Adam Smith College will be playing host to a fantastic cultural exhibition by Rainbow Lives Oral History Organisation this month. The Asian Connections Exhibition, which will be on show in the College's Atrium, St Brycedale Campus, Kirkcaldy, will explore Asian heritage and culture from people living within Scotland using exciting new methods of recording their individual experiences.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided a grant of up to 49,900 to the project that helps people to learn about, look after and celebrate heritage in a fun and enjoyable way, provided generous funding to the Project for a year. This allowed Rainbow Lives to gather individuals together, and use various methods of recording, to compare and share the reasons these people came to Scotland, and Fife in particular, and how this has impacted on their life today. Views of cultural and valued items were recorded as were personal ways of celebrating and maintaining cultural heritage.
Sandra McMurtrie, Manager of Rainbow Lives, said, "The exhibition explores many different aspects of Chinese and Indian people who have moved to Scotland. It promotes their life stories and cultural traditions whilst increasing knowledge and raising awareness of others which is a great method for breaking down barriers and bringing people together.
"By using exhibition boards, quotes, artwork and sound bites to display the work and the findings, the exhibition will prove to be a truly interactive and enjoyable experience for visitors of any age."
Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said, "The Heritage Lottery Fund is delighted to fund this project. As an organisation, we pride ourselves in putting people at the heart of heritage. We have seen the enormous benefits of heritage projects where different groups of people and different generations get talking and working together.
"The Rainbow Lives archive will capture the lives, experiences and memories of migrant families and their ancestors so that their unique place in the history of Fife can be kept safe for future generations, and celebrated amongst the wider community today. I wish the people involved in making this happen every success."
The Asian Connections Exhibition will be on show from 12th November to 19th November 2009 during normal College opening hours and is free to anyone who would like to come along to view this interesting cultural project.
All the recordings can be accessed through Fife Council Archives. Excerpts from this information have been collated and published in a booklet with an accompanying CD, which is available from Rainbow Lives.
Students from Adam Smith College have been finding out more about black history and the influences of slavery, thanks to a unique art exhibition currently on show at the College’s St Brycedale Campus.
The 'Carry Me Home' exhibition is a partnership between Adam Smith College and Rainbow Lives – an Oral History Charity. The exhibition is part of a range of activities including a series of workshops, events and training, which is currently highlighting the abolition of slavery.
Adam Smith College’s NC Introduction to Creative Arts students, based at Leven Campus, have used research compiled by Rainbow Lives to develop the exhibition of artwork which includes sculptures, collage work, chalk drawings and also testimonies relating to slavery and human trafficking of people living in Fife.
Creative Art Student, John Hart from Leven added, “I was surprised to find out that slavery is not only an American issue and to find that one black slave not only lived in Methil but won his freedom in Fife. As a student at the College’s Leven Campus I became interested in the ‘Carry Me Home’ project because of this Methil connection.”
Tash Goswami, Community Arts Manager for Adam Smith College said, “Black history and its influence on today’s culture within Scotland and Britain is very important. We often forget that this period of history continues to shape our music, food, travel and industry. Slavery has yet to be eradicated and people are still de-humanised across the globe. Fife's link with the abolition movement shows that people are prepared to speak up and speak out against social and racial injustice.”
In 2007, Awards for All was launched to mark the bicentennial of the abolition of slavery and created a grant from Lottery funding for organisations to create projects and work to explore this part of history.
Asian Connections Book
