Exhibition to mark 50 years since Ugandan Asians settled in Leicester

An exhibition will mark 50 years since Ugandan Asians began arriving in Leicester after being expelled by dictator Idi Amin.

The Uganda 50 exhibition will be part of a programme of regional events to commemorate the anniversary.

The exhibition will also celebrate the contribution the Asian community has made to the city's culture, said the council.

It is due to open at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery in July.

Leicester-based arts organisation Navrang has been awarded about £102,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a programme of regional events, including the exhibition.

The exhibition itself has also received a £10,000 contribution from the city council's Museums and Galleries Services.

In August 1972, tens of thousands of Asians were given 90 days to leave Uganda by Idi Amin.

More than half of those had British passports and eventually settled in the UK. Many moved to Leicester, where there was already an established Asian community.

Councillor Piara Singh Clair, Leicester deputy city mayor responsible for culture, leisure and sport, said: "The new exhibition at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery will be a fitting celebration of the resilience and resourcefulness of a whole people who were displaced and forced to start all over again, far away from home.

"Leicester's Ugandan Asian population have helped forge a unique identity for the city over the last 50 years, and these commemorations will celebrate the huge contribution they have made to the city's culture."

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