20/08/2026
If you haven’t already, meet Vikas 👋
He recently won the Lifetime Achievement prize at our Gateshead Awards.
Read more about the impact he’s had on our borough and across the North East 👇
Vikas’s role in shaping our borough began through the Gateshead Visible Ethnic Minorities Support Group. Part of the charity’s wide-ranging work involved using community arts to support social inclusion. As time went by, it became clear that this was making a major difference. So, Vikas founded GemArts, the cultural wing of the charity, solely dedicated to bringing people together through South Asian and culturally diverse art.
Since its early days in 2000, Gem Arts has put on countless concerts and festivals, supported hundreds of artists to grow their craft, commissioned new work as well as hosted sessions so everyone from every background to learn and express their creative sides 🎨
They haven’t just focussed on a singular art form either. Their work has included everything from classical to contemporary, and partners from big to small like The Glasshouse and local schools.
Throughout all this, one of their key missions has been opening access to the arts for everyone. As Vikas says, “if you can’t see it, you can’t be it”. That’s why they work hard to remove barriers, offering free and low cost opportunities so more people can experience and participate in the arts 🫶
In the past 25+ years, this inclusive, all-welcome approach has seen Gem Arts reach hundreds of thousands of people, unite communities and given Gateshead some much-loved annual events.
One of these is the famous Masala Festival, and in honour of its 10th year this year, Gateshead Central Library is currently hosting a photography exhibition documenting its decade-long stint. We’d highly recommend checking this out 📸
You can also catch Playback / Rewind by Jimmy Turrell, a bold new commission inspired by Bollywood vinyl, printed ephemera and South Asian histories in Gateshead, before it closes in October.
It’s hard to fit more of his impact into a single social media post, because Vikas is such a trailblazer. We’re so thankful for everything he’s done for Gateshead and the wider region 🌟
🗣 On winning his award, Vikas shared: “I’m hugely proud to be from Bensham and Gateshead. I was shocked and really humbled to win the Lifetime Achievement award - I’ve got a lot still to do. I’m also aware that I’ve not done this in isolation. The impact we’ve been able to make is thanks to my amazing team at Gem Arts, our volunteers and trustees, as well as the fantastic communities, artists and partners we work with. I’d also like to say a huge thanks to my family for their incredible support. This award, it’s for everyone really.
GemArts
