£400k AHRC boost for new UK-India cultural exchange project
Top image: A hand-coloured photographic lantern slide of the General Post Office (GPO), Calcutta [(Kolkata), India]. Granted with permission by The Postal Museum (2011-0518-1)
The University of Huddersfield is starting an exciting new knowledge and cultural exchange project with India’s World University of Design (WUD), funded by a £400,000 grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Delivering Heritage: a place-based creative scanning approach to investigating post office cultures in India and the UK, which runs until the end of 2026, will examine aspects of colonial heritage and the relationship between the UK and India, as well as using cutting-edge architectural technology to explore how post office buildings in India can be used in the future.
It is a collaboration between Professors in Architecture, Nic Clear and Shaleen Sharma, Vice Chancellor of WUD, Sanjay Gupta, Reader in Cultural Theory and Practice, Rowan Bailey, architecture students and South Asian communities from both countries.
Capturing the stories of buildings and the people who knew them
Also involved in the project are the Postal Museum of London and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The University plans that by using innovative software to create 3D models, new uses for the impressive colonial-era buildings can be planned. There will also be creative community engagement which captures the stories of people who worked in post offices both in India and around Kirklees.
“Scanning these buildings give us a way to identify how these sites could be repurposed or preserved for architectural heritage,” says Rowan, Director of the Centre for Cultural Ecologies in Art, Design and Architecture and Principal Lead for the project
“We are also planning exhibitions both in the UK and India, where we can share the stories and lived experiences of people who were post masters and post mistresses from the South Asian community in the UK, as well as what people remember from working in these post office buildings in India itself.”
With the British East India Company having established the postal service in India in the 1760s, sensitivities around colonial history are integral to the project, Rowan adds.
Innovative use of 3D technology
“There are tensions around these buildings. On the one hand, they are representative of some interesting colonial architectural heritage, but on the other, they also carry with them the weight of colonialism which has had a huge impact on India. These complexities will be explored through this co-creative practice-based research.
“We will be working with Professor Nic Clear, who will be using his expertise in 3D scanning to create visual representations that engage with, and respond to, specific site narratives that explore the cultural legacies of post office buildings.
“We’ll also explore the current use of post offices in India with local communities, assessing the kinds of multi-purpose functions these old buildings are now used for, or could be used for in the future, as many post offices are community hubs in India.”
The project aligns with the India-UK 2030 Roadmap, a long-term project whose aims include enhancing cultural relations with support for collaboration, research and exchange in partnership with cultural innovators, creative organisations and heritage sectors to strengthen the creative economy.