The untold story of Chinese migration to the East Midlands
From East to East is an ambitious new research project on Chinese migration to the East Midlands. Working closely with Chinese communities in Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby, we have researched migration to the region from the 1950s to the present day. We have explored why people moved to the East Midlands, how they made their lives in their new homes, and how the communities of each city have changed over the years.
Working with professional artists and historians, we have created an extensive documentary telling the personal stories of a variety of Chinese migrants to the UK, which can be viewed here. We also created an immersive, interactive digital arts exhibition, a series of spectacular events to mark the launch of the project, and finally this website, which will serve as a permanent and accessible record of our findings.
The aims and scope of the project: are summarised in this short film:
Events
We organised a series of fantastic events in Leicester, Derby and Nottingham to mark Chinese New Year and celebrate the culmination of the From East to East project.
These included processions, live performance, multi-media exhibitions and spectacular fireworks and pyrotechnics displays in all 3 cities.
Click on the flyer image to see a what happened where, and watch highlights of the events in the short film below.