Exhibition to Celebrate Heritage of Glasgow's South Asian, Muslim Communities
The exhibition marks the start of a relationship between Glasgow Museums and Colourful Heritage, a community group based in the city that has developed the largest online video archive recording the migration stories of people from South Asia to Scotland.
The exhibition, GlaswegAsians, will run for an extended period at Scotland Street School Museum, exploring how people came to the Glasgow and how the city grew and changed as a result.
Glasgow Museums also aims to shape future collecting by further reflecting the city's many diverse communities.
The exhibition is being supported through the loan of numerous objects by Colourful Heritage and through Museums Galleries Scotland and its partnership fund.
Among the exhibits are the copy of the 250-year-old Quran Mohammed Sarwar used as he was sworn in as the UK’s first Muslim MP and the kilt and sherwani worn by Humza Yousaf MSP as he was sworn in at the Scottish Parliament in 2011.
The exhibition also explores entrepreneurship and working life, politics, contribution of the Indian soldiers to the world wars, family and social life and schools.
Omar Shaikh, the Project Founder of Colourful Heritage, said: "This exhibition has been seven years in the making but tells the story of people's experiences of arriving and settling in Scotland for more than 150 years.
"It is a unique exhibition that highlights the contribution of and challenges faced by Muslim and South Asian migrants arriving in a new country for the first time.
"GlaswegAsians details how Glasgow became home for generations of people and along the way elected the UK's first Muslim councillor, MP and MSP.
"It is a timely reminder of how much modern Glasgow gained and gave by welcoming new citizens who have come to proudly adopt the Scottish identity.”
