#ThreadingOurStories
Haq and History Travelling Exhibit
The South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) is tremendously proud of Haq and History 2.0 – a travelling art exhibit that has been making its way around the province.
The exhibit, which debuted at the Royal B.C. Museum (RBCM) in 2020, offers visitors the chance to reflect upon stories from and about South Asian Canadian immigrants, including details about work, home life, and keeping cultural traditions alive. Visitors learn about the experiences of immigrants working at sawmills across B.C. in the early 1900’s. They hear oral histories about travel from regions in newly partitioned India in the 1950’s, and learn about the challenges sourcing culturally significant food in Vancouver in the 1960’s and 70’s. The exhibit shares poignant memories of life in Paldi, the first intercultural village in B.C.
“From 2017-2020, we travelled across the province gathering stories, archives, ephemera, and local histories to resurrect, recollect and restore the South Asian Canadian historical record,” says SASI Director Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains. “The exhibit presents a 100-plus year aggregate history of South Asian settlements in B.C.”
Haq & History Regional Community Grant
View Haq & History in Surrey, Port Moody, Golden and Burnaby B.C. in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025
Request an Outreach Kit for your classroom or community.
Haq and History Outreach Boxes provide materials, images, and activities that bring content about the community of Paldi to life. There are archival documents, photographs, and games that helps users think critically about what it would have been like to live there in that community and what the significance of that community today.
No matter where you are in BC, there will be materials ready to be accessed. Six copies of the Outreach Box have been produced. Some will circulate throughout the province with community partners while others will be permanently available at the Royal BC Museum.