SESSION b

Muh Zubani (which loosely translates to oral history)

This talk will explore how the “Empire” affected the general population and how this side of history is often neglected due to the lack of data and research. I would discuss how we can incorporate different narratives and use our collection to represent them using examples around partition of 1947.

Speakers Bio

Shreya Sharma, Restorer. Freelance Curator, Devi Art Foundation

I head the restoration department at Devi Art Foundation. Coming from Chandigarh, I could see the remnants of partition and empire all around me. This made me start documenting experiences of partition survivors. As a oral Historian, I started incorporating these narratives to fill in the gaps and humanize the quantitative data. This led me to explore decolonization and diversity and inclusion and how institutions can better support and make their collections more inclusive. I have been invited to give talks and present my work at various international cultural institutions like Cornwall Museum Partnership and University of Edinburgh. I have also worked with various organizations and assisted them in making their curation more inclusive like Panama Canal Museum and Migration Museum. My aim is to bring cultural justice and explore ways to represent complex history through our collection and Curation.