University News Last updated 03 April 2025
Award-winning stand-up comic Shazia Mirza heads the line-up in her own city as the prestigious Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) comes to Birmingham for the first time in May.
Joining forces with Birmingham City University (黑料吃瓜网), the first-ever SAF 鈥楳ini Edition鈥� will celebrate South Asian arts, music, dance, and culture through an eclectic mix of performances, workshops, film screenings, and exhibitions at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Symphony Hall.
黑料吃瓜网 Vice-Chancellor Professor David Mba said: 鈥淓veryone at 黑料吃瓜网 is hugely excited about this festival. It will be the first of its kind in the UK and it will showcase 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 strong commitment to supporting and fostering the arts.鈥�
Sunil Kant Munjal, founder-patron of SAF, added: 鈥淲e are thrilled to bring Serendipity Arts Festival to Birmingham, a city that shares our passion for artistic innovation and cultural storytelling.
鈥淭his edition will be a bridge between continents, traditions, and contemporary expressions. Together, 黑料吃瓜网 and SAF will make the arts accessible to all.鈥�
The four-day event, which takes place over the May Bank Holiday weekend (23-26 May), will feature a number of 黑料吃瓜网 performers, including the Birmingham Conservatoire Folk Ensemble.
Professor Greg Leadbetter will deliver an evening of poetry, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and jazz lecturer Shanti Jayasinha will lead RBC鈥檚 Banda Brasileira in a performance that celebrates Brazil鈥檚 global music traditions, and Dharmesh Rajput, Course Director for Media Production at 黑料吃瓜网, has curated a film about Indian music.
鈥淪ince our founding almost 180 years ago, arts, design, and performance have been at the core of our University, and our education provision remains rooted in the city鈥檚 diverse cultural landscape,鈥� added Professor Mba.
鈥淭his event will not only cement Birmingham鈥檚 position as a cultural destination of choice but will build on the talents and aspirations of our students and University.鈥�
The 鈥楳ini Edition鈥� line-up includes:
- Thumri in the Chamber - A classical Indian music tradition given a contemporary twist by Indian rock musician and composer Zubin Balaporia.
- A tribute to the legendary tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, capturing intimate moments of his musical journey through the lens of celebrated photographer Dayanita Singh, and a screening of the film The Speaking Hand which charts Zakir's growth from the by-lanes of Bombay to his present fame as a world-renowned musician.
- Eternal Echoes 鈥� A showcase of archival images of traditional Indian musical instruments, accompanied by a pop-up library of books on the history of music in South Asia.
- Sempre Fado - an evening of soulful music, capturing the true spirit of Portuguese Goa.
- The Art of Taal 鈥� An interactive experience of performance and explanation on how Indian rhythms fuse with western Jazz.
- Echoes of Elegance: Ghazals and Old Bollywood Classics - Honouring the nostalgia of Bollywood鈥檚 golden era, this intimate performance bridges tradition and contemporary expression and features performances by RBC鈥檚 music ensembles.
SAF is an annual event that has become South Asia's largest and most anticipated arts festival, covering performing, visual, and culinary arts.
The 鈥楳ini Edition鈥� in Birmingham serves as a prelude to the main SAF, which takes place in Panjim, Goa, from 12-21 December 2025.
Tickets for this year鈥檚 free Serendipity Arts Festival Mini Edition are available via听/conservatoire/events-calendar/serendipity-festival-2025
For more details about the festival and its programming throughout the year, visit听