Creative industries and growth boosted with new UK-India cultural agreement
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The UK's arts and culture, creative industries, tourism and sport
sectors are set to benefit from a major new cooperation deal and
economic links with India, as the government delivers on its Plan
for Change to boost growth and opportunity. Culture Secretary Lisa
Nandy, who is of Indian heritage, arrived on Thursday for a
three-day visit to Mumbai and New Delhi. She has today (Friday)
signed a new bilateral Cultural Cooperation Agreement with India's
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The UK's arts and culture, creative industries, tourism and sport sectors are set to benefit from a major new cooperation deal and economic links with India, as the government delivers on its Plan for Change to boost growth and opportunity. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who is of Indian heritage, arrived on Thursday for a three-day visit to Mumbai and New Delhi. She has today (Friday) signed a new bilateral Cultural Cooperation Agreement with India's Minister for Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. She has been joined on the trip by a delegation of senior leaders from VisitBritain, the British Film Institute and the Science Museum, to drive further collaboration between British and Indian creative businesses and cultural institutions. The agreement will open the door for increased UK creative exports to India and enable more partnerships between UK and Indian museums and cultural institutions, helping to grow UK soft power. On Thursday the Culture Secretary delivered a keynote speech at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai, which was also attended by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Her speechcelebrated the living bridge that connects the UK and India, and showcased the strength and attractiveness of the UK's creative industries, one of the growth-driving sectors identified in the UK government's Industrial Strategy. The Culture Secretary then toured Yash Raj Films Studio, where some of the most popular Bollywood films with audiences in the UK are made. Both the UK and India boast rich cinematic traditions and share a deep mutual interest in each other's storytelling cultures, and the Culture Secretary wants to see more collaboration between UK and Indian film productions. UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy said: In the arts and creative industries, Britain and India lead the world and I look forward to this agreement opening up fresh opportunities for collaboration, innovation and economic growth for our artists, cultural institutions and creative businesses. Growing up as a mixed race child with proud Indian heritage, I saw first hand how the UK's culture - from food, fashion and film to music, sport and literature - is enriched by the unique contribution of the Indian diaspora. It has given me a deep connection to India's culture and people and it is an honour to be visiting this magnificent country to forge a closer cultural partnership. During the visit:
Actor and writer Sanjeev Bhaskar said: The creative industries are a powerful, enjoyable way to bring people together so I hope this visit further solidifies a mutual appreciation not just of the long established arts of both countries but also the evolving areas of film, music and theatre that are successfully combining artistic traditions from India and the UK to explore and cement what is a unique relationship. Film director Gurinder Chadha said: As a filmmaker who has spent my career celebrating being British Punjabi and honouring the connections between Britain and India, it is great to see our cultural bonds further strengthened through this new agreement from my friend and colleague Lisa Nandy. Now we have a real opportunity to unlock exciting new creative opportunities for artists and storytellers to the benefit of both our countries. ENDS UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation Agreement
Further quotes: Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said: This commitment from the British and Indian Governments to deeper cultural cooperation will further strengthen our relationships with Indian cultural and scientific organisations, helping the Science Museum Group to share ever more fascinating stories of scientific discovery with audiences in both the UK and India. Visitors to Science City in Kolkata can explore our Injecting Hope exhibition - which delves into the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and was created in partnership with India's National Council of Science Museums - now on display as part of an international tour that has inspired nearly five million visitors in museums across India, China and the UK.” Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: The V&A is delighted to contribute to the new UK-India cultural partnership. It will increase our ability to loan more objects from our world-class collection, and build strategic relationships with the booming Indian arts scene across design, fashion, photography, and performance. Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the British Museum, said: The British Museum's collaboration with partner museums across India are some of our deepest and most successful. For example, in Mumbai, we have a groundbreaking partnership with the CSMVS Museum - one of India's biggest - which is based around the reciprocal exchange of objects, knowledge, and ideas. I'm delighted that the UK-India Cultural Cooperation Agreement recognises, at the highest level, the importance of cultural collaboration between our two countries and we look forward to strengthening these partnerships further.” Director of the Natural History Museum Doug Gurr said: India is clearly a nation of talented, passionate and prolific wildlife photographers! Indian photographers have consistently been well-represented in our prestigious photography competition Wildlife Photography of the Year - and this year we had a record-breaking number of over 300 entrees from India, an increase of 79 per cent! It has been our honour to share the awe-inspiring images of our Indian alumni to millions of people worldwide and we have had the pleasure of collaborating with Dhritiman Mukherjee, Ripan Biswas and Nayan Khanolkar to deliver conservation photography workshops for young people in Kolkata. We are thrilled that our connection continues at the Visual Poetries Photography Festival in Gujarat this summer, with our Competition Manager joining their jury and our Wildlife Photography of the Year Highlights on display throughout. Rebecca Lawrence, Chief Executive of the British Library, said: The British Library has a long history of successful collaboration with our peers in India, including on the landmark ‘Two Centuries of Indian Print' project and through our Endangered Archives Programme. We warmly welcome this agreement which will provide opportunities to further deepen our partnerships, exchange valuable professional skills and insights, and strengthen our shared networks of knowledge and culture. More information:
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