motiroti

MR - motiroti (MR) was an internationally acclaimed arts organisation formally established in 1990. The company evolved from a collaboration between artists Keith Khan and Ali Zaidi, but was officially closed down in 2014. Based in London, motiroti was dedicated to developing multi-faceted projects, which explored diversity in all its forms. Its work centred on perceptions of identity and was led by participation, new technology, and design.

The archive

The motiroti archive contains a rich mixture of material documenting the last 20 years of work within the Asian and Black performing arts sector. The archive is particularly strong in visual material: from storyboards to production photographs, initial costume sketches to poster artwork, flyers and programmes to CDs and videos. The range of material enables all stages of the productions to be studied, from pre-production brainstorming sessions through to videos of final performances and their subsequent developments. Press cuttings together with other reviews and commentaries also provide a comprehensive record of motiroti's achievements. The visual material is supported and enhanced by production files that document the practicalities and logistics of co-ordinating and staging the performances. Administrative files indicate the development of the company and provide a useful history of UK arts funding from the perspective of the applicant. In addition, the way motiroti operated means the archive provides significant information about a variety of companies and individual performers who worked with and for them, information that might otherwise have been unavailable.

Online catalogue

The full catalogue of material was archived by Future Histories through the Re-membering Asian Performance project. Copies of the catalogue are available on the A2A website and on the Goldsmiths University Special Collections website .

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