People, Places, Traces

People, Places, Traces is a project documenting a millenium of interactions and exchanges between the British Isles and the Arab world through a series of public talks, essays and oral history interviews.

From the medieval period to the communities that have settled in Britain over the 20th and 21st centuries, this project traces this long history through profiles of remarkable people and their achievements, the places in present-day Britain that witnessed these exchanges, and through the traces of these encounters that can be found around us today, particularly in the West Midlands. We will be working with younger generations of Arab heritage to support them in capturing the oral histories of older generations in their local communities in order to explore, document and showcase their lived experiences. The oral histories will contribute to a local history archive and the Arab Britain story archive with selected entries contributing to a book and digital exhibition that will accompany the project.

This project has been commissioned by the Arab British Centre as part of our Arab Britain programme which explores the history, achievements and experiences of Arabs in Britain.

The project is being delivered by the Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation, a charity promoting greater awareness and understanding about the arts, culture, heritage and history of the Islamic world.