Manchester Museum has revealed details of the new South Asia Gallery, a partnership with the British Museum.
The first permanent gallery to celebrate the experiences and contributions of South Asian diaspora will open to the public on 18 February as the Museum itself re-opens following a major capital redevelopment. It will explore the connection between South Asia and Britain’s legacy of Empire with fresh perspectives on British Asian and South Asian culture and creativity.
Manchester Museum’s South Asia Gallery has been co-curated by the South Asia Gallery Collective, a group of 30 individuals including community leaders, educators, artists, historians and musicians. It features more than 140 historic artefacts alongside new contemporary commissions and personal objects. The gallery will host feature six overarching themes: Past & Present; Lived Environments; Innovation & Language; Sound, Music & Dance; British Asian; and Movement & Empire.
The new gallery will launch with a series of events, performances and a public programme in the dedicated performance space at the centre of the gallery.
Speaking about the new space, Nusrat Ahmed, South Asia Gallery Curator at Manchester Museum said, “As a first-generation British-born South Asian person, it is really exciting to be part of such a ground-breaking project. The co-curated South Asia Gallery envisages a collaborative, iterative space that will generate new perspectives and connections. We hope to engage further diaspora communities on its opening and support its continual evolution. This personalised approach humanises the gallery, telling stories about real people and their objects.
