We Are Shaped by the Stories of Our Parents

My parents were part of a generation of migrant activists who made cities like Coventry their home in the 1960s. My father, Harbhajan Singh Virk, was an active member of the Indian Workers Association, the Communist Party of Britain, and the Indian Youth Association, challenging workplace inequality and fighting racism on the streets. My mother, Jasvir Kang, was an author, poet, and radio broadcaster who advocated for women’s rights, exposing the hypocrisy and brutality of a patriarchal system.

My parents are no longer with us, but their stories live on through my exhibition, Stories That Made Us – Roots, Resilience, Representation, currently showing at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum.

The exhibition is a blueprint for a building-based living museum of South Asian stories—a concept born out of the lack of nuanced and complex representations of our communities in public and heritage spaces. The project began five years ago when Coventry Artspace partnered with me to realise this ambition under the name Stories That Made Us.

During this time, the project has included artist commissions such as short films, oral history recordings, four exhibitions, workshops, and talks, alongside the cataloguing of objects from the Stories That Made Us Collection—an archive I have been building since the early 1980s. This archive includes vinyl records, cassettes, minidiscs, CDs, videos, DVDs, reports, books, magazines, posters, newspapers, passports, photographs, writings, clothes, jewellery, ornaments, paintings, and more.

Alongside this is the Virk Collection, donated to Coventry Archives over twenty years ago by my father. It contains materials documenting anti-racism and resistance, including membership cards, posters, letters, documents, photographs, books, magazines, and newspapers. Objects from both collections feature in the exhibition.

Drawing on over three decades of experience in theatre, film, music, and visual arts—as well as recent curatorial work—I set out to bring these stories to life on a large scale. My aim was to create an exhibition that is dynamic, immersive, educational, and inclusive.

Working in partnership with the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum and collaborating with a filmmaker, theatre director, graphic designer, actors, technicians, and builders, the project became a truly collective effort. Members of the local South Asian community also contributed as cultural ambassadors, sharing stories of migration, identity, and belonging, working closely with exhibition Archives Assistant Shaniece Martin and Coventry Archives.

“Ground-breaking, powerful, should travel around UK and the world.” (visitor feedback)

At the heart of the exhibition is my family story. It begins with images of my mother in India, reflecting the theme of Roots, before moving to the arrival of my parents’ generation in the UK during the 1960s.

The narrative then shifts to Resilience, focusing on my father’s political activism in the 1970s alongside his comrades. From there, it explores Representation—my own experience of growing up as a British-born South Asian in 1980s Thatcher-era Britain.

The story continues into the 1990s, where my mother’s voice is brought to life through her radio broadcasts, poetry recitals, and short stories. In this space, the concept of a living museum is realised, as her voice resonates among photographs, books, posters, and the records and cassettes she once played.

My sisters, Manjinder and Paven Virk, and I also share our memories throughout the exhibition, adding another human layer to the narrative.

“I will carry your stories with me and protect and defend them.” (visitor feedback)

The exhibition is structured around three timelines, including one that traces nuanced South Asian histories from the 1600s—stories often absent from Western education. This timeline leads into the final Reflection Space, where visitors are invited to share their own stories, becoming part of the exhibition itself.

“I don’t think I have ever seen an exhibition so nuanced and intricate but also so well put together. This is truly a transformative exhibition.” (visitor feedback)

Stories That Made Us – Roots, Resilience, Representation has resonated emotionally, socially, and politically with a wide range of visitors. Many have recognised their own experiences within it, while others have encountered new perspectives. The themes feel particularly urgent in today’s climate, speaking directly to ongoing issues of intolerance and division.

“Such an incredible piece of work. These are the stories that bind us, that unite us and we need to hear such stories, now more than ever.” (visitor feedback)

My father was not a dreamer but a realist—yet he held onto hope. Hope that his children and grandchildren would live in a world where diversity is celebrated and common humanity unites us. While it can feel like we are revisiting old struggles amid rising far-right politics and media double standards, solidarity remains essential to keeping that hope alive.

But hope alone is not enough—it must be accompanied by action.

“An emotional end to what was an incredible journey.” (visitor feedback)

You can find out more about Stories That Made Us – Roots, Resilience, Representation at:
Stories That Made Us – exhibition page

The exhibition is on at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, until Monday 25 May 2026.