Welcome to the web pages of Beyond the Frame: Indian British Connections. This Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded follow-on project expands and builds on the success of the 3-year research project ‘Making Britain: South Asian Visions of Home and Abroad’ (2007-10; see ‘About’ for further details). Profiling visual and archival sources in international collections, Beyond the Frame highlights some of the numerous ways in which South Asians positioned themselves within British society and culture and explores the significance of their impact on British life. It showcases key historical links and cultural exchanges that took place between India and Britain, whilst also exploring some of the tensions that arose from such encounters.
Jawaharlal Nehru, leader of the Indian National Congress, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All-India Muslim League, at a reception in India House, London, 6 December 1946. © British Library Board [Photo 429/(37)]
Brochure cover for India exhibition
Working in close partnership with the British Library and the British Council, the project will take a new facsimile panel exhibition ‘Beyond the Frame: India in Britain, 1858-1950’ to seven cities in India between November 2011 and March 2012. This exhibition profiles the extensive influence of the early South Asian presence in Britain from the period of the Raj to the early years of Independence, drawing attention to its ongoing relevance to British-Indian relations today. Positioned to create productive platforms for knowledge exchange, Beyond the Frame seeks to open dynamic global pathways for cultural dialogue and public engagement.
In addition to follow-on funding from the UK Arts Humanities Research Council, the second phase of the project has been enabled by financial support from The Open University and the British Library, through the museum World Collections Programme. It has also attracted a number of internationally distinguished partners, consultants and advisors; in particular, the British Council, who are coordinating the India exhibition tour.
The exhibition tour in India is accompanied by a varied programme of public engagement activities which include seminars, school workshops and lectures. In the UK, the project team have produced new interactive online resources for the British Library’s award-winning ‘Timelines’ website and a linked ‘Asians in Britain’ website, both of which launched in November 2011 to coincide with the exhibition, which is currently on tour in southern India in February - March 2012. See our press release for more information [PDF, 733 KB].
At the same time, the original ‘Making Britain’ exhibition, will continue its already highly successful UK tour in 2011-12. Further details of venues and activities are available from this website.
The primary objective of Beyond the Frame is to heighten public awareness of the depth of South Asian contributions to contemporary British life. It is led by Principal Investigator and Director, Professor Susheila Nasta of The Open University, with Penny Brook, Lead Curator of India Office Records, British Library, Dr Florian Stadtler, Research Associate (OU) and pioneering historian of Asians in Britain, Dr Rozina Visram.
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