New exhibition to celebrate South Asian communities

A new exhibition celebrating the heritage of South Asian communities in Coventry is to open later this year after receiving funding.

Stories That Made Us: Roots, Resilience, Representation, will open at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum on 14 November.

Culture Coventry Trust announced on Wednesday it had received a £131,350 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support the project.

Marguerite Nugent, the trust's cultural director, said they could bring stories from the city's South Asian communities to life in a way that acknowledged the "deep cultural impact" they had made.

"It's about building bridges between communities and we hope this will lead to a deeper understanding of our shared history," Ms Nugent added.

According to the 2021 census, about 18.5% of Coventry's population identified as Asian or Asian British, but Herbert said they were "often underrepresented" in public collections or exhibitions.

The exhibition will portray the lived experiences of a South Asian family in the city from 1968 to 2010, drawing on Coventry Archives' Virk Collection and Hardish Virk's Stories That Made Us Collection.

It will include photographs, books, magazines, vinyl records and other memorabilia.

Hardish Virk, exhibition co-curator, said it aimed to tell stories of both migrant and British South Asian communities, through the lived experience of one family.

"This exhibition doesn't claim to tell every story, instead it will tackle themes of migration, activism and identity which will resonate with both South Asian communities as well as wider society," Mr Virk added.

"Part of the legacy is to celebrate and document the positive contribution South Asian communities have and continue to make to every aspect of British society."

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