In Urdu, amaanat is a very special belonging handed down from one generation to the next

Amaanat is an online archive that aims to record and preserve the connection between object and story. The stories behind objects inherited from immigrant ancestors are fading quickly, and with them, their connection to their roots. This project involves crowdsourcing objects and stories, 3D scanning, and audio recording the stories behind family heirlooms and quotidian objects that are culturally specific and emotionally resonant to the immigrant experience. This archive is created by artist Nirmal Raja with the help of participants across the nation. She investigates the power of material culture to convey cultural nuances, familial histories, and the impact of migration on memory. In this era of stifling immigrant voices and erasure of histories, these stories are first-person narratives subversively situated around objects belonging to all immigrants and those who have recent immigrant ancestry.