Elemental

Ajay Chabbra was a Guest Speaker at the London Vision event which hosted ‘elemental’ for the region at the London Offices of Arts Council England.

About Ajay Chhabra, Director of Nutkhut

Ajay Chhabra is an actor and director whose work can be seen outdoors in public spaces, inside theatres, on television and film and on radio.

He is a director of his own company, nutkhut (mischievous), a leading London-based creative organisation working nationally and internationally which combines theatre, dance, music, circus and film, to create imaginative, witty and visually stunning performances and installations with a popular appeal. He completed an Arts Council Directors Bursary with physical theatre specialist David Glass and has worked with designer Keith Khan, comedy director Cal McCrystal and live art wiz Tatsuo Miyajima.

He made his debut as an actor in Untouchable in 1989 (Riverside Studios); He played Sidney in Kafka’s Dick (not as writer Alan Bennett, expected!) and made his West End debut in Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink. For television he has appeared as India’s first Prime Minister and is familiar as the demented and stingy café shop owner, Anil, in the children’s cult classic, The Basil Brush Show. His many film credits include Anita and Me and a guest appearance in ‘Bend it Like Beckam’. He has worked on BBC Radio 3 and 4, including The Archers (as a visiting vicar!) and their Schools Radio programme, Come to Kochi, which he presented from Kerala, India.

Ajay is of Indo-Fijian heritage and was born in London and raised in Kent. He trained as an Hotelier in the UK and Austria before embarking on a career in the arts. He studied Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London and Hotel Management at the University of North London, completing his training in Austria. He has worked in all aspects of the Hotel Industry, ranging from international chains to boutique hotels.

Current Projects include a new television series for the BBC ‘Planet Ajay”, development of Birmingham Town Hall’s 175th Anniversary with mass dance participation and a ‘Stilts and Character Training Scheme’ involving young people form all the Olympic boroughs in London.

He is a board director and trustee of Visiting Arts and founder chair of the European Mela Network.

Here is a couple of bulletpoints about Ajay’s presentation:

Were you at the London event? Have you seen Nutkhut’s work?

Please use this posts or any related posts to make comments generally or about the event, speakers and themes that emerged…make it a place for discussion!

Thursday 23rd April saw the London ‘elemental’ event take place as part of Arts Council London Office, Vision session. Vision sessions are internal training events that focus on different themes. They took the opportunity of elemental to look at street and circus arts.

The London office hosted Arts Council staff, some Local Authority staff, along with key companies for the region. Prior to the event we were delighted to announce Lyn Gardner as the Keynote Speaker. She was supported by four artistic companies and producers:

Ajay Chhabra – Director of Nutkhut
Roger Hartley – Director of Bureau Of Silly ideas
Ali King – Director of Turtle Key Arts
Rachel Clare – Producer and Artistic Director of Crying Out Loud

Each speaker provided some inspiring examples of their work and some arresting video and images, giving us a sense of the excitement and skill involved. They gave an overview of past work, present work and plans for the future. They also touched on the challenges in the sector, in terms of development, space, place, support and, of course, funding.

Lyn Gardner followed with an inspirational and informed speech about the sector and the impact it has on audience and society. She provided a real rally cry for the sector, artists and stakeholders alike and gave her view on the cuts announced in Alistair Darlings budget!

Following her inspiring and thought provoking speech the floor opened up for Q&A, this was long awaited if the nods of agreement during her speech were anything to go by.

We will be posting more details of each speaker soon so watch this space.

Were you at the event? What did you enjoy most? What was said that you are still thinking about now? Let us know.