18
June
2021
|
13:13
Europe/London

New website celebrating Hackney’s Windrush generation to launch on Windrush Day alongside new public arts programme

A new website honouring Hackney’s Windrush community - featuring events, stories and support for those affected by the Windrush scandal - will go live on National Windrush Day (22 June) alongside a programme of events and public art programme from Hackney Council and Create - with support from Freelands Foundation.

HackneyWindrush.com will be the place to discover Windrush-themed events throughout the year including those hosted by the local community thanks to funding from the Council’s Windrush microgrant scheme. Despite limitations presented by the ongoing pandemic, everyone in Hackney will have a chance to honour the Windrush legacy in a variety of ways. From Jazz at the Vortex Bar in Dalston, poetry and storytelling from AMAU Arts and plans for a Covid memorial organised by Uprising Community Club.

Flags About Home, by artist Halina Edwards, at Vogue Fabrics Dalston (VFD); and a limited-edition tea towel by London-based fashion designer Martine Rose, will be sent as a gift to select members of Hackney’s Windrush Generation and their descendants and kick off the wider public programme, led by Create.

Cllr Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources
Cllr Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources and Windrush Lead for Hackney Council said: "In 2018, Hackney was the first council in the UK to pass a comprehensive motion regarding Windrush. It commits us to demand justice for the Windrush Scandal and to also honour the contributions of the Windrush generation and their descendants. From our artwork commissions, a new website, and a wide-ranging programme of events curated with help from Create and our Windrush community, this year’s activities will see us positively build on our promise of raising up our Windrush generations and help everyone in Hackney reflect on the positive influence they still have today.”

 
Cllr Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources

Flags About Home artist Halina Edwards said: "It’s an absolute privilege to contribute in a very small way to honour the Windrush generation and show my sincerest gratitude for the sacrifices they made for us. Thank you elders."

Across the borough now, a poster campaign features portraits of Hackney’s Windrush generation taken by The Real Life Selfie Project which featured during the 2019 events at Stoke Newington Town Hall as well as the Autograph ABP Gallery. 

In September, Future Hackney – an artist-led collective who document social change in east London – will unveil a free exhibition, focused on Caribbean and African communities within Ridley Road.

In autumn 2021, Create London will collaborate on a series of community-engagement workshops with partners including Autograph ABP Gallery, and an Early Years Resource, created by award-winning author Laura Henry-Allain.

Notes for editors 

Event details will be published on HackneyWindrush.com on June 22, 2021. HackneyWindrush.com was designed by east London-based design agency Regular Practice and created by Hackney-based creative agency Blanguage. 

For more information on the Council’s commitments to the decriminalisation of Windrush migrants visit the Hackney council website. 

The Windrush generation refers to people who, between 1948 to 1971, were invited by successive governments to relocate to Britain from their homes in Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean to address labour shortages after WWII. The term also refers to their descendants. 

About Create London

Create London is an arts organisation that has pioneered working with artists to realise new social enterprises, charities and cultural spaces. It commissions, curates and incubates long-term projects that are useful to society, supporting artists to work collaboratively with local communities. It reimagines the role of the artist in the city, working outside of galleries to find new and often surprising ways for art to become part of everyday life. Create London is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. createlondon.org

Freelands Foundation

Freelands Foundation was set up in 2015 to give more people the chance to engage with and enjoy the arts in the UK, with a particular focus on education. Their ambition is to give everyone access to art education in the belief that it raises their aspirations and transforms their opportunities in life. They have worked with more than 30 arts organisations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support artists and broaden their engagement in their communities.  freelandsfoundation.co.uk