Jiten Anand

Pro-Chancellor

Jiten Anand is Co-Founder and the Executive Director of Inspirate - a National Portfolio Organisation that celebrates the intertwined culture of the Indian subcontinent and the UK. He is passionate about harnessing the arts to inspire positive social, cultural and economic change.

Jiten has been instrumental in bringing to life an array of nationally leading arts festivals and events - from 'An Indian Summer' to 'Bring The Paint'. He has collaborated with a breadth of prestigious organisations, including the Royal Collection Trust and the British Science Association. As a cultural entrepreneur, he enjoys building bridges between international corporations and the arts - working with multinational companies, such as Sony Entertainment Television and State Bank of India.

The social enterprise Jiten leads was co-founded in 2011 whilst he was a university placement. His career in the creative industries was cemented after taking part in De Montfort University and Curve Theatre's Cultural Leadership Programme from 2016-18. During this time, he was mentored by Farooq Chaudry OBE, became Vice-Chair of Leicester Arts Festivals and took part in the Clore Short Course. In 2017, he led one of the biggest festivals of South Asian culture in the UK - marking the 70th anniversary of Indian & Pakistani partition and independence. In 2019, Jiten became a Trustee of Pedestrian - a Leicester based young people's charity, and joined the board of New Art exchange - one of the UK's leading visual arts venues.

He has taken Inspirate from a small social enterprise funded by Arts Council England's Elevate programme, to a National Portfolio inspiring a new generation of South Asian arts; supporting diverse communities, developing dynamic collaborations and shifting the cultural sector.