Arts & Culture

The Body Electric, a living art extravaganza, takes place in Norwich's Castle Gardens as part of the city's celebrations for the Cultural Olympiad.

Playing host to a range of international artists, the event will project a diverse range of visuals against the castle walls, set to a live soundtrack. 

Artists performing at the show are Shezad Dawood, Mukul Deora and Simon Tegala.  They will be supported by talent from around the Eastern region.

Commissions East, one of the UK's leading public art agencies, selected the artists for the project in conjunction with Norwich City Council.

"Commissions East is proud to be working with such remarkable artists and to be one of the organisations to bring the launch of the Cultural Olympiad to the East of England," said Charity Green from the organisation. 

"We hope that the Cultural Olympiad will continue to provide these sorts of opportunities for artists to create new work and reach new audiences, whilst showcasing the UK's world-class talent and creativity," she added.

Norfolk Celebrating Talent

The Body Electric is also a part of Norfolk Celebrating Talent, a countywide partnership to maximise benefit from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"The Cultural Olympiad offers everyone in the East of England a unique opportunity to celebrate the region's vibrant artistic talent and rich cultural heritage," said Andrea Stark, executive director for Arts Council England, East. 

The performers

Shezad Dawood aims to reflect cultural awareness in his work by integrating various genres, styles and locations. His films and performances have been known to challenge traditional notions of cultural identity. 

"By linking our project between Britain and India we take an obvious history, and map out a new look to the whole concept of borders in a new evolving global environment," he said.

Shezad's work will be displayed

Shezad's accomplice Mukul Deora is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Mumbai, India and is known for being pioneering in his electronic dance music in India during the 1990's before becoming more recently involved in experimental sound installations. 

His debut album Stray, released in 2006, clinched the number 12 spot in the Indian charts.

Artist Simon Tegala will also be involved at the weekend by putting on a display of work covering his multitude of experience in drawing, sculpture, photography, film and digital art. 

Simon's work has been exhibited internationally including displays at the Hayward Gallery in London and the National Gallery of Denmark.

Film workshops

The castle event will also be supported by a series of film, dance and editing workshops for young people being run by The Garage, Norwich. 

The workshops will culminate in a video and dance programme based on filmed interviews with a diverse range of communities from the city.  It will be presented as a performance at a reception in The Garage after the Norwich Castle show on Sunday, 28 September.

The Body Electric will perform between 8.00pm and 9.00pm on Saturday, 27 and Sunday, 28 September, 2008.  The events are suitable for all ages and free to the public.

For other Cultural Olympiad events taking place around Norfolk, listen to BBC Radio Norfolk's preview below.