Bussing refers to an educational policy impacting South Asian, West Indian and African children who migrated to Britain in the 60’s or 70’s from former British colonies. Shabina Aslam combines her PhD research, recorded interviews and an immersive installation to tell this piece of lost history.
Bussing was actually called The Education of Immigrant Circular 7/65, this policy said that no school should have more than 30% immigrants on roll, or they had to be dispersed. This research study explores the identity formation of the children who experienced Bussing and gives an insight into why Bradford is still ‘brown in the middle and white on the outside’
The experience
An immersive installation about post-war migration, as you enter the bus, you step into the 1970’s.
The installation
In this large-scale installation, artist and scholar Shabina Aslam combines her PhD research with her creative practice to tell the story of this important piece of lost history. The story is told through binaural audio production, accompanied by immersive animation.
Rehearsal footage
A snippet of the group singing ahead of the sound recording sessions.
Installation Process
An overview of the installation process captured during the pre-production.
The Bell System
Ivan explains how the bell system of the installation works.
The Bell
Ding dong!
BUSSING OUT PODCAST
Episode 1: Getting on the Bus