Community Workshop and Sharing Circle w/ BISHI

To mark the release of her fourth album 'Maya - The Birth of a Superhero', BISHI will present four live performances and community-led workshops at venues across the UK. Join her as she stops off in Bristol to explore creativity, identity and storytelling in a supportive group sharing space.

The workshop will open with BISHI sharing an overview of her DIY career, from her Indian immigrant background and roots in queer nightlife through to composing for orchestra, film and immersive technology. She reflects on the challenges she has faced, alongside the opportunities she has carved out in emerging and often underrepresented spaces, offering insight into pathways available to women and LGBTQ+ artists today.

The second part of the workshop centres on a simple and non-threatening sharing circle. Ahead of the session, BISHI invites artists participating in the workshop to share a piece of work. This may be audio, text or a short video. Participants are encouraged to present work in progress or speak openly about creative blocks within a supportive and collaborative environment.

BISHI will offer individually tailored feedback and, where relevant, signpost participants to local resources with the support of partner organisations. The workshop is designed not only to inspire, but to support aspiration and provide practical approaches to developing creative projects and careers.

Participants will also be invited to stay connected via a dedicated Discord group, fostering an ongoing local network. BISHI will periodically check in, supporting its growth and continuity beyond the workshop.

If you would like to receive feedback and input from BISHI in this session, please email [email protected] with the project you would like to share by Friday 12th June.

BISHI is an artist, composer and producer born in London of Bengali heritage. As a multi-instrumentalist, she has been trained in both Hindustani and Western Classical styles and studied the sitar under Gaurav Mazumdar, a senior disciple of Ravi Shankar.

BISHI has independently released three albums and several EPs on her own label Gryphon Records to critical acclaim. She co-produced her third album ‘Let My Country Awake,’ released in October 2021. Part-inspired by groundbreaking essay collection, ‘The Good Immigrant’ and Tagore’s Nobel-winning poem exploring borderless identity, ‘Let My Country Awake’ features revolutionary use of BISHI’s trademark electric sitar and four-octave vocal range alongside sampled interviews from Nikesh Shukla, Salena Godden, and Darren Chetty. The album’s themes focus on dual identities, anti-racism, and a call to find empathy in a divided world

BISHI has recorded work with Tony Visconti, Sean Ono Lennon, Jarvis Cocker, and Daphne Guinness. Her collaborations and commissions for the stage include; The London Symphony Orchestra, The Kronos Quartet, Yoko Ono’s ‘Meltdown’, a film collaboration with fashion designer Manish Arora, and the City of London Sinfonia as a Tanpura soloist on Jonny Greenwood’s ‘Water. BISHI’s compositions have been placed in both film (Tropique dir Eduoard Salier (2023) and TV (Disney+, Channel 4). She produced LANDR’s first-ever Sitar Sample pack and has recently worked with Real World Studios, Spitfire Audio, Spitalfields Music, Ableton and Delic. BISHI's first sound art installation 'Reflektions,' sold out the Random String Festival at Coventry City of Culture 2021, has been exhibited internationally and in 2022 became the first artist’s work to be project-mapped across UNESCO World Heritage sites, The Queen’s House & Royal Naval College, London.

In 2023, BISHI composed and produced her first original score for VR experience ‘Maya, The Birth of a Superhero’ receiving Special Jury Mention at TriBeCa Film Festival. She has composed choral music for Trans Voices, the UK’s first professional trans+ choir and in 2023 become part of a team developing an AI composer tool with the University of Sheffield. In 2024, BISHI composed the original score for her first TV series, 'Defiance - Fighting the Far Right' for Channel 4.

BISHI is celebrated for the use of ground breaking technology in her live performances, from interactive bodysuits, controlling sound & vision live onstage to live coded audiovisual environments. She recently performed live-coded AV shows at Southbank Centre, London and Elbphilharmie Hamburg along with mixed reality online performances for Amazon Twitch. Her latest music video Language Is An Ocean in collaboration with acclaimed director Shruti Ganguly was premiered on Wonderland and exhibited at ASVOFF 2021.

A passionate advocate for inclusivity in the music industry & the gender equality, BISHI is the founder of WITCiH (Women in Tech Creative Industries Hub), a platform elevating women, trans and non-binary creative practitioners in tech. She recently curated ‘WITCiH Digital Festival’ starring Laurie Anderson, Ana Matronic and Hannah Peel and the Creative Women In Tech podcast featuring Anna Meredith, Gazelle Twin, Nwando Ebizie, Adah Parris, Alex Box. BISHI has been a broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and is currently an ambassador for Imogen Heap's Creative Passport. She is also on the board of directors for the Featured Artists Coalition and The F-List for Music. BISHI was a Keychange Innovator (2022)

Saffron is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to advance gender equality in the music tech sector by creating safer spaces for marginalised people to learn, create and grow confidently through forward-thinking technological music creation, DJ and music industry experience. Saffron’s work focuses on educational courses, online workshops, mentoring, a global members club and an artist development and label platform. We are building a future industry that is inclusive and diverse. Founded in Bristol UK in 2015, Saffron has grown from a one-woman operation to an initiative supporting thousands of people worldwide to find music education and community.

Safffronmusic.co.uk - Instagram / LinkedIn

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Saffron