The National Maritime Museum is hosting a full day of activities to celebrate Diwali.
The Museum has once again teamed up with Mehala Ford, founder of south Asian arts collective ‘CommonGround&’, to curate this year’s Diwali celebrations, which are taking place on Saturday November 11 under the theme Shine Your Light.
The programme kicks off with family workshops, offering the chance to make your own lantern, take part in a Rajasthani folk dance class and have a go at beginners’ yoga.
Don’t miss the story of Diwali performed through puppets (11:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm), or the chance to dance at a sari party DJ’d by Irish-Indian-Malaysian Tara Kumar.
There are join-in sessions for adults too, including the chance to learn all about modern sari styling from Ford, who is also the founder of the Sari Project Store.
There are talks, too, mainly with a focus on wellness. A session in Mauli Rituals (3.30pm), in which Anita and Bittu Kaushal will divulge the benefits of ayurveda, sounds especially intriguing.
Don’t miss the lantern parade through the museum’s grounds (4pm), and look out for performances in Bollywood, Bhangra and Odisha dancing throughout the day.
Ahead of the day-long event, we spoke to Katie Cassels, Families and Young People Manager at Royal Museums Greenwich, to find out more…
Holly O’Mahony (HOM): This isn’t the first Diwali event you’ve run at RMG. Why is the festival of light an important annual event in your calendar?
Kate Cassels (KC): The National Maritime Museum has been celebrating Diwali for over a decade. The festival is an opportunity to highlight the South Asian collections and in particular the Traders gallery at the Museum.
The Traders gallery discusses the movement of commodities, knowledge and people across oceans, including the Indian Ocean.
Celebrating Diwali as part of the regular programme of activities allows the Museum to continue exploring the relationship between Britain and India and the sharing of cultures in the modern era. In doing so, the museum is able to both celebrate with local audiences at a joyful event, and support visitor engagement with the collection.
HOM: Tell us about the performers you have this year. Who are you particularly excited to have programmed and why?
KC: This year ‘CommonGround&’ have pulled together an amazing programme, including many brilliant performers.
We are excited to work with Akademi for the first time, who will be bringing a Rajasthan performance and interactive workshop to the event. Rajasthan is known for its glorious royal history, bright colours and ancient creative arts set beautifully against the backdrop of the Thar desert. We’re hoping they will bring celebration and joy into the centre of the Museum.
We are also looking forward to an alternative pop performance from NEO 10Y, who are promising to manifest peace and love, and will build collective connection to bring the Diwali celebration to a close.
HOM: Who are your Diwali events aimed at? Is it primarily Londoners of south Asian heritage, or are you also hoping to educate a wider audience about Diwali?
KC: The Diwali event at the Museum has a wide appeal, bringing in visitors from across London and beyond.
Many of the visitors come along to enhance their own Diwali celebrations, bringing multiple generations of their family to enjoy the workshops, performances and talks across the day. It’s a real opportunity for many South Asian families to reconnect with their wider community and come together for a joyful day.
However, the event is also a brilliant way for visitors who don’t celebrate Diwali to encounter the festival and understand the importance of the celebration, bringing different communities together.
HOM: RMG is also currently running a display: Pioneers: A Renaissance in South Asian Creativity. Is there a link between this and your Diwali event?
KC: Pioneers is a celebration of South Asian creativity, curated and produced by Mehala Ford, founder of CommonGround&. The Museum collaborated with CommonGround& last year to produce a day of activities titled ‘Finding Diwali’ and a number of the artists, musicians and creatives who took part in the event have since been photographed as part of the new Pioneers display.
This year’s Shine Your Light themed Diwali event will be the last of the Pioneers programme which has included a series of talks and workshops over the past few months. The Pioneers display will remain until next year.
What inspired the Pioneers display? What do you hope visitors take away from seeing it?
KC: The hope is visitors take away a broad understanding of South Asian creativity today. Some of the individuals in the display include: Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, founders of the restaurant chain Dishoom; Sharan Dhaliwal, founder of Burnt Roti magazine; and rapper Hyphen.
The Pioneers display aims to connect the narratives in the National Maritime Museum’s Traders gallery with contemporary ‘pioneers’ of South Asian heritage leading the way in creativity.
Diwali is running at the National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, London SE10 9NF.
November 11, 11:30am – 5pm.
Admission: FREE.
