Sampad South Asian Arts and Heritage are thrilled to unveil the winners of the Sampad Artist Bursary. Now in its second year, this initiative continues to support creativity and innovation within South Asian arts.
For 2025, we offered three bursaries designed to support artists at different stages of their careers:
- Sampad Start Bursary (Emerging Artist)
- Mid-Career Artist Bursary
- Digital Artist Bursary
Meet the 2025 Bursary Recipients
Meera Joshi – Sampad Start Bursary
Meera Joshi is a working-class, neurodiverse actor, theatre-maker and director from the East Midlands. Her artistic practice fuses artistry with advocacy, crafting performances that celebrate underrepresented stories.
With the bursary, Meera will explore body art as a storytelling tool in her solo spoken-word live art production. This research will incorporate paint, stylised movement (inspired by Kathak and Bharatanatyam), music (Sitar, Dhol, Tabla) and rhythmic spoken-word to create visually striking imagery.
When we spoke with Meera, she said: “this funding is crucial to my artistic development, enabling me to explore and expand my project while reconnecting with my culture and collaborating with other South Asian artists.”
Erinn Dhesi – Digital Artist Bursary
Erinn Dhesi is a Writer-Director based in the West Midlands, whose XR (Extended Reality) and theatre work explores social media, trauma, and contemporary British Asian life. Her one-woman show WIGS SNATCHED, PERCEPTIONS DESTROYED (2020) received 4-star reviews, and her audio drama QUEENS won the Offie Award for Best Audio Drama (2022).
With the bursary, Erinn will develop ON LIMERENCE, a VR drama exploring romantic obsession. She will collaborate with award-winning creative technologist Shaka Tafari to bring this immersive experience to life.
Speaking about the bursary, Erinn said “I’m beyond excited to develop ON LIMERENCE, my first self-directed XR project. XR is the future of storytelling, and I can’t wait to work with local talent to elevate South Asian voices in this space.”
Akash Parekar – Mid-Career Bursary
Akash Parekar is an Indian classical sitar player based in Birmingham, part of an exciting new generation of British born sitarists. With real flare and precision, he has an innovative style and has performed far and wide, including at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Barbican and at Glastonbury Festival.
With the bursary, Akash will be collaborating with other British-born artists of varied musical disciplines. Using sitar, vocals, piano, tabla and Carnatic flute, he will combine traditional Indian classical music with contemporary western music, experimenting with a new approach.
Speaking about the bursary, Akash said “This will allow me to explore and branch out. It’s about the transformation of the art form while still keeping to our roots – how it started in India and the ways we absorb it, and how being British has had an impact on how we present it.”
We are incredibly excited to see how this year’s bursary recipients develop their projects and push the boundaries of South Asian arts. Congratulations to Meera Joshi, Erinn Dhesi and Akash Parekar—we can’t wait to follow your journeys!
