BCVA’s Derby Yaadaañ Archive (a 1,500-image collection), developed with our principal partners Derby Museums & Art Gallery (NLHF), explores new creative ways to share underrepresented South Asian histories. We were honoured to commission, for the first time, BAFTA-winning artist Sakab Bashir, who created a striking AI-assisted film from still images. The film features participant Fareed Hussain, reflecting on his journey to Derby and a life lived been apart of the community on Derby. We are deeply grateful for his generosity and eloquence. Special thanks also goes to our biggest supporter of the archive in Derby Phil Basi for the much needed film production of Fareed’s interview. Enjoy the film!
Alongside the film, we also explored traditional animation as another way of telling community stories. We chose to share one story from each of the communities that co-created the archive: the Mirpuri-speaking Pakistani community and the Indian community. Working with the brilliant Wilson Brothers, we animated a vibrant story of Punjabi youth culture in the early 1980s, centred on Derby’s own Rashpal and Manjit Sandhu. Their influence was pivotal in helping Bhangra flourish, shaping South Asian youth identity in Derby and across the UK, including the first national television coverage of a Bhangra band — Heera — on Blue Peter. We are incredibly proud of this collaboration and deeply thankful to the Wilson Brothers, and to Rashpal and Manjit Sandhu, for sharing such an important story.