NO MAN'S LAND
EXPLORING SOUTH ASIANNESS


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To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Akademi, in collaboration with the ICA, brought together leading international thinkers in a one day symposium - NO MAN'S LAND - Exploring South Asianness. Together they examined the complex terrain of South Asian identity politics, deconstructing the origin, development, relevance and implications of 'South Asianness' from their very different perspectives.

The term has achieved wide currency today - often for the sake of political expedience - but it is hotly disputed within the diaspora as well as the regions themselves. Is 'South Asianness' a new nationality or convenient catch all, a diverse and resilient state of being or just 'Indianness' in disguise? And how relevant is the concept to those of increasingly mixed or 'multi mongrelist' backgrounds?

Welcome to No Man's Land - that disputed territory where 'South Asianness' takes on both geographical and metaphysical dimensions. Today we go to the very heart of the term, questioning its meaning and charting its evolution. Is South Asianness a new nationality? Or is it a convenient catch all that simultaneously cloaks the political and cultural hegemonies implicit within the term. In other words, is it just 'Indianness' in disguise? How relevant is the term to artistic production? And how appropriate is its use in describing the diaspora and those of increasingly mixed heritage?

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, Akademi, in collaboration with the ICA, present No Man's Land - Exploring South Asianness. The term has achieved wide currency today and appears to have become the preferred descriptor when referring to the dances, literatures, cultures, even people, originating from these regions. The effect, some argue, is the creation of an ersatz alliance, imposed from the outside and, necessarily, contested from within.

Following the success of our South Asian Aesthetics Unwrapped! conference at the Royal Opera House in March 2002, we wanted to examine the very idea of 'South Asianness': that concept said to underlie a panoply of cultural, artistic and political products. Dance and the performing arts encompass much more than aesthetic preoccupations - in fact, they are informed and inspired by the complex narratives that power the circuitry of human interaction. In recognition of this, we wanted to create a platform where artistic, political and academic ideas could be freely exchanged, thus opening up dialogue and broadening our audiences along the way.

To do this, we have assembled a diverse and international set of academics, journalists and artists who will grapple with the idea of 'South Asianness', critiquing, championing or dismissing it as they see fit. We encourage you to add your ideas to the mix, in the process, challenging notions of a geographically defined mythological past and common cultural archaeology.

Mira Kaushik
Director, Akademi

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Stage Management: Jim Pinchen
Box office: ICA
Technician, ICA: Richard de Cordova

Thanks to
Shiromi Pinto, Research & Development (No Man's Land)
Aanal Chandaria, Press Officer (No Man's Land)
Chitra Sundaram, Advisor (No Man's Land)
James Bates, Publicity Designer
Philip Dodd, Director, ICA
Lee John, PA to Director, ICA
Joanne Shurvell, Director of Communications, ICA
Roz Arratoon, Senior Press Officer, ICA

Funders
Ranjit Matharu, Decibel
Jacqueline Rose, Arts Council England
Jeanette Siddal, Arts Council England

Sponsors
Asians in Media
Air India

No Man's Land Contributors
Akademi Board
Akademi Staff

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