Organisers of a pioneering exhibition marking 50 years of Ugandan Asians in Leicestershire are on the hunt to identify and locate a local family whose photo will feature as part of the celebrations.
The iconic image, which was found online, shows a Ugandan Asian family at Loughborough Train Station on their way from Bishops Strotford Station after arriving in Stanstead 50 years ago. Organisers are keen to track the family down to hear more about their journey and their memories from the time.
The exhibition is called ‘Rebuilding Lives: 50 years of Ugandan Asian in Leicester’. It will open in July in Leicester Museum’s brand new gallery space, followed by a spell at Charnwood Museum in Loughborough in October, and is expected to be one of the biggest events of its kind, marking 50 years since Asian people were exiled from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin. The exhibition will mark the journey made by Uganda Asians and celebrate the contribution they have made to the region’s success in areas such as business and culture.
The event and exhibition is being organised by Leicestershire based arts organisation, Navrang, who are known for curating a hugely popular exhibition about Ugandan Asians in Leicester a decade ago, as well as a highly commended project titled ‘The History of Diwali in Leicester’ in 2015.
Jim Butler, Project Coordinator, said: The community across Leicestershire have been amazing at sharing their stories, photos and artefacts from Uganda for this exhibition. We were especially delighted when we discovered this particular image because of the iconic way it captures a moment in time. It’s stunning! We’d love to hear from anyone who knows the family, or anything about the time it was taken, so we can share their story as part of the exhibition.’ Anyone with information about the family or the photo is being asked to get in touch with Navrang by email: navrang.uganda50@gmail.com or via the Facebook Page: ‘50 Years of Uganda Asians #RebuildingLives’
