Wolverhampton producer and artist wins major award

Dawinder Bansal, a producer and artist whose performances and immersive installations are informed by cultural heritage and contemporary stories, has won the Arts and Cultural Awareness award at the 2019 British Indian Awards.

The awards, which took place at the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre at the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre on Friday, July 26, acknowledged the work and achievements of some of the best and brightest British Indian talent.

Dawinder was one of two winners from Wolverhampton, with Dr Opinderjit Takhar winning Influencer of the Year, and spoke about her surprise at even being nominated for the award.

She said: "I didn't expect to be nominated for these awards, so to have that and then to win the award was incredible.

"I've never won anything in my life, so win an award where the public could nominate you is very flattering and has left me nicely shocked and pleasantly surprised."

Dawinder was unable to attend the awards night as she was ill, but has sent a message of thanks to everyone who supported her.

She said that the award is recognition for the work she has done to unearth hidden stories in communities that are largely hidden.

She said: "The recognition I will get from this award will aid everything I do in working with the communities and making them feel special and better represented.

"It's really nice to be recognised for my work and I hope i can inspire people as I am very interested in telling really peoples stories."

Dawinder also hopes to inspire young carers through her award, having been a carer herself since she was 11.

She said: "I want this to prove to young carers that every when you feel weighed down by the difficulty and responsibility of being a carer, you can still have a career and still be passionate about art and making a difference."