Indian Americans Shape the Nation

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Indian Americans Shape the Nation

24 wall-hung panels with text, photographs, charts and graphics; display thalis and trunk; audio station

$2,400 per 10-week booking period plus outgoing shipping

Approximately 150 running feet of wall space Limited

Ed Liskey (scheduling): liskeye@si.edu; 202.633.3142 Sara Artes (content), artess@si.edu; 202.633.3113 May 2015 Contents PartiCiPation Fee size seCurity ContaCts tour Begins – Th e ex h i b i T i o n aT a Gl a n c e –

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n the western imagination, India conjures up many things: elephants, saris, and spices; gurus, gods, and goddesses; turbans, temples, modern-day Slumdog Millionaires, and the pulsating energy of Bollywood movies.

But in America, India’s contributions stretch far beyond these stereotypes. Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the

Nation is the ﬁ rst national exhibition that celebrates the history

and remarkable achievements of Indian Americans.

our story includes the earliest immigrants from India, who built railroads and formed the backbone of California farms. the ﬁ rst Asian American in Congress. the creator of hotmail. Doctors. Cab drivers. Motel owners. Musicians. Athletes.

today, one out of every 100 Americans traces his or her roots to India. one of America’s greatest social revolutions, the Civil rights Movement, was inspired by Mahatma gandhi’s quest for Indian independence. India’s fi ngerprints here range from fl avorful food and fl amboyant fashion to yoga studios, sites of worship, and breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology. from Silicon Valley to Smalltown, U.S.A., the lives and stories of America’s 3.3 million Indian Americans are woven into the larger story of this nation – and have shaped it to be what it is today.

Included in this exhibition is a traveling trunk with personal items commonly brought by Indian immigrants to the United States.

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The Indian American story is rooted in migration.

For a century and a half, Indian immigrants

arrived by ship, by airplane – often only with trunks

containing a few items to remind them of home.

LEft : Members of the Indian-Mexican-American Puna Singh family, c.1945. Courtesy the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; rIght : hemendra Momaya before he boards a ship to the United States, 1965. Courtesy hemendra and hansa Momaya

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n the late 1800s and early 1900s, farmers from Punjab settled along the American west coast, working in lumber mills, iron factories, and railroads to support the nation’s industrial boom. At the same time, peddlers from West Bengal set up shop along the Eastern seaboard. generations later, the descendants of these early immigrants grew in number and wealth, to become inﬂ uential landowners in California’s Central Valley, entrepreneurs, public servants, and organizers for civil rights. Another wave of Indian immigration occurred in the 1960s, when new

immigration laws enabled Indian scientists, engineers, and doctors to join the

nation’s workforce. Engineering and medical schools proliferated in India after independence (in 1947), training those who would later work in the U.S. and, eventually, lead Silicon Valley’s startup boom. Indian American immigrants also found work in dozens of other ﬁ elds, with many owning hotels and driving taxicabs.

froM toP: Senator Kennedy, Congressman Dalip Singh Saund and Senator Johnson, circa 1958. Courtesy Eric Saund; the Sharma family, San francisco, 1983. Courtesy Prithvi Sharma; ghosh family, 1970. Courtesy Ali Akbar Khan foundation

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froM toP: Maestro Ali Akbar Khan performing at Esalen, Big Sur, CA, circa 1967. Photograph by Jan and herb Steward, courtesy of the Ali Akbar Khan foundation; Bollywood Dancers from Arpana Dance Company, Irvine, CA, June 2010. Photograph by John Merrell

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Dance, music, food, academics, exercise –

Indian Americans have contributed much to

the cultural tapestry of 21

st

century America.

S

ince 1999, nearly three quarters of National Spelling Bee winners have been Indian American. the stunning energy, rhythm, and color of Bollywood-style dancing has been embraced by Americans in everything from ﬂ ash mobs to the most popular television dance programs. And Indian Americans have brought their own distinctive sounds to American music.

Delicious Indian ﬂ avors and dishes, from vindaloo to tikka masala, have become ubiquitous in American kitchens. Clusters of Indian restaurants, from Curry hill in New York to Little India in Los Angeles, are common ﬁ xtures in our urban landscape. Some call Indian food the “American” cuisine of the new millennium.

Yoga, introduced to the U.S. in 1893, may be India’s most popular contribution to American culture. By the 1990s, more than 15 million were practicing yoga and today it continues to be big business. Yoga studios have sprung up all over major cities and small towns, and Americans spend $5 billion annually on yoga classes and accessories.

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“Belonging does not

come without a f ight.”

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DrUM Protest. Courtesy Corky Lee; rapper and writer Chee Malabar. Courtesy Preston Merchant

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n the early 20th century, organizing by the gadar Party and the India Lobby paved the way for Indian immigration and citizenship rights—a fi ght that took decades. today, that demand stretches beyond basic citizenship toward movements for social justice. After 9/11, many immigrants and racial minorities, including those from India, no longer felt safe or welcome here. Sikhs, some of whom traced their American ancestry back multiple generations, were suddenly assumed to be terrorists because of their beards and turbans. Mosques were fi rebombed. hindu temples were vandalized. Activist groups like Desis rising Up and Moving (DrUM) are one of many in recent years taking to the streets to protest hate crimes, racial profi ling, and unconstitutional detention. And over the last 20 years, many Americans, including desis (South Asians), have used art and music as tools of power, protest, and personal expression.

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As a host of Beyond Bollywood, you will receive the following: • Complete curatorial and registrarial information

• thorough shipping, handling, and installation instructions

• Wall-to-wall ﬁ ne arts insurance coverage under the Smithsonian’s policy • Ability to link to and from SItES’ website and social media

• Public relations support including sample press releases, images, and logos; digital graphics templates of advertisements, ﬂ yers, and other promotional materials; and advice on promoting the exhibition and hosting special events

• guidelines for local fundraising

• Educational and programming resources

this exhibition has been designated LIMItED SECUrItY and will be off ered to venues able to meet the Smithsonian’s key requirements regarding exhibition space, ﬁ re protection, environmental controls, light levels, security, and handling.

Contact Ed Liskey at liskeye@si.edu for a complete list of limited security requirements.

PROJECT PARTNERS

Smithsonian Asian Pacifi c American Center

Dr. Masum Momaya, a Stanford- and Harvard-educated Indian American with 20 years of experience working in various communities for social justice, curated this exhibition.

APAC provides vision, leadership, and support for Asian and Paciﬁ c Islander American initiatives for the Smithsonian Institution and works to better reﬂ ect their contributions to the American experience, world culture, and the understanding of our planet and the natural world throughout Smithsonian Institution collections, research, exhibitions, outreach, and education programs. (apa.si.edu)

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

SItES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C. for 60 years. SItES connects Americans to their cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science, and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. (sites.si.edu)

A Complete Exhibition Package

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