Amaanat
A call to participate in an object story archive
Created by Nirmal Raja, interdisciplinary artist
11 Miller Street, Studio #112, Somerville, MA 02143
Email: nirmalinbetween@gmail.com
Key focus
I am interested in the migration of objects and the subsequent loss of meaning over time. Objects that hitchhiked with an immigrant to the United States may quickly lose their relevance as connections to their countries of origin fade for second and third-generation Americans. They may also become portkeys to family lore and imagination where they hold mysterious and shifting stories that are important nevertheless.
Need
● What is lost in the intersections of memory, ownership, movement and the material remnant?
● How can the connection between meaning and object be maintained amidst a shifting landscape of global migration?
● The objects that immigrants carry and keep become bridges to the past and tenuous connections to places of origin.
● Tap into the potential of mystery and lore that reveals another layer of human experience.
Solution
● My project is about recording stories of family heirlooms and quotidian objects in families with immigrant histories, tapping into material culture’s affective potential.
● Objects in public collections, on the other hand, speak of data: date, place of origin, culture, and material. Here, objects are made strange by museum practices that don’t necessarily include human narratives.
● Stories hold subjective feelings like love, loss, longing, reverence, and culture or climate-specific utility is lost due to their temporal and physical distance from the land of origin and the hands of the maker.
Process
I am grateful to launch this project at the AAPI Arts and Culture summit on January 30th 2026. Moving forward I plan to partner with local libraries, museums and institutions to hold hour long "recording sessions" where interested parties can bring their “precious” objects that they or their ancestors brought with them. In these sessions, I plan to 3D scan the objects and audio and/or video record relevant stories. Alternatively, we can set up individual appointments in my studio or at your home.
Initially preserved in an online archive, this project might find physical space in the form of 3D printed object interventions in gallery and museum settings or a composite sculptural work. Open to all immigrants, this project reveals the rich diversity, interconnectedness, and interdependence of all Americans as demonstrated in the form of empathic listening of stories.
How to become part of the archive
Your story can be included in the archive if you have an object that fits any of the following prompts:
● The object is something that is meaningful and important to your family history
● The object was brought into the country by you when you migrated or by your ancestors when they migrated
● The object has a story that is important to hold on to whether cultural, personal or historical
● The object may or may not have monetary value. Some examples are letters, travel documents, cultural artifacts, ritual objects, jewelry, art, handmade objects by family members, containers, statuettes, handmade or machine made, cloth, garments, quaint souvenirs with a story, printed or framed photographs, books, journals, handmade and handed down
● The object may have family lore that may or may not be true but is important nevertheless
● Contact me over email to set up an appointment at nirmalinbetween@gmail.com
● During the appointment, your stories will be audio and/or video recorded. This facilitates slow looking and a meditative reflection that focuses on the power of touch as a trigger for memory.
● Your object will be 3D scanned. The 3D files may be printed for a possible exhibition and maybe incorporated in conceptual sculptures.
● Video interviews and photographs of your object will be shared on this online archive. This is a public archive that may be used for future research.
