SADAA started life as SALIDAA, the South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive. It was formed in 1999 by a group of concerned academics, experts and practitioners of South Asian literature and arts in response to a growing concern that priceless works by South Asian writers and artists, work that informed the development of the creative arts in the UK after Partition, were disappearing or becoming inaccessible.

From books and scripts, to dance and music, to painting and poetry, the work of displaced or relocated South Asian practitioners is vital to Britain’s historical narrative. SADAA’s role is to collect, preserve and utilise that work. Our collection is a rich and irreplaceable resource for anyone studying a seminal chapter of British history. The multi-layered experiences of the South Asian diaspora reflect and challenge, deflect and transform, the evolution of contemporary British art.