The recent opening of Manchester Museum’s South Asia Gallery — a space dedicated to showcasing the experiential realities of South Asian communities both within and outside the borders of the UK — will surely help break down the hierarchical relationship that exists between the institutions of art and the audience. 

The gallery, which opened in February this year, is the first permanent gallery in the UK to showcase art made by, and about the lived realities of, the South Asian diaspora and their shared colonial history.

The establishment of such a space is truly remarkable, since it is an open admission of Britain’s colonial history and confronts the experiential reality of living in British society. One may argue that recent political events prove that the creation of such a space was only a matter of time. However, the conscious effort by both the British and Manchester Museums to become more inclusive institutions of national history cannot be overstated.

The gallery displays more than 140 historic artefacts from the collections of the Manchester and British Museums, and also from the personal collections of many South Asians. Through its six themes — Past and Present; Lived Environments; Innovation and Language; Sound, Music and Dance; British Asian; and Movement and Empire — the gallery aims to bring to light different South Asian perspectives and memories, both within and outside the UK. The items will simultaneously question and inform UK’s traditional memory of South Asia and its sense of nationalism.

To know more about the gallery, Dawn reached out to Nusrat Ahmed, the Curator of the South Asia Gallery and the Director of the Manchester Museum that houses it. Here are excerpts from the conversation:

The Manchester Museum’s new South Asia Gallery aims to present stories and art through the lens of the South Asian community, both within and outside the borders of the United Kingdom. Its curator Nusrat Ahmed explains more…

How has the process of curating the largest public space dedicated to South Asian art, artefacts and stories in the UK transformed you, both as an artist and as a citizen? Do you feel more seen, accepted and respected as an individual of South Asian descent?

 Nusrat Ahmed: This is a multilingual gallery that has been designed and built with the South Asia Gallery Collective, a process that spanned over five years, and I think it has been a transformational project at many levels, from working partnerships, community engagement, museum practice and much more. It was a continuous journey of sharing and learning. What stood out about the process was that it gave a voice to the non-traditional curatorial/museum professional. It was about giving ownership of spaces and allowing different voices to be at the forefront of museum narratives. Above all, the gallery’s stories and perspectives can be seen presented through a South Asian lens and, at this scale and in the UK, this is quite unique. 

 What items in the South Asia collection resonate the most with you and why?

NA: There are so many objects in the South Asia Gallery that resonate with me as a first generation British-born South Asian. All of the stories in the gallery have touched my life in some shape or form. One of the objects that sits in the Lived Environments anthology is a Water Pot, circa 1980, from Gujarat [India] and is on loan from the British Museum. An object I distinctively remember from my very first visit to Pakistan in the summer of 1985.  An object that could be found in every household we visited throughout our stay. This was in the days when many places were without electricity and, in the heat of the summer, I was amazed at how these pots kept water cool. I remember thinking they were the equivalent of our cold-water dispensers. What I really like about this object is that I still see these pots on my visits to Pakistan, as they are still widely used across South Asia today. The story that the pot shares is about South Asia’s use of natural materials and that recycling is an important part of daily life.

 In the UK, since Brexit, there has been an increase of South Asian faces occupying leading government positions. How do you think this gallery would help in shedding the protectionist mindset and policies in both the public and the country’s leadership?

NA: One of the aims of the South Asia Gallery has been to break down stereotypes and myths. Visitors are presented with different perspectives, hidden stories and new narratives that haven’t been told in galleries before. I hope this gallery will open minds, lead to conversations and become a platform that will act as a catalyst for wider change, both at a policy and leadership level. 

 It takes great courage for any country to take stock of the full spectrum of its national history and acknowledge it for what it is. What lessons do you think South Asian countries can learn from the experience of a gallery dedicated to their true history and contribution to English society?

NA: One of the biggest lessons we can take from the gallery is about who decides which stories are told. I think all countries, not just India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, should be opening up their collections and spaces to wider communities. These stories and spaces don’t belong to single entities and, where this positionality still exists, is where you find only certain groups of people feel that they belong in those spaces.  It’s only when you open up your collections to wider communities that you’ll get to appreciate that heritage is shared and so it should be presented in a way that is inclusive, imaginative and open for all to experience.

Would you be open to collaborating with more Pakistani artists?

NA: I am really looking forward to this next stage of my career and working with new international partners and creatives. The gallery has a project space at its centre and we will now be working on developing programmes for this space. This is an evolving space, where we can showcase the richness and diversity of South Asia and I can’t wait to collaborate with new people here.

The writer is a former member of staff.
She tweets @tehminaqureshi

Published in Dawn, EOS, May 7th, 2023