LORD MAYOR OF LEICESTER JOINS SEARCH FOR A BRITISH BRIDAL SARI
The Lord Mayor of Leicester has joined the search for a British Bridal Sari reflecting the hopes, dreams and experience of a British Asian bride.
Councillor Manjula Sood will be one of the panel of judges in a national competition run by the community arts organisation Bridging Arts. Most bridal sari patterns still originate in south Asia – but the British Sari Story 2008 competition is calling for people around the UK to create their own British embroidery, embellishment and beading reflecting life here today. The judging panel will also include Baroness Flather, the first British Asian woman in the House of Lords and Roy Allen, haut couturier.
“I’m delighted to be part of this project because I think it’s very important that Asian women should have a voice and be able to express just how they feel about life today in this country,” says the Lord Mayor. “How better to do that then through a wedding sari? We’ve all seen the beautiful embroidery from south Asia – but let’s see what we can come up with the UK. We may see wedding saris with buttons instead of sequins or with a Union Jack border!”
Top prize in the competition is £250. Entry is free and open to all. Winners’ work will be showcased in the British Sari Story touring exhibition when it reaches Charnwood Museum, Loughborough, in early October. The exhibition showcases saris from around south Asia with information about their regional significance as well as new saris with 21st century British designs, the result of last year’s national competition.
Winners in last year’s competition, for printed patterns for a 21st century British Sari, included a Cornish sari with a border of buckets and spades and a London tube map sari.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. For more information about the national competition and the British Sari Story, please email Susan Roberts or Nidhi Uppal at info@bridging-arts.com or call 020 8749 9010 or 0794 12 52 444.
2. Entry to the competition is free. Competitors are asked to create a 20cm square swatch of fabric which they can imagine being created into a bridal sari. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.bridging-arts.com. The closing date is 31 August 2008.
3. Entries in Leicester can be handed into c/o Mrs Priti Mattani, Sona Rupa , 103 Belgrave Road, Leicester LE4 6AS.
4. The British Sari Story national tour is funded by Arts Council England. The original exhibition was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and created by Bridging Arts.
5. Bridging Arts works with art, design and photography to give people without a voice the chance to speak out, to trigger debate and to open minds. Visit www.bridging-arts.com for more information.
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