About Alchemy

Alchemy is our annual festival celebrating the best of music, debate, film, dance, literature, fashion and design from India and South Asia, or influenced by them. We explore what these cultures are or can be. We also examine the wider debate about the social context in which art is made.

Discover classical masters alongside emerging British Asian talent; folk traditions alongside emergent youth culture; stimulating debate and the latest fashions. Come and enjoy the festival atmosphere and sample wonderful food from the market.

This year we are proud to host a wide range of artists from across the globe. We welcome Alchemy favourites as well as artists appearing for the first time out of India and Pakistan. These include Asian Dub Foundation, Pete Lockett Rajasthan Collaboration, Susheela Raman with the Mein Mir Qawals, Sachal Jazz Ensemble, Raghu Dixit Project with members of Bellowhead, Shankar Mahadevan & Purbayan Chatterjee, plus many more.

Highlights from previous years include composer AR Rahman, actor Meera Syal, pop star Kailash Kher, Kathak choreographer and performer Gauri Sharma Tripathi, singer Begum Parveen Sultana and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company.

Photos 2011

Alchemy 2012 has been developed with collaborations from an advisory board of partners: the Nehru Centre, British Council, Fanaah Media, Satrangi Arts, Pan Asian Women’s Association, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Asian Music Circuit, Association Sargam, Akademi-South Asian Dance UK, Darbar Arts Cultural Heritage Trust, sampad South Asian arts, artist Vaiyu Nadu, SAMA Arts Network, Radio 1 and BBC Asian Network DJ Nihal, Swaraj Music, artist/producer Kuljit Bhamra, artist Sangeeta Datta, Encee Arts, the British Pakistani Foundation and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).