The University of Connecticut’s Asian and Asian American Studies Institute (AAASI) collaborated with the Indian Cultural Center (ICC) to host the second annual student-curated exhibit at the Historical Society Museum Lobby in partnership with the Greenwich Historical Society.
The exhibit, named ‘My Story Our Future: Voices of South Asian American Youth in Connecticut,’ displayed personal family oral histories and artifacts. Greenwich High School sophomore Mihir Shah shared, “My grandparents sacrificed a lot in India to ensure my father’s better life in America,” emphasizing the exhibit’s personal significance.
Students, including Shah, conducted extensive oral history projects, interviewing family members and gathering special items for display. The exhibit premiered on February 4 with an opening attended by families, community members, and government dignitaries, and remained open to the public until February 25.
ICC founders Nisha Arora, Mudita Bhargava, and Meera Gilbert spoke at the opening reception, emphasizing ICC’s mission to educate and engage the community in Indian culture. Arora underscored the significant contributions of people of Indian descent to American society, including leadership roles in major corporations like Google and Microsoft.
The exhibit aimed to collect and share stories about South Asian American youth identity in Connecticut, aligning with the state’s mandated K-12 Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) curriculum. Student participants, guided by AAASI faculty, spent the fall of 2023 learning to interview family members about their experiences immigrating from South Asia to North America.
Additionally, students reflected on their own identities as South Asian Americans and how their family’s stories shaped them. These interviews played a central role in the ‘My Story Our Future’ project and will inform the development of the K-12 AAPI curriculum slated for release in 2025.
