From the builders of some of America’s earliest railroads and farms, to civil rights pioneers, to digital technology entrepreneurs, Indian Americans have long been an inextricable part of American life.
Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation explores that rich heritage and the diverse contributions of Indian immigrants and their descendants in the United States and the Pacific Northwest.
Making its Northwest premier at MOHAI, Beyond Bollywood uses photography, artifacts, and audio stories to tell a uniquely American story. The exhibition was created by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and is presented in Seattle by MOHAI.
Dr. Amy Bhatt, co-author of Roots and Reflections: South Asians in the Pacific Northwest, curated MOHAI’s locally focused addition with insight provided by the museum’s Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation Community Advisory Committee. The exhibit’s presentation at MOHAI also includes a look into the Northwest’s Indian American community, highlighting key moments in our region’s history and compelling stories of Northwest Indian American pioneers.
Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation was created by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Generous support for Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation at MOHAI is provided by Chuck Nordhoff and Maribeth O’Connor, 4Culture, Laird Norton Wealth Management, the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, and the MOHAI Exhibits Fund.
This exhibit has closed.
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Indian Americans Shape The Nation
Indian Americans have been part of this region for over a century, though their history is often underrepresented. Bellingham’s farming communities in the north, the growing cities of the Eastside, Kent in the south-all have stories of struggles and success, exclusion and acceptance.
Today, one out of every 100 Americans traces his or her roots to India. From Seattle and Silicon Valley to Smalltown, U.S.A., the lives and stories of America’s 3.3 million Indian Americans are woven into the larger story of this nation—and have shaped what it is today.
Exhibit Community Advisory Committee
Many thanks to all the individuals who advised and participated in the development of the Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation exhibit.
- Dhruv Agarwal, True Brands
- Akthar Badshah, Catalytic Innovators Group
- Dr. Amy Bhatt, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Debadutta Dash, Washington State India Trade Relations Action Committee
- Maureen Frisch, MOHAI Board of Trustees
- Ramesh Gangolli, University of Washington
- Rituja Indapure, Costco
- Nalini Iyer, Seattle University
- Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
- Viren Kamdar, Cornerstone Advisors, Inc.
- Alok Mathur, Boeing (retired) and Indo-American Friendship Forum (IAFF)
- Yazmin Mehdi, Office of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
- Rita Meher, Tasveer
- Rupal Mehta, Coldwell Banker Bain
- Chuck Nordhoff, former MOHAI Board of Trustees
- Chad Richardson, MOHAI Board of Trustees
- Preeti Shridhar, City of Renton
Generous Support Provided By
Chuck Nordhoff and Maribeth O'Connor
Generous Media Support Provided By
Promotional Sponsor
Additional Generous Support Provided by Lead Donors to the MOHAI Exhibits Fund
Elizabeth Ruth Wallace Living Trust
True-Brown Foundation
Peggy and George Corley
Maureen Frisch
Margaret Heldring
Mary Frances Hill
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