The new UK-India Cultural Agreement is set to boost the creative industries and promote excellence with cooperation as key to growth.
What The UK-India Cultural Agreement Means For The Creative Industries
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy – who is of Indian heritage – signed a new bilateral Cultural Cooperation Agreement with India’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on Friday, the 2nd of May. 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.
With the UK-India bilateral agreement, the two nations will commit to enhancing cultural exchange between the UK and India through the arts and heritage, and to encourage long-term partnerships between the two countries. 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 and boost arts and culture, creative industries, tourism and sports sectors.
The implementation will involve the British Council in India and the Indian Ministry of Culture, with participation from major UK cultural institutions including Arts Council England, the British Library, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum Group and the V&A Museum. This has the potential for British museums to launch new partnerships on exhibitions or public programmes that engage the Indian diaspora in the UK.
The UK will work with India to support best practices and expertise on heritage conservation, museum management and digitisation of collections – including making knowledge contained in South Asian manuscripts more widely accessible, and the protection of cultural property, with both nations committing to combat illicit trafficking of cultural artefacts.
British Culture Secretary's Visits To India
During her tour, The Culture Secretary toured Yash Raj Films Studio, where some of the most popular Bollywood films with audiences in the UK are made, and boutique fashion houses and workshops in the Okhla neighbourhood of Delhi to meet a range of Indian fashion designers with UK links.
On the 1st of May, 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 speech celebrated 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.
UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy stated: “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.”
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."
