We are looking for a new Project Coordinator to join the Asian Arts Agency team and assist with the production and delivery of our events. With an exciting line-up of events and music festivals each year, in this role you will be instrumental in the delivery and coordination of innovative programmes and the efficient management of our live music touring and events programme and partnerships with festivals, venues, and artists.
If you have a strong background in overseeing and executing live arts and music events, working with venues, and excel at event budgeting and tour administration, this could be the role for you!
This is a southwest England-based position, with a minimum two days per week in person at the Agency’s Bristol office. Please refer to the full job description for further details.
See below for the full job spec and the supporting application form. Please ensure you read both fully before applying.
Please send completed applications to jobs <at> asianartsagency.co.uk with the following information:
Cover Letter, detailing your suitability for the role.
C.V.
Application Summary Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form including contact details of two referees, with email addresses and phone numbers (including a recent employer if appropriate).
Closing date for application: Thursday 7 August, 9.30am Please submit your application as soon as possible as candidates shortlisted early maybe interviewed prior to the closing date.
If you have any questions about the role, please email jobs <at> asianartsagency.co.uk
We’re delighted to be invited by WOMEX to present Malkit Singh/Golden Star as part of this year’s official music showcase in Tampere, Finland.
At Asian Arts Agency, our international work is rooted in championing South Asian music on global stages – creating opportunities for artists to perform at major showcases, festivals, and venues worldwide and increase visibility for diverse voices. This showcase with Malkit Singh, hailed as the King of Bhangra and one of the most iconic voices in the genre – offers programmers, curators and presenters a chance to experience the full energy and depth of live Bhangra music.
We look forward to connecting and building new collaborations with the international music community.
We are looking for a new Marketing Coordinator to join the Asian Arts Agency team and assist with the marketing and promotional activity of our events . If you have a background in live music/arts touring, festivals or events and enjoy working with musicians and other professionals presenting live performances, this offers you an exciting opportunity to work in a vibrant and diverse arts organisation working across England and internationally with major artists and venues.
This role requires a candidate who is confident at creating content, from written to video, for various platforms. Central to this role is also supporting the Marketing Manager on delivering the overall marketing programme, including promoting events, handling ticketing and artist/venue liaison – so great reporting and organisational skills are also key.
If you’ve got experience helping to deliver effective strategic & event marketing & communications plans, and ideally some experience of working within South Asian music/arts communities, or similar we’d love to hear from you.
This is a southwest England-based position, with a minimum two days per week in person at the Agency’s Bristol office. Please refer to the full job description for further details.
See below for the full job spec and the supporting application form. Please ensure you read both fully before applying.
Please send completed applications to jobs <at> asianartsagency.co.uk with the following information:
Cover Letter, detailing your suitability for the role.
C.V.
Application Summary Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form including contact details of two referees, with email addresses and phone numbers (including a recent employer if appropriate).
Closing date for application: Monday 28 July, 9.30am Please submit your application as soon as possible as candidates shortlisted early maybe interviewed prior to the closing date.
If you have any questions about the role, please email jobs <at> asianartsagency.co.uk
Asian Arts Agency is proud to announce the launch of Emerge 2, the second edition of our flagship talent development programme for UK-based South Asian musicians. This initiative builds on the success of our groundbreaking talent development project, Breaking Barriers, and reaffirms our ongoing commitment to supporting and amplifying South Asian musicians in the UK music landscape.
The Emerge programme will support musicians, particularly those at the early stages of their careers. It provides crucial industry support, including training and development opportunities, mentoring, and tailored sessions to expand their knowledge and understanding of the industry. This support will help artists develop new work, grow their networks, and navigate the wider music industry with greater confidence.
The programme is a key part of our mission to empower South Asian musicians to create, perform, record, and distribute their music with increased visibility and long-term impact.
The eight artists selected to take part in Emerge 2 are:
Aayushi Jain – a folk singer-songwriter from Birmingham, who writes songs which blend elements from her Indian heritage with abstract symbolism to evoke a soft hypnotic atmosphere.
Ekta Rana – a London-based singer, songwriter, and composer who sings both Indian classical and modern music, including Bollywood, ghazals, and bhajans.
Lemona Chanda – a vocalist who sings light forms of music including thumri, ghazal, devotional, folk as well as Bengali music such as Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti.
Muhammad Hasnain Ali – a digital media producer specializing in vocal mixing, background music composition, and visual content creation.
Narotam Horn – a composer and pianist, whose unique contemporary classical style is infused with the improvisational spirit and storytelling of Bengali folk music.
Dr Pavithra Prathab– a Veena artist with fluency both in Carnatic and Western classical forms of music.
Shivani Sen – a multi-disciplinary artist, singer-songwriter, poet and composer who currently focuses on vilambit khyal, a deep and meditative form of classical music.
Tejal Pankhania – player of sitar and surbahar, who has immersed herself in the rigorous study of Indian classical music, a foundation of profound taalim, developing a deep connection with the spiritual and meditative dimensions of her art.
Thank you to everyone who applied to be part of the Emerge 2 programme; we appreciate all your efforts to submit applications.
Emerge 2 is produced by Asian Arts Agency, a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner, supported by PPL.
Jaswinder Singh, Director of Asian Arts Agency, said:
“We are proud to be part of the PRS Talent Development Network. Support from the PRS Foundation will enable us to create new music commissions and development support for more South Asian musicians and recognises our valuable input into this area. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them into the future and creating more opportunities for South Asian musicians. Through our work, we continue to address the underrepresentation of South Asian artists in the UK music industry and champion new, diverse voices.”
We are proud to announce that we were selected to be part of the PRS Foundation Talent Development Network for 2025/26 – the second year running – recognising the valuable work that Asian Arts Agency are doing in this field.
Becci Scotcher, Senior Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said, “We’re delighted to support Asian Arts Agency in year 2 of our Talent Development Network Programme. They play a vital role in amplifying the rich cultural heritage and creativity of South Asian music creators. Initiatives like their ‘Breaking Barriers’ programmes are instrumental in nurturing this talent, providing important platforms for music creators to create, perform and distribute new work, supporting them to have more sustainable careers.”
Jaswinder Singh, Director of the Asian Arts Agency, said: “We are delighted to be part of the PRS Talent Development Network . Support from PRS will enable us to create new music commissions and development support for more South Asian musicians and we look forward to continuing working with PRS Talent Development Network.”
The network brings together organisations working at the leading edge of talent development across the UK – ensuring career development support is available to a range of artists working at any level and in any genre.
This funding will enable us to continue delivery of our ground-breaking talent development programme, “Emerge” for a third year, and enable us to create new opportunities for UK-based South Asian musicians.
About Breaking Barriers
The first phase of our programme, “Breaking Barriers”, provided opportunities for over 40 South Asian musicians, enabling them to create, perform and distribute new work. It resulted in new recording contracts and new opportunities for several young musicians.
Breaking Barriers is an interventionist project supporting South Asian Musicians to develop their work and music. Developed by Asian Arts Agency, it offers new music commissions and provides training and development support for artists and musicians to equip them to prosper as professional artists/musicians. The Phase 1 project provided opportunities for over 40 South Asian musicians to create, perform and distribute new work recorded at one of the UK’s leading recording studios with opportunities to perform new commissioned works via live concerts. It resulted in new recording contracts and new opportunities for several young musicians. PRS funding will support the wider continuation of the programme including training and development support for emerging musicians and a new round of commissions to make new music for live performance.
Are you a South Asian musician, artist, songwriter or record producer looking to build a career in the music industry? Do you want to develop your music skills, receive specialist training and be awarded a bursary to fund your professional development?
The Emerge 2 Programme could be for you
Emerge 2 is a legacy programme and follows the success of our first talent development pilot project, Breaking Barriers. Emerge 2 is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PPL.
What is Breaking Barriers?
Breaking Barriers is a project supporting South Asian musicians to develop their work and music. It offers new music commissions and provides training and development support for artists and musicians.
The pilot project provided opportunities for over 40 South Asian musicians, enabling them to create, perform and distribute new work. It resulted in new recording contracts and new opportunities for several young musicians.
Why You Should Take Part The pilot programme offered training and development opportunities to ten developing artists. Jay Singh was one of the applicants who participated in the pilot programme and his involvement enabled him to expand his expertise and increase his knowledge and understanding of the industry. Since completing the programme Jay is now thriving in his career and releasing new music. Check out Jay’s music on Spotify here.
What we’re offering The programme will offer training and development opportunities for up to ten emerging to mid-career musicians, artists, record producers, artist managers, particularly those who have limited information about how the industry works. Each successful participant on the programme will receive a £500 monetary bursary award to fund his/her participation in the programme.
The programme will also include the following opportunities to help develop your music journey:
Welcome and introduction session to the programme.
Mapping sessions throughout the programme to go through your goals and performance opportunities.
Music industry-related webinar and training sessions.
Mentoring opportunities from music industry-related professionals.
Final sharing session, which could feature a tour and demonstration of an industry level music studio.
Timeline and Bursary The programme will run between April to June 2025. Each participant will receive a £500 monetary bursary award to cover the costs of taking part, plus additional access support where needed (if applicable).
Who is this Programme for? The opportunity is open to South Asian musicians of all types, traditional and contemporary, based in England. We want to maintain a strong focus on gender balance; and to strive to reach and encourage disabled artists and artists from disadvantaged backgrounds including deaf artists.
How to Apply? Each applicant must complete an online application form. Applications should be accompanied (where relevant) by an example of the artist’s work (this could be via YouTube or a video link). Please email your proposal, along with the monitoring form and video link (if relevant) as mentioned in the full brief.
Closing date for application: Friday 25 April 2025, 5pm If you feel you have any barriers in applying, require additional support to apply, or/and have any questions relating to the project, please email us as mentioned in the full brief.
Notification of decisions: All applicants will be notified whether they have been successful or not shortly after the closing date for applications (date to be confirmed) and will be notified by email.
We are sorry that we cannot offer individual feedback.
Learn more about the Pilot Programme and why you should apply!
Find out more about our funders PRS Foundation here and PPL here.
Today, we pay tribute to the unparalleled tabla maestro Zakir Hussain Ji, who sadly passed away yesterday in San Francisco. This is an immense loss for the world of music, particularly Indian classical music. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, and admirers across the globe.
Our Director, Jaswinder Singh, shared: “We are deeply saddened and shocked by the passing of Zakir Hussain, the legendary master of the tabla. A true magician of rhythm, his ability to create mesmerising sounds not only captivated audiences worldwide but also inspired generations of artists. Here in Bristol, I had the honour of collaborating with him on multiple occasions. Our last collaboration, in November 2021, marked his final performance in the city. Despite his incredibly busy schedule, he graciously made time for this special concert.
I remember the warmth he brought backstage – sharing meals, laughing, and connecting with everyone around him. He was not only a musical genius but also an extraordinarily humble and kind soul.
Rest in peace, Zakir Hussain Ji. Your music and legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come. ”
Roopa Panesar, receipt of Asian Arts Agency’s Breaking Barriers Innovate music commission.
We are delighted to receive funding from PRS Foundation towards the second phase of our talent development programme, “Breaking Barriers”. This will enable us to create new opportunities over the next 12 months, including new music commissions and training and development support for South Asian musicians. The first phase of our Breaking Barriers programme saw us support a wide range of artists including new music commissions, recording new music, and training and development opportunities for emerging artists. We are looking forward to the next stage of our programme.
Breaking Barriers is an interventionist project supporting South Asian Musicians to develop their work and music. Developed by Asian Arts Agency, it offers new music commissions and provides training and development support for artists and musicians to equip them to prosper as professional artists/musicians. The Phase 1 project provided opportunities for over 40 South Asian musicians to create, perform and distribute new work recorded at one of the UK’s leading recording studios with opportunities to perform new commissioned works via live concerts. It resulted in new recording contracts and new opportunities for several young musicians. PRS funding will support the wider continuation of the programme including training and development support for emerging musicians and a new round of commissions to make new music for live performance.
We are delighted to be part of PRS Talent Development Network and to receive funding for the next stage of our Talent Development programmes for artists. Support from PRS will enable us to create new music commissions and development support for more South Asian musicians and we look forward to working with PRS Talent Development Network.
We are delighted to be collaborating with St George’s Bristol to bring two of the most prominent Indian flautists to the UK on 17th February 2024. We are also presenting these two talented artists at Cadogan Hall, London on 18th February 2024.
The Indian flute players will be collaborating with UK based artists Shahbaz Hussain on tabla and another Carnatic percussion musician. Presented by St George’s Bristol in partnership with Asian Arts Agency.
Rakesh is a child prodigy and the nephew of flute maestro Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. Just like his legendary uncle, Rakesh possesses the right balance of strength and serenity, very critical factors for an exceptional flautist. His dextrous blowing technique coupled with his training of ‘Swar’ and ‘Tala’ exudes adeptly in his emotions through the hollow piece of bamboo. Rakesh has enthralled audiences at classical and semi-classical concerts worldwide.
Trained by father Subramanyam and legendary vocalists Palghat K.V. Narayanaswami and Pandit Jasraj in Hindustani Music, Shashank is presently considered one of the best Bamboo Flute artists and is hailed so by the Indian and international media alike. The BBC World TV telecast a documentary on Shashank titled Destination Music in 2006.
This unique Indian flute concert will feature two of the most prominent Indian flute players in the world collaborating with UK based artists Shahbaz Hussain on Tabla and Bangalore Parkash on Carnatic percussion.
With just over three weeks to go, we’re excited to announce that our full New Soundz festival line up is confirmed!
There’s something for everyone taking place at Arnolfini, from classical sitars, nature inspired fusion and immersive soundscapes as well as talks, workshops and DJs.
There’s no better time to get your New Soundz tickets! You can purchase individual headline event tickets or afestival weekend passwhich offers a saving of £10 on buying each event separately. Additionally, many events are free to enter but may need registration – you can find relevant links below.
On Friday 10th November the incredible Jason Singh, in collaboration with tabla player Aref Durvesh, multi-instrumentalist Tamar Osborn, and keys player, Al MacSween will be opening the New Soundz festival at Arnolfini. This performancepromises to explore a broad spectrum of soundscapes, drawing inspiration from Indian classical ragas, jazz, ambient, avant-garde hip hop, dub, and the natural world. His show will be followed by a DJ set, performed by Jason himself.
Saturday 11th November sees a full day of activities, kicking off with Roopa Panesar celebrating the morning with ragas from her subliminal 2022 album, Subha. Following her performance, she will undertake a short Q&A from the audience so come with any questions you have about her creative, classical expertise in sitar.
During the day at Arnolfini, visitors will have a chance to participate in a free North Indian vocal workshop with Ranjana Ghatak – two time slots (2pm and 4.30pm) are available, and it is recommended that you book in advance. These events are suitable for all ages so come along with your friends and family to learn how to sing in a North Indian style.
There will also be free DJ sets taking place between performances from some of the UK’s leading South Asian DJs in various spaces at Arnolfini, so if you’re passing by, pop in!
On Saturday and Sunday, there will be the opportunity to experience live Indian music performances via VR headsets. Our prototype films have been created as part of our commitment to exploring ways to make performances accessible to all audiences and we’d love you to check it out and hear your views.
Saturday night closes with an exciting first chance to see a brand new immersive work from Soumik Datta, called Mone Rekho, which means remember in Bengali, this performance promises to engage all your senses.
Sunday 12th November is Diwali and we’re delighted that veena player and South Indian musician, Durga Ramakrishnan will be performing a free concert in the gallery at Arnolfini to help us see in the festival of lights and close the New Soundz festival. This event is not ticketed and will be open to all to drop in and enjoy.
We hope you’ll join us at one or many of the events taking place at Arnolfini over the weekend and we can’t wait to celebrate contemporary South Asian music.
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