Students and community members are being invited to help celebrate the Windrush Generation in Bristol in a joint project working with the local community from UWE Bristol. The collaboration will involve students working alongside generations of Caribbean community members to record and document the stories related to their lives in Bristol and Britain.
The Windrush Generation refers to people arriving in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries and their descendants who have contributed much to Bristol and British society. It refers to the ship MV Empire Windrush, which docked in Tilbury on 22 June 1948, bringing workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands, to help fill post-war UK labour shortages.
This Project aims to explore, celebrate and document the contribution of the Windrush Generations in Bristol and British societies and across the African Diaspora. It provides an opportunity for UWE students to work in partnership with community members, historians and interested parties.
The project is being led by Roger Griffith, MBE, an associate lecturer in ACE, Alisha Airey, BAME Project Officer for HAS and Mian Ng Associate Head of Department at the International Creative Industries. UWE alumni students Millie Wood Downie, Benjamin James and Izzy Jack who will be working on the project through Creative Connex, delivering digital marketing resources and engagement via social media.
It will consist of a series of workshops including a series of mini-lectures from leading artistic and community leaders in Bristol. They will give some of the background to the lives of the Bristol Caribbean community in order to highlight the successes and challenges of adapting to life in Britain through the generations. It will culminate in students and community members delivering artistic expressions through stories, research, art, photographs, artefacts or poetry and a celebratory event to share learning on Windrush Day 22nd June 2021.
Roger said: ‘’The overall aim is to encourage an intergenerational collaborative project which develops the interpersonal, self-expression and creative skills of students and community members, It seeks to give voice to Caribbean elders’ experiences and their resilience and tenacity and highlights the amazing contribution they have made to the UK multicultural society and across the African Diaspora.”
Anyone who wishes to find out more please contact the Project Team members. Roger roger.griffith@uwe.ac.uk Alisha alisha.airey@uwe.ac.uk or Mian mian.ng@uwe.ac.uk
Here is a short video made by future guest lecturer Michael Jenkins of 8th Sense Media commissioned by My Future My Choice on which features the voices of Roy Hackett and Roger’s Mum Arabella https://bit.ly/WindrushAnimation