They are some of the images that defined a generation. And now they take pride of place in the very streets they were taken.

A unique photography exhibition - From Here and 'There' - documents the history of British Asians in Leicester.

Seven years after the landmark speech by Trevor Philips ‘After 7/7: Sleepwalking to segregation’, multiple award-winning Indian photographer Pablo Bartholomew and British artist Ashok Mistry use the streets and shops of Leicester as an exhibition space to explore broader notions of ‘Britishness’ in 2012.

From here and “there” uses the streets, shops and community spaces of Leicester as an exhibition space to commemorate the Olympic year and the 40th anniversary of the 1972
Ugandan crisis and mass exodus of the country’s Asian communities; acknowledging the cultural contribution made to Leicester by its South Asian population.

The photographs of Pablo Bartholomew and Ashok Mistry have been turned in to posters which have been placed in the windows of shops and businesses in the Belgrave, Highfields and Spinney Hill areas of Leicester.

The exhibition builds on the already successful commission from Autograph ABP by Pablo Bartholomew to document the Indian community in Leicester.

The commission culminated in a billboard exhibition across multiple sites showing a total of eight images.

This street exhibition also explores the evolution of Leicester and its locales, from the mass influx of migrant communities, and the city’s industrial past, to the natural evolution of these people and spaces to the first British city with a non-white majority.

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics placed Britain, its people and culture in the spotlight, and at the same time pressed the intellect of Britain’s greatest Marketing and PR gurus as they grappled with the idea of defining the country, and what it means to be British.

Beyond London and the razzmatazz of the Olympics, one can experience plural definitions of being British in cities such as Leicester.

The story of Leicester’s diverse population started in the 1970′s. With the British Empire in decline, many families originating from colonial British India who had migrated to other parts of the empire (such as parts of Africa) but still considered themselves as British, got caught in a cultural limbo.

Their lives and livelihoods were turned upside-down when dictators such as Idi Amin forced families to flee. Many families made it to Britain and settled in cities such as Leicester, gradually changing the cultural landscape to something close to a city in South Asia.

The exhibition will be a mirror for the community; a chance to see the local milieu that they have contributed to, and essentially created, as well as the opportunity to analyse the city through the narrative created by the images.

By exhibiting the work explicitly in the public realm, the exhibition aims to appeal to people that don’t normally attend arts venues, and those who are not culturally engaged or catered for. By placing the posters in consecutive shop windows, the artists hope to curate the public space in such a way that it enables ordinary people to access a high quality exhibition.

With accessibility and diversity at its core, this project endeavours to reach as many people as possible by taking the art to them.

Celebration event

There will be a ‘Celebration Event’ on Thursday 15 November 2012 at Chennai Dosa (Belgrave) with an Artist Talk by the photographers.

Alongside the exhibition there will be two artist-led walk and talk events (dates tbc).

Some of the images will be featured on the BBC Big Screen in Leicester City Centre, as well as the exhibition routes placed on the Empedia app, showing the exact locations of the poster artwork.

From here and “there” has been supported by Arts Council England and Navrang. Autograph ABP and City Gallery (Leicester) collaboratively hosted the exhibition.

The exhibition takes place between 12 November and 16 December 2012.

For further details please visit fromhereandthere.info.