Karen White a Learning Assistant at the Ancient House Museum in Thetford is off to India.
A museum assistant from Thetford is hoping to help expand our knowledge of the Sikh world and its links to the UK after being granted funding for a special trip to India.Monday, February 16, 2015: Karen-Emma White, a museum learning assistant at the Ancient House Museum since 2006, is heading to Amritsar and Chandigarh in Punjab for two weeks after receiving £2,000 in funding from the British Council.
The trip will see the 43-year-old work with academics, curators and historians to learn about figures such as Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire, and the Maharajah Duleep Singh, the empire’s last ruler who lived on the Elveden Estate.
She will also visit a number of sacred and key sites in Sikh culture, joined by Government figures.She said that the trip would help the museum develop its understanding of Sikh links to Thetford.
“It will be a study trip and a lot of work but I’m hoping we can improve our knowledge of Sikh heritage and increase our access to artefacts of international importance.
“There’s also a chance to ask them what they think of our current displays and how we can take them forward,” she said.
The Ancient House Museum’s strong ties with the Maharajah Duleep Singh stem from his son, Prince Frederick, who was a benefactor to it.Ms White said she hoped the trip would help inform the museum’s expansion of its Duleep Singh display, with plans to open a new exhibition by 2017.
She will also be exploring the possibility of opening a virtual exhibition on the museum’s website, featuring some of the collections of the Punjabi museums as inspiration.The museum’s 90th birthday dinner in December saw figures from across the Sikh world, including Simon Singh MBE, musician Satinder Sartaaj, and author Anita Anand, attend to book the museum’s efforts.
Are you undertaking an important study into our region’s history? Let us know by emailing Andrew Fitchett on andrew.fitchett@archant.co.uk