The South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) presented an opportunity to museums and cultural centres across BC to travel the successful Haq and History exhibit to their communities. In return the museums will create an addition to the exhibit; stories of their local history of South Asian Canadians, giving visitors a chance to see and learn about the lives of South Asian Canadians in their area.
The core exhibit tells the story of Punjabi immigrants working in sawmills in the 1920’s. Stories of their travels from Punjab to Canada in the 1950’s; the challenges of sourcing Indian food in Vancouver in the 1960’s and the memories of life in the now-abandoned town of Paldi in the 1940s. The exhibit was curated by SASI in partnership with the Royal BC museum and is part of the South Asian Canadian Legacy Project which was funded by a $ 1.14 million grant from the Provence of British Columbia in 2020.
As the exhibit travels it will grow, and along with it so will our knowledge, deepening exponentially after every stop.
The exhibit’s travel started in Surrey in April 2022, and will be going to:
Port Moody Station Museum May 4 – June 30 2023
Golden Museum and Archives November 7 – December 16 2023 followed by
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre September 2 – December 16 2024.