TYPE OF WORK
Interdisciplinary arts

TARGET GROUPS
Particular emphasis is placed on work with black and Asian people

GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
UK, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East, East Asia Pacific, South Asia, Australia/New Zealand

COMPANY POLICY
motiroti exists to create beautiful art that invites you to celebrate difference and connectivity, via an intriguing open dialogue. It challenges and teases perceptions of artists, organisations, audiences and individuals.

The company enables Britain to speak to itself and see itself in the world. motiroti supports existing groups, small or large, as well as new artists, to create customised art projects, just about anywhere, that excite the imagination, that examine cultural values and that precipitate change. The pieces created are fun, dynamic and vivid, using as catalyst both familiar and cutting-edge techniques and in particular pushing the boundaries of new technology.

SCALE OF PROJECTS
Number of practitioners: 2–15
Number of participants: 3–4000
Preparation time: Varies
Contact time: Varies

PERMANENT STAFF
Keith Khan, Artist/Director
Ali Zaidi, Artist/Director
Indran Selvarajah, Artist/Development
Karla Barnacle-Best, Producer (Company)
Penny Andrews, Producer (Alladeen)
Janet Waugh, Producer (Celebration Commonwealth)
Alison Bean, Administrator

Rainbow of Wishes (UK, 2002)
The aim was to enable children from across the commonwealth to participate in an arts project to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.  The opportunity to promote inclusion and communication were the primary goals.  Schools across the Commonwealth were sent a box containing a triangle template, marker pens, a camera (to record the process), and background information.  The children were invited to record a wish on the template, which was returned to motiroti.  These triangles were then constructed to form arches, through which people could walk and read the wishes.  54 schools from across the Commonwealth participated, with the children producing surprisingly profound wishes focusing on world peace, equality, health and prosperity etc.

Part of Celebration Commonwealth.

Partners:  Commonwealth Institute, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, London Arts, British Council.

Fresh Masaala (UK/USA, 1998 onwards)
This project explored issues around identity.  Working with over 72 people of Asian origin, participants were invited to donate their image to be monitored into a single image – a play on the idea of there being one stereotypical notion of Asian people.  People were also invited to answer questions about their personality and beliefs, and also to donate a recipe (this time a play on the idea of there being a standard ‘curry’ recipe).  Work took place over a couple of months, involving discussions and workshops around the issue of identity, before material was created as part of an exhibition.  Elements of the project have been further developed within the context of clubs, an arts centre, and the worldwide web.

Partners:  Arts Council England, Warwick Arts Centre, The Lab (San Francisco), Swaraj.

Cities
A project about cities in crisis (from Oldham, to Marseilles, to Ports Augusta) is being developed.  This has arisen from work undertaken in Oldham at the time when ‘riots’ were occurring.  Programmes of work will be developed in consultation with key workers from each city, looking at ways in which arts projects can open up communication between different individuals and different sectors of society.  This project will be in development through 2003/04 and will be piloted in two cities in 2004/05.