The stories of Birmingham’s Windrush generation are to be celebrated in Birmingham Museum’s new programme of events and activities commemorating this year’s national Windrush Day.

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Birmingham Museum’s Windrush commemorations will feature:

  • A vibrant live digital event celebrating the city’s Caribbean community through music, storytelling and poetry;
  • An online lecture exploring the legacy of Caribbean migrants through the photography of Andrew Jackson;
  • And a new learning resource for schools featuring interviews with individuals from Birmingham’s Windrush generation.

Taking place on Saturday 19 June, Windrush Culture will explore the musical and artistic legacy of the Windrush generation in Birmingham. Featuring singer Call Me Unique, Reggae band Ire-Ish, performance poet Sue Brown and multi-disciplinary artist Joyce Treasure the evening of performances and conversations will honour the resilience and creativity of Black artists who emigrated to England from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1968.  The online event is hosted by Birmingham arts organisation The Red Earth Collective and Birmingham Cultural and Community Researcher Gary Stewart in partnership with Birmingham Museums.

Sandra Griffiths, Director at The Red Earth Collective, said:

“Birmingham is one of the most vibrant and creative cities in Britain and one of the key reasons for that is the huge number of people who settled here in the forties, fifties and sixties from the Caribbean, Asia and Ireland. Our live online event, Windrush Culture, will celebrate the creative legacy of the many artists, musicians and performers who have made Birmingham their home. A legacy that all our communities can be proud of.”

An online lecture – Windrush Day: How do you tell a story that’s never been told? – by photographer, Andrew Jackson will also be hosted on Tuesday 22 June. Discussing his work, From A Small Island, Andrew will also talk about his plans to complete a trilogy of works that explore the legacy of migration from the Caribbean to the UK. Andrews’s photography, which features in the UK’s government art collection, interrogates notions of place, belonging and selfhood.

Birmingham Museums will also start work on creating a dedicated Windrush learning resource for schools and communities through the digitisation of the hugely significant Birmingham Black Oral History Project which was deposited with the museum in the 1990s.

Birmingham Museums’ Windrush events have been made possible with a grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Windrush Culture - Saturday 19 June 6.00pm- 7.30pm
https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/whats-on/online-event-windrush-culture

Windrush Day - How do you tell a story that's never been told? With Andrew Jackson - Tuesday 22 June 6.00pm
https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/whats-on/online-lecture-windrush-day-how-do-you-tell-a-story-that-s-never-been-told-with-andrew-jackson