Our work funded by Arts Council England with Punjabi communities and in partnership with Black Country Living Museum, Aman Group, De Montfort University, Dudley College and Dudley Archives as well as commisisoned artists has now culminated in an exhibition at Dudley Archives. An opening celebration/launch event will take place at Black Country Living Museum in NOV 10th. Working with BlackCountry Living Museum and asking if they would partner to bring new communities into their venue as they look to build a new town depicting life in the 1950s-1970s era. This whole project called ‘Forging Ahead’ has not only led to wideing the collection in the Black Country but has also led to a number of positive outcomes such as comissioning an artist to produce a colouring book for 2-7 year olds. Teaching photography students in Dudley Partnering with De Montfort University to produce a workbook for Key stage 3 pupils. A significant highlight was readdressing the lack of Punjabi/South Asian voices telling their own history. This now has been readdresed from a participant to our archive Piara Hayre who has a character actor that now tells his story as a a newly arrived migrant working on arrival in Wolverhampton working as a pedlar selling underwear! And so we are also breaking new ground with having an exhibition at Dudley Archives. This allows to present a series of images that have been given to us by the community that look at the working lives of Punajbi’s, an imprtant fact that has been overlooked far too long. Having the exhibtion here at Dudley Archives gives the community representation and allows them to enter a venue where they would not normally visit. This also has now given the Archives in Dudley to see how an exhibtion attracts other Punjabi’s as well as readdressing the fact no record of photographs Punjabi workers by looking into making a purchase to buy the collection for their own archives of Punjabi workers in the region.
Apna Heritage Archive: ‘Forging Ahead’ exhibition on a Dudley Archives. Funded by Arts Council England. November 1st -30th 2022. Images © BCVA