About

Alberta Arts and Cultural Talent Showcase (Alberta ACTS) was originally founded in November, 2013 as an informal community-run organization whose cause was to fill an important void in the presentation of the South Asian classical arts in Alberta. Whereas established local organizations were focused on inviting professional performing artists from South Asia (an important function in the community in its own right), there was no commensurate, consolidated effort to promote and engage local and /or youth talent, of which there is plenty in Alberta. The mandate of Alberta ACTS is to showcase, engage, and inspire Alberta’s local and /or youth talent in the traditional arts and culture of South Asia.

The bringing together of people is an important aspect of the South Asian cultural scene. In fact, it is through social gatherings that the South Asian classical arts have traditionally been enjoyed, propagated, and protected. In keeping with this tradition, Alberta ACTS puts together distinct South Asian cultural/musical/arts “projects”, which are presented entirely or in majority in the English language, free to all, and welcoming of all arts lovers without distinction. In fact, Alberta ACTS has already presented nearly 40 highly successful projects in Edmonton and Calgary with varied themes under the umbrella of the South Asian classical arts, featuring youth and/or local talent. These included the following:

• Both vocal and instrumental performances in both the Hindusthani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) classical music traditions
• Classical dance recitals and dance-theory workshops
• Musicology seminars on Indian classical music
• Demonstrations of the connections between classical and popular (e.g. Bollywood) music or folk/regional music
• Novel cooking demonstrations featuring traditional dishes of the Indian subcontinent
• Large-scale musical tributes to the transformative composers in Indian classical music: for example, Alberta ACTS conducts the annual “Aradhana” (tribute festival) in honour of the composer “Tyagaraja”; Alberta ACTS also founded the annual “Dikshitar Aradhana”, honouring another prolific composer in the Indian classical tradition
• Vocal music and musical theory lessons offered in partnership with Mount Royal University Conservatory in Calgary
• Whereas most events showcased Edmonton- or Calgary-based artists, a large fraction were semi-professional (majority youth) artists invited from other cities in North America. In doing so, Alberta ACTS has established a large network of semi-professional youth artists who align with Alberta ACTS’s cause and vision to create awareness of the traditional arts and culture of South Asia.

Alberta Arts and Cultural Talent Showcase (Alberta ACTS) is a community-run organization whose mandate is four-fold: To showcase Alberta’s local and/or youth talent, with emphasis on the traditional arts and culture of South Asia To inspire Alberta’s youth to the pursuit of formal training in the South Asian classical arts through the arrangement of performances featuring semi-professional and/or youth talent from both inside and outside Alberta To foster, through community integration events, the recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion of all peoples while creating awareness of the important contributions of the South Asian diaspora to the multicultural fabric of Canada, in the context of the classical arts To engage youth through engagement initiatives that promote the spirit of volunteerism, inclusivity, and diversity.