Welcome

Welcome to Beyond the Frame: Indian British Connections. This Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded follow-on project expands and builds on the success of the 3-year research project ‘Making Britain: South Asian Visions of Home and Abroad’ (2007-10). Profiling visual and archival sources in international collections, Beyond the Frame highlights the numerous ways in which South Asians positioned themselves within British society and culture and explores the significance of their impact on British life. Showcasing key historical links and cultural exchanges that took place between India and Britain, it also explores the tensions that arose from such encounters.

The primary objective of Beyond the Frame is to heighten public awareness of the depth of South Asian contributions to contemporary British life

Beyond the Frame is led by Principal Investigator and Director, Professor Susheila Nasta of The Open University, with Penny Brook (Lead Curator of India Office Records, British Library), Dr Florian Stadtler (OU, 2008-2013), Dr Maya Parmar (OU, 2013-2015) and pioneering historian of Asians in Britain, Dr Rozina Visram. To find out more about the team, take a look at People.

Jawaharlal Nehru, leader of the Indian National Congress, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All-India Muslim League, at a reception in India House, London, 6 December 1946. © British Library Board [Photo 429/(37)]

Working in close partnership with the British Library and the British Council, the project has toured a facsimile panel exhibition ‘Beyond the Frame: India in Britain, 1858-1950’ to seven cities in India between 2011 and 2012.  In partnership with the British Library the project has also toured an exhibition within the UK, ‘South Asians Making Britain, 1858-1950’, between 2010 and 2012. For further information about these exhibitions, please see our Exhibitions page.

In the project's collaboration with the British Library, interactive digital learning resources have been created, and more information about these exciting collaborations and resources can be found on our Collaborations page.