Snapshots on the Shore: Punjabi Families and the Reimagining of British Seaside Culture written by Rianne Samuda MA student at De Montfort and in partnership with Black Country Visual Arts

Seaside tourism has long been a cultural fixture in Britain. John Urry discusses British seaside towns emerging in the 19th century as a healthful retreat for the upper classes. Then in the 20th century those seaside resorts gradually became more accessible to everybody. Places like Margate, Brighton, and Blackpool were transformed into bustling hubs of leisure. Complete with donkey rides, amusement arcades, and promenade photography. The beach became more than a holiday destination; it was a shared social ritual, deeply embedded in the national psyche.

Figure 1: Bhajan Kaur, Blackpool c.1985

Photography played a central role in this ritual. Families captured their outings in posed portraits or spontaneous snaps, cementing the seaside as a space of memory, belonging, and identity. Holiday photos weren’t just souvenirs; they were declarations of participation in a cultural tradition; material proof of a life lived in step with national rhythms.

For many postwar migrants, including South Asian settlers from Punjab, participating in this visual culture was a way to navigate the unfamiliar contours of British life. The Apna Heritage Archive houses hundreds of photographs taken by Punjabi families at various British seaside resorts. These images reveal how these communities embraced the seaside as both a leisure space and a performative stage of belonging.

One such image captures this dynamic beautifully.

Figure 2: Joginder, Satinder, Monica and Narinder Phokela, Blackpool c.1976

A sun-soaked beach bustles with the easy chaos of a British summer holiday. Amid rows of deckchairs and scattered beach towels, a Punjabi family anchors themselves in the sand. A man in a light blue turban reclines shirtless in a red-striped chair. Beside him, a woman in a bright floral sari rests her arm gently on her handbag. Around them, children play in the sand. A blonde child joins them, a sign of playful mingling on a communal beach.

Behind them, dozens of holidaymakers. Sunbathing families and strangers stretch along the shore in shared leisure. The scene is unmistakably British: the classic deckchairs, the concrete promenade with its white and blue balustrade, the terraced buildings overlooking the sea. But the photograph also speaks to something deeper. A quiet assertion of cultural presence. This family, dressed partly in traditional clothing, partly in swimming trunks and sandals, has laid claim to the sand not as outsiders, but as full participants in a national ritual.

Photography here becomes an act of agency. By taking and keeping these photos, Punjabi families inserted themselves into a visual narrative from which they were often excluded. They reframed the beach, not as a relic of Britishness, but as a shared reimagined space. As scholar Marianne Hirsch reminds us, “Family photographs are not just images of the past, they are instruments of memory and identity; they help us narrate who we are, where we came from, and how we belong.”

Figure 3: Pradeep, Jasvinder, Sandeep and Sukhvir Kalsi, Cornwall c.1986

Crucially, these photographs do not act in isolation. Martha Langford argues in her essay; family photo albums are not static records but dynamic performances of memory. They gain their full meaning not from silent viewing but from being spoken. Narrated by parents or elders, who layer them with stories, emotions, and cultural significance. In Langford’s oral-photographic framework, the family album becomes a medium through which diasporic identity is continuously shaped and shared. For these Punjabi families, the seaside snapshots are not merely documentation of assimilation. They are staged conversations, passed across generations to affirm continuity, place, and belonging.

Figure 4: Bhajan Kaur, Blackpool c.1985

In an era when public discourse around migration was often fraught, these ordinary moments of joy and integration carry extraordinary significance. They challenge monolithic ideas of what it means to be British and remind us that belonging is not only legislated from above but lived and documented from below.

Figure 5: Christine Shutt with Pradeep, Rhyl, Wales c.1981

The beach, once a symbol of imperial leisure and native nostalgia, becomes in these photos a site of plural identity. Archives like Apna don't just preserve history. They offer a richer, more inclusive way of seeing who shaped modern Britain.

These photographs are more than snapshots—they’re fragments of lived experience, woven into the broader story of migration, memory, and belonging in Britain. If this glimpse into the lives and memories of Punjabi families by the sea has sparked your interest, we have curated an online exhibition featuring many of the family images from the Apna Heritage Archive which can be found here:

https://www.bcva.info/online-exhibition-british-punjabi-staycations

Bibliography

Hirsch, Marianne. Family frames: photography, narrative, and postmemory. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997. https://archive.org/details/familyframesphot0000hirs/mode/2up

Langford, Martha. "Speaking the Album: An Application of the Oral-Photographic Framework." In Locating Memory: Photographic Acts, edited by Annette Kuhn and Kirsten McAllister, 223-246. Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2006. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781782381990-012/html

Urry, John. The Tourist Gaze. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications, 2002. https://archive.org/details/touristgaze0000urry/mode/2up

Wedding photography: from our private photographs to the public sphere written by Laura Turner MA student at De Montfort and in partnership with Black Country Visual Arts

Following my colleague Aleks Trodovov’s insightful blog on marriage within the Punjabi community in the UK, I wanted to explore how photography—particularly wedding photography—played a role in shaping memories and identities within Punjabi communities in the Black Country during the 1970s and 1980s.

Fig. 1, Hitchin, Register Office, Usha Ghai with Prem Pal and Family, c1974. Apna Heritage Archive

Wedding photography changed during this period as social and economic conditions evolved, and as new camera technologies—especially colour photography—became more widely available. These developments are visible in many of the photographs in the Apna Heritage Archive.

Fig. 2, Wolverhampton Register Office c1973, Dharshan Singh Atwal with Surrender Kaur Sohi and Family, Apna Heritage Archive

At many weddings, both professional photographers and guests took photos. While professionals focused on formal portraits, guests often captured more candid, spontaneous moments—one such intimate moment can be seen in Fig. 3, with Surjit and Paramjit Sond.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Indian wedding photography was generally straightforward, often documentary-style, capturing moments of rituals, family interactions, and celebration. Cameras became more affordable during this time, and wedding guests could use compact, user-friendly point-and-shoot or single-use cameras. This made it easier for them to take informally posed photographs, adding another layer of commemoration to the occasion.

Fig. 3, Caledonia Rd, c1972, Surjit S. Sond & Paramjit K. Sond. Apna Heritage Archive

Today, such photos help us learn about the vibrant traditional clothing, jewellery, and festive atmosphere of these events—especially striking when compared to the more plain and practical settings of local registry offices, where many weddings are held today.

Family photographs form a special kind of photography, but they include a wide range of styles and approaches. In the 1970s, one couldn’t instantly review or delete a photo if it didn’t turn out well. As a result, some images show, for example, a family member accidentally cut out of the frame—but these photographs were still kept and cherished as part of the celebration of the event.

The wedding photographs in the Apna Heritage Archive have a dual character. They are intimate and meaningful family photographs, but they’ve also become a valuable resource for anyone interested in the cultural history of Punjabi migrants who settled in the West Midlands from the 1960s to the 1980s. They demonstrate with great clarity how wedding photographs are more than mere records of past moments and changing technologies but also reflections of social change, ethnic traditions, conventional approaches to gender roles, and economic conditions, offering insights into broad shifts in community life.

Fig. 4, Allen Rd, Surjit S. Sond & Paramjit K. Sond. Apna Heritage Archive

Steve Edwards notes that, “photographic images play as significant a role in shaping public memory as they do in family memory.” This is especially true now that these once-personal family photographs have entered the public sphere through the community archive. It’s worth asking: how do they now shape both family and public memory?

The word “Apna” in Punjabi, meaning “ours,” resonates powerfully in the context of these wedding photographs. Once personal mementos belonging to individual families, they now form part of a shared cultural archive—transformed from personal memory into collective heritage. Their presence in the Apna Heritage Archive exemplifies how photography can act not only as a vessel of remembrance but as a medium through which communities articulate belonging, identity, and continuity across generations.

Wedding photographs in the Apna Heritage Archive embody the negotiation of cultural hybridity, capturing moments where British and Indian traditions intertwine in subtle and expressive ways. Through the vivid textures of clothing, the rituals performed, and the gatherings these photographs frame, they offer layered insights into the lived experience of migration, adaptation, and community formation in the Black Country.

I feel privileged to be an onlooker at these personal community photographs of intimate family events.

Bibliography

Chhabra, Anand. “Punjabi Migration to the Black Country: A Photographic Journey through History, Cultures and Digital Technology,” Photography and Culture 14, 3 (2021): 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/17514517.2021.1927373

Edwards, Steve. Photography: A Very Short Introduction. United States: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Indian Wedding Photography blog. “Modern Indian Wedding Photography Trends in the United Kingdom: A Journey Through Five Decades of Evolution.” Accessed April 26, 2025. https://www.blog.indianweddingphotography.co.au/2024/11/united-kingdom-and-modern-india

Simine de – Arnold, Silke & Leal, Joanne. Picturing the Family: Media, Narrative, Memory. London: Bloomsbury, 2018.

Warren, Lynne. Encyclopaedia of Twentieth Century Photography. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Punjabi immigration to the UK – creating a new home away from home written by Aleks Todorov PhD student at De Montfort and in partnership with Black Country Visual Arts

We are thankful to Professor Gil Pasternak for introducing us to PhD student Aleks Todorov who has been brilliant writing and also working on the SEO for our archive which we are very excited about. A massive thanks to Aleks for his hard work. This I the third in the series of blogs he has written!

Causes of Punjabi migration to the United Kingdom and the West as a whole is still a debated topic amongst researchers. Some are caused by domestic issues – low income due to small land property, no opportunities outside of farming and a high demand for labour in post-war United Kingdom. It is also important to note that the concentration of migrants, especially from Punjab could be linked to old imperial connections with the United Kingdom. Very often Punjabis served in the British Indian Army. It is further important to note that some scholars argue that although the people in Punjab come from relative high poverty, poverty is not the main factor causing migration.

The Midlands was a preferred destination for Punjabis, due to it’s expanding economy and booming car industry after shortage of labour in the post war years. Once here family ties were important and the migrants didn’t always intend to settle permanently. Their aim was to earn money and return to India, therefore finding a job was of crucial importance. However, in most occasions that was not achieved.

As Steve Taylor explains Punjabi Sikh migration experiences for permanent settlers in the UK is complex. Although migrants are joined by family members, migrants still keep connections with India, for example the frequent sending of funds to aid less fortunate relatives. Furthermore, often purchasing property in the UK and maintaining one in Punjab would lead to frequent travel across the two countries. Therefore, one could consider ‘home’ as both lived and imagined. In a research Jat Sikhs expressed the importance of maintaining a connection with Punjab and their roots.

Many Punjabis in the 60s expressed a longing for a home, citing that the UK is a ‘prison of choice’, where nobody would form kinship with anyone due to the fact that everyone is always working. Therefore, on occasions there was a palpable attempt to reproduce Punjab in the homes of migrants here in the UK, and in a sense the building of a home outside of home is a continuous pursuit.

In the context of family photography, such images play key role in preserving memory in the form of oral history. Although photographs often could change meanings after a family member has died, through oral history they can remain a key anchor to ancestry and origin and could be seen as the metaphorical glue that binds the community or family unit together. Researchers affirm that photos are memory capsules, where they serve in building family myths and narrative transcending time and place. In viewing the photograph one can connect stories and lives across geographical places and generations. Women would play the key role as keepers of such memories and would be the main storytellers.

Overall, the sense of home and belonging is a complex one in the context of Punjabi immigrants in Britain. It is also important to note the duality of the notion of home – that it’s both lived and imagined.

Bibliography:

Taylor, Steven. “The Diasporic Pursuit of Home and Identity: Dynamic Punjabi Transnationalism”. The Sociological Review, 62 (2014).  276-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12155

Mahal, Chandan. “Family History, Ancestral Place and Diaspora: material culture and community heritage for people of Punjabi descent in Lonon” (2022), PhD Theiss, Queen Mary University of London.

Rajan, S. Irudaya, Vekkal John Varghese, and Aswini Kumar Nanda, eds. Migration, mobility and multiple affiliations. Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Chanda, Rupa, and Sriparna Ghosh. "The Punjabi diaspora in the UK: An overview of characteristics and contributions to India." IIM Bangalore Research Paper 380 (2012).

'Crossing the Line' production by Black Country Touring taking place at Black Country Living Museum August 2024

Always a pleasure to help with photography for Black Country Touring (BCT) . Once again they are hitting all the write notes with their work building historical narratives in the region. This time iinthe back drop of the Black Country Living Museum (BCLM) and in their new Industrial Quarter where we can see BCT’s new historic drama that resonates with the region’s past regarding migration, industrial work, picket lines and…..the threat of the Cold War. Well worth a watch and remaining dates and times to see the show in August are as follows::- https://www.bctouring.org.uk/our-productions/crossing-the-line

Black Country Touring's 'Crossing the Line' drama production © Anand Chhabra

National Portrait Gallery acquire portraits by Anand Chhabra for their collections

We are grateful to National Portrait Gallery for hosting our director and artist Anand along with local Punjabi communities from Wolverhampton who attended a special day for the signing of photographic portraits by Anand. The portraits acquired by NPG and Wolverhampton Art Gallery are of significant Punjabi’s from Wolverhampton such as the Tarsem Singh Sandhu the man at the centre of the infamous turban ban dispute along with Kuli Kohli the first disabled asian woman poet laureate of Wolverhampton and also the former mayor of Wolverhampton Bishan Dass who was the first mayor in the UK. The portrait work created by Anand Chhabra resulted from a commission by the National Portrait Gallery on their Citizen UK Researcher Project. The commission focussed on looking at Punjabi Migration and through a great group of volunteers who worked as researchers found some amazing individuals in the city to collate their stories through oral history, collective archive photographs and take portraits. The work resulted in an exhibtion at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and was lauded and celebrated in the city. It was so good to celebrate with the community who made the effort to travel from Wolverhampton. Special thanks to the community of researchers as well as Carol Thompson Senior Curator from Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Producer on the Citizen UK work Alex Talbot and acquisitions officer Clare Freestone both from the NPG. The exhibtion and co-created work that was led by artist Anand Chhabra is detailed in previous posts on this blog.

Wolverhampton Citizen UK researcher celebrate with artist Anand Chhabra acquisition of portraits at the National Portrait Gallery/ May 2024. .

FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY – memory, relationships and belonging. written by Aleks Todorov PhD student at De Montfort and in partnership with Black Country Visual Arts.

We are thankful to Professor Gil Pasternak for introducing us to PhD student Aleks Todorov who has been brilliant writing and also working on the SEO for our archive which we are very excited about. A massive thanks to Aleks for his hard work. This I the second in the series of blogs he has written!

As the Apna Heritage Archive houses over 2000 domestic and amateur photographs it would be beneficial to address the historical, social, and even political importance of such images. It is worth asking the question – what the relationship between family and photography and how familial memory is, and could it be shaped through the lens?

Firstly, it is important acknowledge familial photographs evoke meaning and sentiment not necessarily similar between, what Patricia Holland calls the outside reader and users of such photographic medium, in other words the reader is not necessarily made privy to the user’s private understanding of the image. However, such photography allows the outsider to participate in the formation of history and familial memory. It is further important to note that familial memory is an undividable and pivotal element of our collective memory. The photographs housed here open a window towards a more intimate familial events, such as weddings, raising children and celebrations, however they reflect wider notions such as immigration and the sense of belonging.

Photography is woven deeply in remembrance and belonging, even Kodak would advertise the importance of taking photographs with a small threat that not taking photographs will lead to events ultimately fading into memory and being irreversibly lost. In other words, photography is the medium that prevents events being thrown into obscurity.

Steve Edwards in his book “Photography a very short introduction” elegantly explains the role of storytelling and memory within a familial photographic context, as in memory could emerge when an image is brought up in a social context and often in series or in a specific order. This is to be observed in the case of the Apna Heritage archive – photographs are often grouped to show one family at a time.

Through preserving such domestic images, one might argue that the link between generations is preserved. This special link between ‘the young’ and ‘the old’ can be used as learning opportunity – similarities in clothing, culture, interests and even religious observance enhances the sense of belonging in a particular group of people and help understand our own identities. It helps reinforce the existence (and sometimes lack of) the desire to feel at home.

In the context of immigration of the Punjabi community in Britain, it would be beneficial to point out that familial photography plays a pivotal role in establishing (or re-establishing) the notion of home, within new and unfamiliar circumstances, by celebrating key milestones in life.

Through this brief introduction it was established a small framework of domestic photography as a whole, and specifically attempting to place it in the context of the photographs exhibited in the Apna Heritage Archive.

 Bibliography:

Erkonan, Şahika. "Photography and the construction of family and memory." Politics, Civil Society and Participation: Media and Communications in 257 (2016): accessed online

Cobley, Paul, Haeffner, Nick. “Digital cameras and domestic photography: communication, agency and structure.” Visual Communication, 8(2), (2009): 123-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357209102110

Steve Edwards. Photography: A very short introduction. United States: Oxford University Press ,2006.

Katherine Hoffman. Concepts of identity: Historical and contemporary images and portraits of self and family. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Supnaa: Dreams of our Fathers exhibition at Arboretum Orangery at FORMAT24 March 19th -April 21st 2024. Welcoming South Asian community.

The location for this exhibition cannot be more important as BCVA’s vision is always to bring the arts to the doorstep of the South Asian communities. Normanton in Derby is one such place for the densely populated Pakistani communities in Derby. Local days group visits are essential into entertaining and promoting an understanding of local communities. As the exhibition draws to a close a local group of ladies were invited not only to view but to share their stories of migration and journey to Derby. They bought some excellent images and have great stories to share which all input into the archive we are building for South Asians in Derby. Take time to read some of the responses we have had to the exhibition here:-  SUPNAA 2024 Visitor feedback

Indian ladies group visit and engage with the exhibtion sharing their own stories

Supnaa: Dreams of our Fathers exhibition at Arboretum Orangery at FORMAT24 March 19th -April 21st 2024

Every migrant has ‘a dream’ when they arrive to the city, certainly that’s my lived experience amongst so many people groups now present in the UK. There are many varied reasons as to their arrival and yet all want to seek a better life for themselves and to cherish their children’s future. Its perhaps everyone’s dream arriving to the city.

My father was no different and was promised that England’s streets were paved with gold when he arrived in Wolverhampton in the late 1960s but soon the reality set in shortly before he arrived that infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech by then Wolverhampton MP Enoch Powell.

This exhibition embodies a work that at Arboretum Park in Normanton Derby as part of FORMAT24. It’s a first time that an exhibition has been exhibited here as part of FORMAT. It was ideal for the artist as it’s in the most densely populated area for South Asians in the City and has been historically so since the 1960s. The work in the show has been curated is divided in three parts and shown in this film. Firstly, a look at my parents formative years as well as that of myself and my brother growing up in Wolverhampton. Secondly about the impact of the ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech and thirdly the dreams embodied through my father’s passion for Space Exploration and his positive influence on us to have high ideals.  The work is set on various visual platforms, family archive, portraits, ephemera photographed under controlled lighting and images the artist labels Dreamscapes. Images not necessarily noticeable but nonetheless laden with meaning.

The space handed to the artist was a challenge to set because of the nature of the room, we wish thank staff at QUAD who handle FORMAT24 and Arboretum Park Orangery for enabling and helping to enable the artists curation. Thanks to ACE for funding the project.

SUPNAA : Dreams of our Fathers Exhibition launching at Arboretum Park Orangery, Normanton. Derby. Opens from March 16th April 9th 2024.

We were visited by variety of groups and especially humbling to receive a visit by talented and knowledgeable students from University of Derby Year 2 Fine Art Photography students hear how Anand used the Orangery as a space to curate an exhibition and about communicating his own story through photography and ephemera. Special thanks to Thomas Wynne for bringing the students to see the exhibition.

Universityof Derby students visit to see the curation of the Supnaa exhibtion at Arboretum Orangery, Normanton Derby.

Marriage within the Punjabi community in the UK. written by Aleks Todorov PhD student at De Motfort and in partnership with Black Country Visual Arts.

We are thankful to Professor Gil Pasternak for introducing us to PhD student Aleks Todorov who has been brilliant writing and also working on the SEO for our archive which we are very excited about. A massive thanks to Aleks for his hard work. This I the first in a series of blogs he has written!

Marriage is a large event in families and it’s only natural for this event to be present in an archive housing only family photographs such as the Apna Heritage Archive.

Firstly, it is important to recognize that the immigrants from Punjab do not form one monolithic group. The diaspora is diverse in religion, practices, and customs.

Kristina Myrvold from Lund University has explained there is a need for more research needed to form a more encompassing study on ceremonial practices of various communities in Punjab, however there are some common practices that are still seen in the Punjabi community in the UK and in Punjab.

In Sikh culture the marriage ceremony is short,)  the planning for the event can take a year to plan, and a wedding includes several pre-wedding and post-wedding ceremonies and rituals. The ceremony itself involves hymns composed by different Gurus and it serves as a confirmation that Sikhism is a distinct religion from Islam and Hinduism. After the marriage the couple will attain one soul in two bodies. Marriage is considered holy and is necessary precursor to fulfil to achieve the highest form of love – the love for the divine, and it is a parental duty to see their unmarried children married off and married life is seen as the most natural living.

In terms of practices the wedding ceremony encompasses both rituals based on the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy text, scripture) and practices based more on folklore than religion, such as protections against evil eye, fertility and hopes for a long life.

The pre-wedding ceremonies include bringing of gifts for the marriage, dressing the bride in red coloured garments. The bride (and to some extent the groom) will receive henna art on the hands by an artist, followed by ritual application of vatna (turmeric, gram flour and mustard oil paste).

The groom would depart for the wedding on a white horse, accompanied by people singing folk songs. The wedding ceremony is very ceremonial and requires adequate code of behaviour from the bride and the groom and hymns are sang explaining the four stages of married life and love and the importance of duty towards the family and community. After the wedding ceremony, it is observed in the UK the bride would return to her parents’ home and the groom to collect her.

It is important to understand that marriage practices are complex and varied and they continuously undergo changes and furthermore have significant difference between the rural and urban practices.

In conclusion a wedding is a fundamental milestone in a person’s life and as a European I consider it an extreme privilege to be able to learn more about Punjabi Sikh culture and customs through my work for the Apna Heritage Archive and through the lens of very personal community photographs.

Bibliography:

Edwards, Judson Michael. "Wedding Customs in Monsoon Wedding."

Abbi, Kumool. “Sikh Middle Class, Panjabi Cinema and the Politics of Memory.” Sikh Formations 14, no. 1 (2018): 91–108. doi:10.1080/17448727.2018.1434984.

SUPNAA : Dreams of our Fathers Exhibition launching at Arboretum Park Orangery, Normanton. Derby. Opens from March 16th April 9th 2024. 12-4p.m. Specific dates and times please see below.

Supnaa Dreams of our Fathers is a photographic project about the migration on my family to Wolverhampton, UK by artist Anand Chhabra. We have chosen this venue as this is the best place to exhibit due to its location amongst the most densely populated areas for South aSians to visit in nearby Normanton.

Looking forward to the opening and it’s been a challenging one. It’s a large space and a challenging one to fill with our work but very thankful to the Arboretum management and also for FORMAT24 for helping to identify this space for their festival in 2024. We have been engaging with local south Asian groups to help share their stories and also establish an archive for the South Asian community in Derby as a result of this work. The work has been created to show three parts of a the narrative of the story the family, the protest and the dream. Look forward to welcoming you there and the artist Anand Chhabra will be invigilating the space see opening times dates for the Arboretum below.

Suspended Space Chart display from Supnaa: Dreams of our father's exhibtion during FORMAT24 @ Arboretum Orangery, Normanton Derby. Exhibition curated by Anand Chhabra

Migration Museum event with BCVA directors, Leicester Museum, October 2023

In October we were asked by the Migration Museum based in London to help facilitate a workshop for their event with a number of orgs and institutional leaders at Leicester Museum. We decided to think through issues around stumbling blocks when conducting projects around community work, community ethics as well as inclusion & representation. Fascinating dialogue with not enough time with these leaders when discussing when communities wish to co-create in a way that as leaders of the projects may be uncomfortable with. Special thanks to Emily Miller from Migration Museum for working hard to make sure the event was a success and also to our friends at Derby Museums for helping brokering the relationship with the Migration Museum. All in all a great discussion to ensure the group we don’t have all the answers and we can support each other through differing levels of experience.

BCVA directors Anand Chhabra & Sebah Chaudhry (at right) facilitate a group discussion for the Migration Museum Oct 2023. © Everything’s Fine Photography

Photographer Rob Honstra's 'The Europeans' translated into Punjabi at the behest of BCVA

We recently worked with dutch documentary photographer Rob Hornstra as he reached out to us for help to be able recognise the Punjabi community's significant prescence in the region and so we got them involved in the project. Rob is working on a large scale photography project all over the continent called ‘The Europeans’ to mark how Europe has changed by migration beyond recognition and challenging what we are used to regarding the term European. The Black Country was given focus for a book in his monologue series across Europe. Rob has listened to our concerns when approached to help about photographers being parachuted in to photograph in the Black Country and being paid a lot of money and then leaving without any co-creation and co-production with local community members, certainly no lasting benefits on the minorities who pay taxes to the local authorities and are used to have their images taken and don’t have any focus groups to attend to their needs. We were pleased to see a very ethical approach from the dutch photographer in the way he worked with communities and what he offered them. Not only this we were taken seriously on the low impact of arts on the large Punjabi communities and Rob at his own cost has had a number of these books to distributed to the local communities to help understand where they fit in to the project!

NPG Citizen UK Researcher Exhibition with co-creation and co-production at its heart.

There are many really great aspects of the Punjabi Migration to Wolverhampton exhibition at Wolverhampton Art gallery that have all been prompted and produced by a local team of volunteers (14 in total & officially known as Citizen Uk Researchers coined by lead partners National Portrait Gallery) and made up largely from the Punjabi diaspora from the area. BCVA director Anand Chhabra applied to be the lead artist and received the role to help bring together an arts focused project co-created and co-produced by the local community. He has been working with a group of largely volunteers over the course of 9 months training in archiving and recording oral histories and helping with questions for interviewing participants. Anand was also commissioned by NPG and chose to approach participants to see if they would have their portrait taken for the project. The result was an exhibition lauded by visitors and staff and made up of archival images, ephemera and new portraits of significant Punjabi’s as well as lesser known members of the community. The audio stories you can hear have been edited by the artist and technically produced by volunteer Akashi Kohli and to a high quality from the supplied digital dictaphones which volunteers used and in some cases personal mobile phones. Each story has been edited down to about 10 mins each from sometimes 5 hrs of recording life stories. Special thanks to researchers like Raveena Jassal for helping curating the exhibition that made it more meaningful for Punjabi visitors, having the interpretation translated in Punjabi as well as designs that relate to the cultural references to Punjabis’s as well as an interactive space for the whole community to put down their thoughts about the migration of Punjabi’s to Wolverhampton or even their own thoughts about the project. Indeed all volunteers who found some amazing participants with Anand. Thankful to our participants who helped to record their stories with pioneering figures in the Punjabi community such as Tarsem Singh Sandhu (the central figure who opposed the ban on the turban as a bus worker in 1968) Harjinder Kaur one of the first if not the first South Asian woman helping Punjabi women to improving their health and resources available to them in the city. Bishan Dass the first Mayor of Wolverhampton and of Indian origin in the UK. We also had those who had their had in the cultural life of Punjabi’s Kuli Kohli Wolverhampton’s first disabled poet laureate of Wolverhampton of South Asian origin. Also original band member Kash from Azaad bhangra band originating from Wolverhampton in the late 1970-80s and achieving world wide success, Dharma Pal (European Champion and World runner up power lifting champion 1977-78). Then there is Mak Singh who inspired by the 1970s Bollywood film ‘Dharam Veer’ as a young boy and ends starring in his own film as well as meeting the lead in the original film he was inspired by. We also had Sathnam Singh Sanghera talked brilliantly about his aearly years and right up to notoriety as a Times Columnist and we also interviewed his mother whose story around the early years of life in one of the most densely populated parts of the city remained unrecorded up to now. for Harbans Heera who detailed his work as pioneer of the first ever place of worship and Mrs Jain’s story as one the first ever Asian women teachers in the city. So many profound stories recorded first hand and will be made available at the City Archives in Wolverhampton. So many people to thank as well in this project and incredible to turn it all around in a short space of time. Special thanks to Emily Stone and Alex Talbot at National portrait Gallery for some very hard work and also Carol Thompson at Wolverhampton art Gallery in order to realise this project.

Audiences view World map along with maps of Punjab and Wolverhampton and can interact with their own country of origin on the map.

Audiences view portraits of participants co-created by them with the photographer at their former places of work.

Interpretation tranlated into Punjabi and imitated by the C UK Researcher team of volunteers. This benefited Punjabi visitors and in particular the older generation who first language is Punjabi.

Audiences listen to important historical and first hand stories about Punjabi migration by participants from th ePunjabi community at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

An interactive board with a plane made from Punjabi material and inspired by the research team of volunteers. A smorgasbord of opinions made by audiences interacting with the thoughts of migration to the city.

National Portrait Gallery and Citizen UK Exhibition launch at Wolverhampton Art Gallery May 20th 2023 celebrating with the community

An important exhibition launches with the local Punjabi community arriving to celebrate along with all participants, volunteers (Citizen Researchers) and hear and see an exhibition co-created and co-produced by local volunteers from the Punjabi diaspora. Participants and volunteers took centre stage in leading the celebrations, special thanks to participants Kuli Kohli (our first ever disabled woman South Asian poet laureate in the city) for entertaining audiences with her amazing poetry which centre on the Punjabi experience of migration this was followed by participants and former Azaad bhangra members Kash and his brother delighting audiences with their music. Glad to see participant Mak Singh that got everybody dancing, a first in the main foyer at the gallery! This exhibition has been lauded by community and organisations in the City and opened officially by the Mayor Michael Hardacre. As lead artists on the project offering our skills to local community members in photography, oral history and archive collection this project has allowed us to train volunteers and work to bring together a project that celebrates yet more untold stories at Wolverhampton main art gallery once again. It’s a joy to see how art has impacted Punjabi’s in a way that is significant and meaningful for them. Special thanks to both teams at Wolverhampton Art Gallery for hosting and hospitality serving samosas to all the community. Again special thanks to lead partners the National Portrait Gallery for their technical ability in making the desired co-production of the local researchers as well as our own implemented in the exhibition. It’s been great to see this after so much hard work on the exhibition. We’ll share more about this exhibition in a later post.

Dudley Mayors Ball invitation director Anand Chhabra nominated by the public for the Cedric Hardwicke Award for Arts 2023 and the winner is...........

It was great night for a bit of pizzaz and razzamatazz, musicians, banjo players, piano players, dancers? Mostly but not quite but we did have local impersonator of Elvis which was a lot better! He was great! It was the first ever time I got dressed to go to a black tie event! So I wasn't seriously expecting to win when up against local legends such as Billy Spakeman. I was gobsmacked to win the votes from the public who nominated me (special thanks to them) for work with Dudley College and workshops that highlighted the work of BCVA the ‘Heroes of the High Street’ and the work completed with Black Country Living Museum to highlight punjabi workers in the town through their ‘Forging Ahead’. The project was delivered at an exhibtion to a high standard at Dudley Archives with close to 300 Punjabi’s attending the opening launch at Black Country Living Museum. The work with Historic England meant local photographers had a chance to exhibit and showcase their work in national touring exhibtion.

BCVA director pictured (top) with the Cedric Hardwicke Award for the Arts at the Mayors Ball 2023. Below with Phil Brooks Photography lecturer at reception at The Copthorne Hotel Dudley.

National Portrait Gallery commission and Sathnam Singh Sanghera with his mother Surjit

Having been commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to work on the Citizen UK Researchers project to help document Punjabi Migration Experiences in the city. Anand has been working to collect oral histories stroies by trainig researcher volunteers and also creating a number of portraits. One of the results is that we managed to pull of getting an interview from the celebrated Times columnist and award winning author for the acclaimed book ‘Empireland’. Both Sathnam and his mother Surjit were interviewed by CR UK team member Dalbero and Anand. Anand replicated the portrait from a family photograph dear to Sathnam and on the cover of his inaugral work of migration and growing up in Wolverhampton ‘The boy with the top knot’ where he stands with his mum in the garden. The exhibition of all the amazing participants showcasing their oral histories and portraits from the researchers group will be showing in May 2023 at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

Celebrated Times columnist Sathnam Sanghera and mum Surjit at her home. Surjit holds a portrait of herself at the time she first migrated to the UK. Sathnam holds his award winning book (best non-fiction book for the Book seller awards) winning author Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain' © Anand Chhabra

Citizen UK Volunteer working Dalbero Kaur takes the lead in interviewing Sathnam Sanghera at his mum’s house for the forthcoming exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Photograph ©Anand Chhabra

Arts centre QUAD Derby, commissions for Heritage, Migration and Photography learning.

QUAD arts centre in Derby, have commissioned our director Anand Chhabra to work on a project to work with schools in Derby. Anand was assigned to work with a very diverse YR 4 & 5 pupils, planning and organising activities for learning around transnational migration and heritage. The 5 week project largely focus on how pupils learn about their who they are & why this matters to them. Along with how we celebrate diversity and makefor representation within the city which involves working in a way that declonises the cirriculum and the way of institutions. The pupils also attain skills in taking portraits and story-telling through photography. A number of collaborative partners are involved in the project and this culminates with a focus on the individual pupils heritage and what they can do to themselves readdress representation within collections in the city that are local to them. We also create their own photographic archive for future generations to appreciate in the their school and local library (watch this space!). One of the effects from our work promotes respect of difference and community cohesion along with knowledge and skills sharing that school cirriculum does not address when celebrating diversity with parents, pupils, and stakeholders in the school. Photos below of our second week exploring local collections at Derby Museums & Art Gallery which felt like ‘A Night at the Museum’ where things came to life.

Pear Tree Community School have a day at Derby Mueums & Art Gallery exploring collections and learning Photo-Storytelling Skills. © Anand Chhabra

Photo Collections Network : BCVA part of the discussion on Representation, Diversity and Inclusion 20th Jan 2023

We will be partnering throughout next year with Photo Collections Network and work to open discussion about Representation, Diversity and Inclusion in the photographic industry. The day will feature panel discussions to explore important questions such as:  What are the barriers to the wider public accessing and engaging with regional and national archives? What can we do to make collections and archives more inclusive? How do we encourage more diverse stories to be recorded and shared? And, how can we work together to be better?

Seminar speakers include the inspirational projects of; Apna Heritage Archive, Museum of Youth Culture, Nottingham Black Archives, and Historical Photos of China. Book here for the first day event with the above line up :- Bookings

Derby Museums & BCVA in partnership to create a story telling archive for South Asian communites in Derby.

Derby Museums has been successful in a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund developed in partnership with Black Country Visual Arts. The project will create an archive of historic images, accompanied by oral history recordings and new portrait photographs, that will tell past and present stories about the experiences of south Asian communities in Derby. These stories are missing from

Derby Museum’s collections, and the project will build an archive that enriches the heritage record of the city - the shared history of all its residents.

Black Country Visual Arts have experience of successfully delivering the National Lottery Heritage Funded Apna Heritage Archive, and their team has experience leading community-engaged projects in Derby. The funding is for projects which increase the understanding and care of heritage and that ensure a wider range of people will be involved in heritage. Further info available here:- Derby Museums

Laura Phillips, head of Interpretation and Display at Derby Museums, said:

“We want this project to be an opportunity for building relationships, increasing our understanding of the needs of communities and deepening our knowledge of the history of our collections through connecting them with the lived experience of people with south Asian heritage – whose stories are often missing from our museums.”

Anand Chhabra, Director, Black Country Visual Arts, said:

“Black Country Visual Arts is immensely proud to partner with Derby Museums on this amazing opportunity to record the heritage of the South Asian communities that have settled in Derby. We will invite local people to contribute, learn and develop skills as we look to recording participant’s first-hand experiences of migrating to the city.

We also look forward to working with various partner organisations and local community groups who have already committed to helping us deliver this project over the next two years. Our aim to co-produce their untold stories as oral histories and through digitisation of family photographs will enable us to help share the positive impact these communities have had during their time of settling in the city. We look forward to displaying the findings of our research in exciting ways over the next two years that will act as a co-created archive and a source of pride for future generations in the city of Derby.“

Photograph courtesy of P. Bassi, P.Bassi and family, Normaton, Derby.