Dewsbury arts organisation Manasamitra address climate change in latest performance

Produced with support from funding from Arts Council England, Kirklees Council and Kirklees Libraries, the project was the culmination of global project, Terrarium.

Working with communities in Kirklees and India, the project has the overarching environmental theme of water, specifically looking at the impact that a surfeit or deficit of water has on climate change and human experience.

Drawing on experiences and stories from community groups in both countries, in response to the water crisis, Manasamitra’s artistic director, Supriya Nagarajan, led an international company of artists at the unique 60-minute concert earlier this month.

The performance, Meltwater, was held at Dewsbury Town Hall on Wakefield Road on the evening of Friday, December 2, with excerpts of the show performed at Dewsbury Minster on Vicarage Road on Wednesday, December 7.

Speaking after the performance, Supriya, a classically-trained Carnatic singer, said: “Friday’s performance was fantastic. I felt very meditative and spiritual as I was performing and the audience feedback was wonderful - I am really happy with how it went.

“What we did as part of Terrarium was talk to community groups and they gave us their stories, these stories are presented in the soundscape as the Meltwater performance begins.

“These stories will also be part of a digital map which will be released on the Manasamitra website around February time. This will allow people to be able to click and listen to the stories and we will be able to add to it over time.

“This is an evolving project, so the intention is to keep adding to it with international stories.

“We want to tour Meltwater next. We have had approaches from a couple of organisations based in the UK and one internationally organisation, but nothing if yet finalised.

“We wanted to see how the piece first premiered and how it fell in place before we took it out, but it will hopefully tour over the next couple of years.”

As well as working with communities across Kirklees and India, the performance - which channelled the day in the life of a glacier - was also developed with help from Dr Natasha Barlow, who is a local expert in sea-level change and climate change.

At the informal sharing of the project on Wednesday, December 7, Dr Barlow said: “The piece on Friday and the discussions we have had have been really informative.

“It's an honour to be a tiny part of this piece and I had the fortune to be able to attend the piece on Friday night, which left me with a real impression.

“Climate change is an incredibly emotive subject, particularly these days, and we are already observing big changes even here in West Yorkshire.

“Being able to explore climate change not only scientifically but also through creative mediums such as the Meltwater piece really helps us to explore people's understanding, concerns, emotions and fears.”

Manasamitra is an artist-led organisation based in Dewsbury, which delivers a range of exciting and original cross-cultural experiences.

For more information about Manasamitra and their work, visit https://www.manasamitra.com/