The Haq and History exhibit was curated and designed by the Royal BC Museum in partnership with the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley. The exhibit gives visitors a chance to experience stories from, and about South Asian Canadians that document their lives, including highlights about work, home life and keeping cultural traditions alive in BC. As the exhibit travels across BC it gathers new and important research on the cities and villages as institutions add to the research and stories of South Asian Canadian settlement and integration into Canadian Society.
In April 2019, The Royal BC Museum and the SASI unveiled the Haq and History exhibit in RBCM’s Pocket Gallery Display. Since then, over the course of four years, the Haq and History exhibit has traveled across several museums and educational institutions located in major cities across BC, which hold the history and heritage of South Asian Canadian pioneers.
Following the first display, from April 22, 2022, to June 30th, 2022, the exhibit made its way to the atrium of the Surrey Central Library. Bringing together children, youth and families at the library, the year-long feature of the exhibit was engaging for guests from all different backgrounds and age groups who expressed their deep appreciation for the history records.
On February 5th, 2020, The Haq and History exhibit officially launched at the Sikh Heritage Museum located in Canada’s National Historic Site Gur Sikh Temple, in Abbotsford. The exhibit took place from the launch date to March 31st, 2021, making a year-long educational impact on the community and Gurdwara visitors from across the world.
From May 7th, 2023, to June 28th, 2023, the Haq and History exhibit traveled to Port Moody Station Museum (POMO Museum). POMO Museum added information regarding early South Asian Immigration specifically in Port Moody to add historical context to the importance of showcasing the exhibit in the city of Port Moody. SASI spoke at a hosted community event about South Asian settlement in BC.
On June 23rd, 2023, the exhibit continued to travel further, making a stop at the BC Forest Discovery Centre, located in Duncan, and was displayed until September 8th, 2023. In consideration to the impactful contributions of the early South Asian Canadian pioneers and the diasporic community today in BC’s forestry, it was critical for Haq and History to make its mark on the Centre for their acknowledgement of BC’s forestry industry.
Most recently, from November 7th, 2023, to December 16th, 2023, the exhibit traveled from Duncan all the way to Eastern BC to Golden, arriving at the Golden Museum and Archives. Golden, was home to some of the first Sikh settlers in the early 1900s, and it was important for visitors to get a chance to learn and reflect on the stories of South Asian Canadian pioneers in the region and beyond.
In October 2024, the Haq and History exhibit will travel to Nekkei National Museum and make its stay until December 16th, 2024. The museum focuses on telling the historical and cultural stories of Japanese Canadians. With the collaboration, the new parts of the exhibit will explore and tell the individual and shared experiences of stories that intersect with other immigrant groups in BC like South Asian Canadians.
We look forward to welcoming the Haq and History exhibit back to the Fraser Valley after its journey across BC. For more information on the upcoming exhibit at the Nekkei National Museum, please visit their website here: https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/