Wales is a multi-cultural nation, where people from many different cultural backgrounds have lived alongside each other for generations. However, the lived experiences of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people are often underrepresented, although their stories are to be found in a multitude of collections, including documents, photographs, pictures, artefacts and audio-visual material.
Archives and Records Council Wales were recently awarded funding to complete the first phase of a project to improve awareness of, and access to cultural collections for people within Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. The objective was to create a strong foundation for developing collections with those communities, ensuring that their lived experience is an integral part of our national record.
This first phase has now been completed, and the result is a bespoke toolkit to support the sector in its work with its collections and communities. This includes a survey methodology to identify material from archival repositories, library special collections and museums that reflects the lived experiences of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people across Wales, and a roadmap, which sets out a programme of future activity.
These outputs will bring together best practice in working with collections and communities and provide a starting point for a wider programme of work that will enable people to learn about Wales’s unique, diverse and valued cultural heritage and uncover new voices and untold stories.
You can read more about the project and download the Toolkit and Survey methodology from the following page:
Revealing the Lived Experience of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic People in Wales