Virtual ACTA event offers global reach
SO ANOTHER Eastern Eye ACTA ceremony is over, our fifth.
As we start planning the next Arts Culture & Theatre Awards, I would like to thank all the judges once again – Rachel Harris, Nick Kounoupias, Sailesh Ram, Barnie Choudhury, Mira Kaushik and Viram Jasani were all splendid. And a big thank to all the presenters as well. Barry Gardiner was quite funny. And what can you say about Nihal? He is now so well known that he does not need his surname, Arthanayake. He is a natural.
We all missed Ramniklal Solanki, but I like to think he was there in spirit and enjoyed the proceedings.
Inevitably, a few people who almost won were disappointed. I can only console them and say there is always next year. In several categories, there wasn’t much between the winner and the runners-up.
A final thought. We look forward to a live ceremony, but a virtual ACTA has one great advantage – it can be seen all over the world, as this one was. We will be nostalgic for bits of lockdown when it’s over.
I would like to repeat that we need more writers and also for the British Asian arts fraternity to continue to engage with Eastern Eye’s arts & culture pages. My message to them is, “This is your home only.”