Since 1990, Sampad has been a leading cultural organisation helping to establish South Asian arts within mainstream culture in Birmingham and across the UK. It supports, commissions and co-produces an astonishing array of arts and heritage activities, using the richly diverse art forms originating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, delivering large-scale dance, music & theatre productions; performances, workshops and events in education, community and outreach settings and professional development for arts practitioners, cultural leaders and young people.

Sampad recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a thrilling Gala show that reflected many of its achievements and highlights and featured many of the outstanding music, dance and spoken word artists who have been part of its journey to date.

With the unveiling of launchPAD, the organisation is now looking forward by investing in artists who will help shape the course of the next 25 years. launchPAD aims to help new artists explore the possibilities of new and developing technologies and how they can interact with and influence their own creative ideas.

The programme extends Sampad’s strong track record of supporting emerging talent through schemes such as Creative Leap and also builds on its experience of delivering successful digital innovation projects such as SEPP: Digital which, to date, has allowed more than 70 creative professionals to boost their digital skills and practices at leading European institutions.

In order to move forward with this exciting new programme, Sampad is turning to crowdfunding to support a proportion of the overall fund and is asking for public support via popular crowdfunding website Indiegogo

Piali Ray OBE, Director of Sampad says: “By making a donation to launchPAD you will be helping Sampad to work alongside new artists, providing mentoring and training sessions, allowing them to experiment with the latest digital technology, empowering them to connect with audiences and ultimately feed back into communities. Your support will genuinely make a difference in helping new generations of talented artists to flourish and make the most of their potential”.

Spoken word poet Amerah Saleh, who performed at Sampad’s 25th Anniversary Gala adds: “Sampad was there at the start of my journey and provided me with some amazing opportunities to develop my passion for the spoken word. Its authentic approach to the projects it delivers makes me very proud to be involved with them”.