Bollywood actors, Sri Lankan dancers and Indian poets will gather April 6 in the School of International Service atrium in a celebration of South Asian arts and culture.
The first Intercollegiate South Asian Arts Festival will take place Saturday and features cultures from South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and more.
Planning for SAAF began after School of Communication senior Anuj Gupta recognized the lack of South Asian film classes and the presence of South Asian art on campus.
"I really wanted to show the school that South Asian arts are really important as well and that we should be focusing on it," Gupta said.
Free tickets went on sale in mid-March.
According to Gupta, SAAF was going to be a South Asian film festival, but he and the four students he worked with wanted it to include all forms of artistic expression from the region.
There will be film screenings throughout the first floor classrooms and two graduate student filmmakers present for the event, Gupta said. Gupta will also premiere a film he produced.
The former Pakistani Ambassador to the United Kingdom and AU Professor Akbar Ahmed, Sri Lankan Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya and former White House guest musician Shankar Tucker are a few of the 14 speakers and performers for SAAF's first year.
SOC and School of Public Affairs junior Sarindee Wickramasuriya (daughter of Jaliya) serves on the Advisory Board for SAAF and used past experiences to help esteemed guests join the festival.
"I have been on the executive board of the South Asian Students Association since freshman year and something that I learned from being a part of that is to always reach out to the respective embassies," Wickramasuriya said. "Even though most of them have an extremely busy schedule, they are always interested in student-organized events that promote the South Asian culture and (most of the time) love to help out."
AU faculty will also serve as guest speakers and artists during SAAF. School of Communication professor Leena Jayaswal will showcase her film "Crossing Lines" and her photography, according to the website.
The festival has 18 sponsors including the South Asian Women's Collective, International Arts and Artists, D.C. South Asian Film Festival, Project Nur and the Indian American Heritage Project. Food brands and restaurants like Sprinkles, Honest Tea and India Raga are providing free food and drink for the event.
"I think it just excites anyone that [with] a very universal topic, the arts, that we can get sponsors like Sprinkles to help us. I think that's what it really means in the end," SPA senior and Advisory Board member Brad Korten said.
jsmith@theeagleonline.com
