Crossing Continents: Connecting Communities, a series of four exhibitions, reveal a selection of hidden histories through community partnerships, new touring exhibitions and educational work with young people.
Find out about the Society's exhibitions which are available for hire and touring
The project involved:
- four exhibitions developed in partnership with community organisations, specialists, academics and artists
- a touring schedule to display exhibitions at education and community venues in addition to museum and galleries nationally
- online and hardcopy education resources developed linked to schools curricula for geography, history and citizenship
- 80 onsite creative schools workshops over a 3 year period exploring the project themes
- 2 INSET (In service educational training) events for teachers
Community engagement:
- 19 community organisations representing diverse gender, age, race and social groups were involved in 60 workshops
- Adults took part in reminiscence workshops
- Young people in creative workshops such as theatre, performance poetry and photography
- Approximately 900 items from the collections, including maps, photographs, objects and texts were scanned and each community group commented on an average of 30 items
- Workshops were recorded and transcribed to assist with themes and content development
About the Exhibitions
Seeing China: Community Reflections
- Exploring the Society's historic collection of maps and photographs of China from 1850 onwards through the personal reminiscences and collective reflections of four London-based Chinese community groups.
- The legacies of several centuries of contact between Britain and China provide a backdrop for contemporary issues such as global migration and identity, alongside an examination of complex shared histories.
The Punjab: Moving Journeys
- Revealing the story of the 'Punjab', a region spanning India and Pakistan. With its complex history, the region's modern significance is explored by five British community groups with links to both countries.
- The 'moving journeys' of successive generations of Punjabi people, both within and across borders, are explored.
Bombay Africans 1850 - 1910
- Discover the contribution made by a group of formerly enslaved Africans to the exploration of Africa and the anti-slavery movement in the 19th century. Spanning 60 years, the exhibition charts the incredible journeys of several African men.
- Integrating contemporary commentary from London-based African adult and children's groups, it provides a re-interpretation of this era using the Society's collections.
From Kabul to Kandahar: 1833-1933
- Curated with the Afghan Association of London (Harrow) and Brondesbury College for Boys (Brent), this exhibition includes hundreds of rare images of the British presence in Afghanistan during the 18th century. Exhibition supported by the DfES.
Regional tours
All exhibitions are available for regional tours. For further details please contact: Vandana Patel (Project Coordinator)
+44 (0) 20 7591 3052/3057
crossingcontinents@rgs.org