Le Groupe Herencias uses the arts to promote, exchange, and encourage acceptance of diversity in identity, culture, and heritage. They create thought-provoking, publicly-engaged projects and powerful performances that deconstruct common notions of who we are and who we are expected to be. By doing so, they work to inspire the creation of more inclusive societies. This collective is composed of and collaborates with, culturally diverse people of colour (POC) who have experienced trauma, violence, adversity, and/or mental health disorders. They experiment with innovative arts practices to share, learn, and exchange on culture, identity, and heritage to create social change.

Himmat is a composer, a professional musician, and an interdisciplinary artist of Indian ancestry. His compositions have been used in solo performances, soundtracks for theatre, film, contemporary dance, and performance art. Notably, his work was featured on the CBC national television show “Adrienne Clarkson Presents” as part of the television premiere of “Burning Skin,” a dance performance by choreographer Roger Sinha. His contemporary musical pieces constitute a fusion of his influences and the tensions between them. His work is informed by his education in western classical music; the Sikh religious music, Bollywood soundtracks, the Indian classical and folk music that he heard in his childhood home, and contemporary popular music.