement

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awards £98,700 to Akademi to archive 40 years of its South Asian dance heritage in the UK at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The fund aims to inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future.

South Asian dance organisation Akademi has been awarded £98,700 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to create an archive of its work over its 40 years of existence. This 13-month project with the V&A, from December 2019 to December 2020, will explore the evolution and impact of Akademi in the UK.

Akademi will archive the material currently held in storage, produce a resource book and online materials, and create a series of films which celebrates the organisation’s history. A project manager and trainee archivists, including volunteers from older age groups, will be recruited via the Archives and Records Association to catalogue and digitise the archive. The completed archive will then be installed at the V&A.

“We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players which will enable Akademi to preserve its 40 years of history at the V&A for future generations. Alongside the archive, we hope that our community workshops will provide local communities with the inspiration to record and transfer their own cultural heritage through oral history traditions.”

Kirsten Burrows, Executive Director and CEO at Akademi