When the Bay Area non-profit Art Forum SF first launched the South Asian Literature and Arts Festival in 2019, it was with a specific mission in mind: spotlighting contemporary South Asian voices making waves in the arts.
“Here in the Bay Area, South Asians are definitely seen as the tech or the math people,” says Ambika Sahay, executive director at Art Forum SF. “We wanted to showcase through the SALA Festival that culture, art and literature is also very viable. And there is space for that within the South Asian community — and that South Asian community is doing a lot.”