DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY STUDENT JOINS CURVE TEAM ON INDIA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR PINK SARI REVOLUTION
A first–year Health Studies student from De Montfort University has flown out to Chitrakoot, India today, to work alongside Curve Associate Director Suba Das and Curve Associate Artist Aakash Odedra on the research and development of Amana Fontanella-Khan’s Pink Sari Revolution.
During the visit, student Fatima Mohammed will be provided with an opportunity to capture and document their journey in India, which will include meeting script writer Purva Naresh, witnessing creative discussions and workshop sessions, and meeting the infamous Gulabi Gang in their home land in Northern India.
Curve Associate Director Suba Das said:
“We’re thrilled to be working closely with De Montfort University on the next stage of development for Pink Sari Revolution. The project is an ambitious, challenging and international undertaking for us, and with DMU’s Square Mile project already happening in India, this collaboration is a perfect fit.”
Sarah Thomson, Director of Strategic Partnerships at DMU said:
“We aim to foster a global outlook in all our students and give them the chance to experience different cultures. This is a terrific opportunity for Fatima not only to gain an insight into the adaptation process, but to meet and hear the stories of the Gulabi Gang. Its themes of standing up to injustice and protecting people’s basic rights are ones which resonate strongly at DMU, which is at the forefront of the public good movement in UK universities. We are grateful to our partners at Curve for giving us the chance to be part of this exciting research trip.”
In July 2016, Curve received a £100,000 award as part of Arts Council England’s Reimagine India scheme, which aims to develop new work and collaborations between arts and cultural organisations in England and India. The project marks the 70th anniversary of the partition of India and Pakistan.
Pink Sari Revolution: A Tale of Women and Power in The Badlands of India recounts the real-life story of India’s ‘Pink Sari Gang’, an activist sisterhood and mass movement of over 20,000 pink-sari-wearing women across Northern India who fight against the oppression of women. The story focuses on leader, Sampat Pal, and their 2010 campaign to free falsely imprisoned teenager Sheelu Nishad after she was raped by a prominent local politician. Pink Sari Revolution will premiere at Curve in 2017 prior to a UK tour, and will then be performed in parts of India in 2018.