Pravās: The Story of Gujarati Migration & The Black Country (1950-1990).
In November 2021, Jaivant Patel Dance announced it had been successful in gaining support from The National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting new project entitled Pravās Black Country
Virtual: Virāsat Exhibition Virtual Tour Launched
Jaivant Patel Company launches in Partnership with Wolverhampton Art Gallery a virtual 3D tour of Virāsat merging Pravās Black Country and Nritya Black Country that amplifies British South Asian representation in oral histories rooted in Wolverhampton and the Black Country.
Click here to visit the online exhibition.
The Virāsat exhibition was open to the public at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 30th March to 16th June 2024.
Public Documentary Release: Pravas: The Story of Gujarati Migration & The Black Country 1950-1990.
Dedicated to those hailing from Gujarat, settling in the UK and those are no longer with us today, this documentary tells the powerful and inspiring stories of Gujarati Migration to The Black Country using memories collected from first and second-generations elders and their families.
With thanks to contributors Uma Patel, Suresh Patel, Jaswant Patel, Balvant Patel, Rekha Patel, Jashoda Patel, Fateh Patel, Champa Patel, Meena M Patel, Meena Patel, Chandrika Dhokia, Hansa Patel, Minaxi Patel, members of the Gujarati Association Wolverhampton and Hindu Association Bilston.
Pravās is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Please click here to view the full documentary on our YouTube channel.
#PravasBC
Virāsat Exhibition Now Open At Wolverhampton Art Gallery featuring Pravās.
The Virāsat exhibition was open to the public and shown at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 30th March to 16th June 2024.
The exhibition merges Nritya Black Country & Pravās Black Country that amplify British South Asian representation in oral histories rooted in Wolverhampton and the Black Country
#PravasBC #NrityaBC
Please click here for further information.
Pravās- The Story of Gujarati Migration & The Black Country 1950-1990
Pravās, will tell the powerful and inspiring story of Gujarati migration to the Black Country using memories collected from first and second-generation elders and their families.
Pravās (meaning emigrate) builds on Jaivant Patel Dance’s previous successful heritage project Nritya – Collecting the story of Indian Dance in the Black Country 1960 – 2000; after which we identified the urgent need to collect the largely unwritten and unrecorded wider history of the celebration of culture of Gujarati communities in the Black Country.
The first generation of Gujarati migrants were pioneers creating new communities and enriching the places they settled in, but their experiences have not been recorded or acknowledged in the mainstream local history world and timing is not crucial. Without this project this important aspect of the history of the Black Country will be lost totally.
Their history has shown how culture both retains its distinctiveness through migrations around the world but also adapts to the circumstances people find themselves in. The Gujarati communities brought a unique form of their culture to the UK, that became imbedded in and contributed to the British South Asian Culture we experience today.
Pravās is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.
Elements of this heritage project will be held at Black Country Living Museum, preserving them for future generations to share.
Project partners include: The Black Country Living Museum, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Arena Theatre and various Gujarati Community Associations across The Black Country.
Watch this space for further details!
Please refer to the links below to connect with Pravās Black Country web and social media platforms using the following links:
Facebook: Pravās: The Story of Gujarati Migration & The Black Country 1950-1990
Instagram: @pravasblackcountry
#PravasBC
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Pravās is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to tell the powerful and inspiring story of Gujarati migration to the Black Country using memories collected from first and second-generation elders and their families.