Balbir engages with curators and keepers of tradition, activating spaces for performance, dialogue and cultural memory. Recent projects have seen multi art form explorations of religion, science and medicine at Beamish and the Oriental Museum in County Durham and with the Thackeray Museum of Medicine in Leeds.
Culture and Heritage
Dear Sunflowers, Dewsbury Town Hall: Devika Rao
Culture and Heritage
Museums, art galleries and expressions of human cultural heritage are rich sources of inspiration for Balbir Singh, providing a way of connecting with new audiences.
In each museum, Balbir works closely with the staff to suggest and create narratives based on the collections that can include people of all ages and backgrounds, with a special emphasis on participants managing long term health conditions.
“Where we come from, who we are in the present and where we are going in the future are all points in time that reference each other constantly in our daily lives.”
Balbir Singh
Joshua Van Leader Exhibition, SOYO Leeds: Manuela Benini
Above (left): Dear Sunflowers parade Dewsbury; (right) Dear Sunflowers performance, Dewsbury Town Hall
Dear Sunflowers
Dear Sunflowers, April to June 2024, with recordings of the songs and podcast dialogue continuing to the end of the year, was one of a series of BSDC collaborations with the Kirklees-based charity 6 million+ Charitable Trust led by Kim and Adam Strickson.
The charity exchanges and expresses stories of the Holocaust, genocides and contemporary persecution at home and abroad with an extended family of refugees and local volunteers.
The 6 million+ led Dear Sunflowers/дорогі соняшники – Dorohi Sonyashnyky collaboration, was an ambitious mix of large scale puppetry, masks, music and dance from different cultures in Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Dewsbury.
“My blood is Indian, having been born there. But, as a consequence of my upbringing in the west, I took on a different perspective. Artistically and culturally, I am about synthesising the best of both worlds. Each work or project tries to make sense of the world – to celebrate the human condition and to gain a fresh perspective on the world in some way. And it’s the perspective that matters.”
Balbir Singh
Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds: Kali Chandrasegaram
