Case Study: Rajan Jolly From Community Legend to Curator
Rajan Jolly was brought up in Kashmir, India before he found a home in Southampton. Six years ago, he founded The ESAC (Eastleigh and Southampton Asian Community) Group, which has grown to over 2,500 members. ‘Our mission is to support one another and celebrate cultural diversity through various events and festivals. Last year, I was honoured to receive a Unity 101 Award for my contributions to community service.’
Read about Rajan’s Indo-Pak food festival here: Rajan Jolly: Indo-Pak Food Festival celebrating friendship and culture – Southampton Forward
Rajan has been involved in many projects at Southampton Forward including City Reflections as a Community Legend, City Reflections 2: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories, promoting our projects to the wider ESAC community and manning the information Desk at the Tapestry Festival.
City Reflections:
Rajan was nominated by fellow ESAC members as a City Legend and since this event decided to become a Local Connector:
‘It is a an honour to be up on the screen with these wonderful people!’
Due to the success of City Reflections and Rajan’s involvement, Rajan applied for the second iteration of City Reflections as a Community Curators and was successful.
City Reflections: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories
Rajan, a local connector, invited his community to explore Southampton’s heritage through tours of SeaCity Museum and Tudor House. Using a social media call-out to his 2,000 ESAC group followers, he brought together around 20 community members for a guided tour, and later scheduled a smaller visit to Tudor House to gather more focused feedback.
By engaging his community directly in the decision-making process, Rajan ensured that their voices helped shape which stories and sites should be highlighted.
“Visiting Southampton’s heritage buildings and collections was a truly inspiring experience — the beautifully preserved architecture and personal stories within the exhibits brought the city’s rich history to life, deepening my appreciation for how these cultural treasures connect us to the past while shaping the character of the city today.”
Rajan has strengthened his role as a connector, build his confidence in cultural spaces, developed skills and understood the value of community led decisions.