Portraits, movies, and audio tales documenting Indo-Caribbean migration are on show at Singh’s Roti Store in Richmond Hill.
By way of Google Maps
Queens residents are invited to expertise a robust new exhibit in Richmond Hill that honors the tales and struggles of Indo-Caribbean immigrants who helped form New York Metropolis’s cultural cloth.
The Indo-Caribbean Alliance (ICA) launched “By Their Eyes: Preserving Indo-Caribbean Histories” in December 2024, a multidisciplinary artwork set up that paperwork the lives of first-generation Indo-Caribbean New Yorkers by means of pictures, video, and audio recordings. The undertaking is funded by Flushing City Corridor with further help from Con Edison.
At present on show at Singh’s Roti Shop, situated at 131-14 Liberty Ave., the exhibit coincides with Indian Arrival Day, which commemorates the arrival of Indian indentured laborers to the Americas in Might 1838. The exhibit will stay on the restaurant by means of July 31 earlier than rotating to varied areas throughout the town for the rest of the 12 months.
The set up facilities on the voices of older adults from the Indo-Caribbean diaspora who had been among the many first to immigrate to New York, significantly within the Nineteen Sixties. Their tales illustrate the formation of Richmond Hill’s thriving Indo-Caribbean enclave, broadly referred to as “Little Guyana,” and provide reflections on their lives after British indentureship formally led to 1917.
“The exhibit is a method to protect our tales and cross them on,” mentioned Vedesh Persaud, who developed the undertaking with help from photographer Diana Kahrim. “I’ve two children, and my spouse and I take into consideration how a lot entry we have now to our grandparents and the way their tales influenced our lives. We wish our youngsters to have the ability to share these narratives too, since they’re a profound a part of our tradition, and now they will.”
The portraits are accompanied by scannable QR codes linking to further visuals, recorded interviews, and private artifacts, providing an interactive expertise that deepens every topic’s narrative.
Immigrants from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and different Indo-Caribbean communities have lengthy contributed to the financial and cultural vitality of Queens. The exhibit traces their migration journey, from the aftermath of colonial rule to the institution of tight-knit, self-sustaining communities in New York.
“This exhibit serves as a robust reminder of the influence immigrant communities have had on the nation,” mentioned Richard David, a board member of the Indo-Caribbean Alliance. “On this second in our nation, documenting and sharing highly effective immigrant narratives are significantly inspiring as immigrant communities like ours come below great stress on account of authorities coverage.”
Based in 2008, the Indo-Caribbean Alliance is a nonprofit group primarily based in Richmond Hill that gives entry to social providers and neighborhood programming. The group additionally operates a cultural heart providing courses in artwork, music, and dance, and—by means of a partnership with Queens Public Library—curates the Indo-Caribbean Particular Assortment on the Lefferts Department.
For extra details about the exhibit and ICA’s ongoing programming, go to indocaribbean.org.
