In 2016 Colourful Heritage and Glasgow Life signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a dedicated exhibition at Scotland Street School Museum in Glasgow using the Colourful Heritage material. Following a series of community consultations the exhibition themes were identified.
In July 2017 the exhibition formally opened and it contains a fascinating timeline dating from 1855 and amazing artefacts such as a pedlar licence, 250-year-old Quran, medal awarded in 1904 to an Indian Muslim soldier serving in World War 1 and an election poster from 1970 when Britain’s first Muslim was elected to public office.
Our exhibition is Scotland’s first dedicated exhibition which will promote the contributions of the South Asian community to Scotland.
- Come and explore how the ‘Punjabi peddlers’ evolved into ‘exceptional entrepreneurs’ and ‘pioneering political figures’.
- Learn about how they arrived and settled in Scotland.
- Discover the many social, economical and political ‘firsts’ achieved by this small yet very organised community that had a visionary outlook and learn about the early pioneers and the qualities they possessed that helped make this possible. Find out why Scotland produced not only the first Muslim Councillor but also the first Muslim MP in the UK.
Five specific themes covered at the exhibition as follows:
- Entrepreneurship
- Schools
- Civic & Political engagement
- Family and Social Life
- Contributions to WW1 and WW2
The exhibition serves to promote the contributions and enhance engagement with the South Asian community towards better reflecting and understanding their heritage as well as serve Scotland Street School Museum as a broader community hub.
There is a dedicated video recording booth so if you would like to share your story or know of someone that would like their story to be captured and preserved, then contact us to arrange an interview.
