A project telling the story of how members of a Somali community moved to a park in Bradford and went on public display has been recognised with an award.
The Somali Village exhibition at Cartwright Hall explores how a group of 57 Muslim men, women and children from the Horn of Africa came to live and work in Lister Park in 1904 as part of the city’s Great Exhibition.
The project has won the Cultural Knowledge Exchange Project of the Year Award at the Future Icons of Culture Knowledge Exchange Awards.
Co-curator Abira Hussein said it was a “nice surprise” it had been presented with the award and £1,000 funding, which will be spent on further research and community engagement.
“We’re hoping that some of this can be more permanent and that there’ll be a permanent presence and a way for people who come to Cartwright Hall to be aware of this history,” Hussein said.
“This is a starting point. We’ve had a lot of engagement with workshops, with exhibition tours, and a lot of schools being involved.”
Hussein said it had been a challenging story to tell, but was “necessary” and had received positive feedback from visitors.
“Initially, I had some concerns and worries. This is not an easy history to tell, particularly what’s been happening politically,” she explained.
“But actually, a lot of people have said it’s important this history has been told.”