The ongoing impact of one of the most momentous events in modern history, the Partition of India in 1947, is being explored in an exhibition of new artworks, presented by leading Birmingham-based organisation, Sampad South Asian Arts and Heritage and supported by the National Lottery through Heritage Lottery Fund.
The People of Partition in Birmingham is a free new exhibition which is exploring how people living in Birmingham today understand the 1947 Partition of India. The exhibition has been curated by artist Tasawar Bashir, in collaboration with 20 volunteers from the West Midlands who have helped to co-curate and design the display. The exhibition champions local stories and insights and features creative responses to some of the themes surrounding Partition, such as collective displacement, turmoil and changing identities.
The exhibition team began to develop the artworks during a series of workshops held at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery during the summer of 2017, with the aim of reflecting some of the complex feelings and thoughts evoked by the subject of the Partition. They drew inspiration from personal stories of people who were directly affected, as well as powerful memories passed down within families.
The exhibition marks the mid-point of an 18 month project called The Partition Trail, led by Sampad South Asian Arts and Heritage and supported by the National Lottery through Heritage Lottery Fund. The project is examining the lasting impact of the Partition on communities in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Many of its related themes, such as the concept of changing national identity, invisible partitions in today’s society and the impact of migration on younger generations, remain globally topical today.
Now, the new exhibition aims to highlight the importance of continued conversation and learning about Partition. One of the artworks will give visitors a chance to help build the project’s research by creating a data visualisation which maps their physical and emotional response to Partition by using coloured strings to map where their families originated from and where they went on to settle in Birmingham.
Visitors will also be able to hear personal stories relating to Partition via a series of audio boxes as well as watching filmed interviews on a large plasma screen.
Tasawar Bashir, lead artist and curator for The People of Partition in Birmingham exhibition, says:
“Working collaboratively with the volunteer co-curators has really empowered them to challenge traditional approaches to making art and encouraged them to think about the many different ways in which they can respond creatively to complex themes. As a result they are helping to tell the story of The People of Partition in Birmingham in a sensitive but thought-provoking way”
Urmala Jassal, Sampad’s Associate Director and Partition Trail project manager, says:
“The People of Partition in Birmingham exhibition will provide a compelling insight into the Partition’s lasting impact on the cultural landscape of our city and its residents. We hope that it will also encourage the younger generations from South Asian communities who have been indirectly affected by Partition to gain a deeper understanding of their cultural heritage”.
See photos from the exhibition launch on our Facebook page here!
THE PEOPLE OF PARTITION IN BIRMINGHAM RUNS 16 NOVEMBER 2017 TO 29 APRIL 2018 AT SOHO HOUSE, BIRMINGHAM B18 5LB. FREE EXHIBITION, NO BOOKING REQUIRED. PLEASE NOTE THAT SOHO HOUSE IS OPEN 11AM-4PM WED-THURS AND THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH. CHECK birminghammuseums.org.uk FOR UPDATES.
***ENDS***
MEDIA – FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Simi Obra, Marketing and PR Officer, Sampad. Email: simi@sampad.org.uk
Tel: 0121 446 3268 (calls within the UK) or 00 44 121 446 3268 (calls from outside UK)
About the 1947 Partition of India
On 15 August 1947, millions of people in the Indian subcontinent woke up to find that they had a new identity. They were no longer part of British India, instead they were either ‘Indian’ or ‘Pakistani’. This was a result of monumental political decisions that were taken, as the British Government scrambled to ease its retreat from India and the Empire, against a backdrop of escalating political and social tensions within the subcontinent.
The Partition triggered the largest mass migration in human history, forcing the traumatic displacement of more than 14 million people as vast numbers of people moved across the border between the two newly formed states. It provoked horrific violence and resulted in the loss of an estimated two million lives.
Over the course of the decades that followed, prompted by a variety of factors, large swathes of people made the move from India and the newly created Pakistan, particularly from the divided state of Punjab, to settle in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Census records build a picture of the indirect influence of the Partition on patterns of migration and settlement in the region, which can still be recognised today.
About Sampad Arts | www.sampad.org.uk | @sampad_arts
Sampad’s mission is to connect people and communities with British Asian arts and heritage and to play a pro-active role in the creative economy. We believe in the power of arts and heritage to impact widely on all communities – breaking down barriers, raising important issues, amplifying unheard voices and bringing people from all walks of life together. Now in our 27th year, we continue to play an instrumental role in promoting and encouraging British Asian arts, so that they progress, break new ground and enrich mainstream culture in the UK.
We support, commission and co-produce a huge variety of arts and heritage activities inspired by diverse artforms that originate from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We receive kind support from Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council and work closely and strategically with mac Birmingham, where we are based.
About the Heritage Lottery Fund | www.hlf.org.uk | @heritagelottery
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #HLFsupported.
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