Culture is the complex whole of knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and other capabilities acquired by humans as members of society (Edward B. Tylor)

Post Office Cultures is an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded
project developed through a university partnership between the University of Huddersfield (UK) and World University of Design (India).
The exhibition presents work by researchers, artists and communities from Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Shimla and Delhi. Through creative methods including 3D digital scanning, filmmaking, letter writing, sound recording, oral histories and podcasting, the project presents new ways of understanding place and local connection. These creative methods help to surface voices and experiences that are often overlooked. They also connect traditional heritage practices with contemporary
digital tools and processes.
Aligned with the India–UK 2030 Roadmap, the project responds to shared priorities around cultural collaboration and creative innovation. Post offices are positioned as sites of living heritage intersecting with local creative ecologies. By foregrounding stories of community, place, migration, work and lived experience, the project connects place-based heritage with the rapidly evolving digital and creative sectors in both countries. In doing so, it highlights the potential of the Creative and Cultural Industries and heritage to work together to co-create new forms of knowledge and cultural exchange between the UK and India.

As part of South Asian Heritage Month, visitors are invited to get involved in a range of creative activities and workshops exploring shared stories of post office cultures across the UK and India. From hands-on making and storytelling to using digital and audio methods, these sessions offer engaging and accessible ways to connect with the exhibition and its themes. Radio Sangam, the UK's most followed Asian Community radio station and local station for Kirklees and the region is a key partner in the project helping to create podcasts and gather stories from communities.

This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): AH/Z507064/1 under the official title: Delivering Heritage: a creative scanning approach to investigating post offices in the UK and India. Learn more about the project: Post Office Cultures – University of Huddersfield

Project team: Professor Rowan Bailey, Professor Nic Clear, Professor Shaleen Sharma, Professor Sanjay Gupta, Dr Xiaolu Wang, Dr Rajat Verma and Arzoo Kadian.

Collaborators

Our work is enriched through collaboration with a range of artists, musicians, writers, students, educators and community contributors, including: Ruby Jones, Supriya Nagarajan, Duncan Chapman, Hardeep Sahota, Kevin Boniface, Laura Mateescu, Mike Mawson and the volunteers at Dewsbury Arcade, Qaisar Mahmood and Radio Sangam, Greenhead College A-Level students (Enrichment Programme), Adele Vevers, Pam Suman, Milen Care, Batley, Hemen Galal. These collaborations reflect the project’s commitment to co-creative practice, skills sharing, and transcultural learning.

Our thanks to our official partners: INTACH (India), Postal Museum, London, Bagshaw Museum (Kirklees Council), Kirklees, Radio Sangam, University of Huddersfield, World University of Design (India)

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