The artist making a home for Windrush in Tilbury

An award-winning artist said the Essex port where HMT Empire Windrush docked in 1948 was finally the "go-to" place to celebrate the anniversary.

Evewright designed the Walkway of Memories at the Port of Tilbury during the Covid-19 pandemic to commemorate Windrush stories.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the 75th anniversary festivities on Thursday.

Evewright said a blue plaque should also be installed at the site.

"It feels like Tilbury is becoming the go-to place every Windrush day and long may that continue," he said.

"Windrush is part of our history.

"We spend a lot of time on other aspects of our history and we should really get serious about our Windrush generation in our communities and make the people who are here, who are the descendants, feel valued by making contributions, so that my granddaughter, and her children, have a destination at Tilbury to go to in the future."

Evewright, whose parents arrived separately in the UK from Jamaica in the late 1950s, has been telling the stories of black British people for nearly 20 years through his use of drawings, sculptures, installations and films.

The 38-year-old from south London - real name Everton Wright - installed the Walkway of Memories in 2020 on the 55m-long (180ft) bridge where the Windrush ship passengers first crossed.

A total 130 images, including photos of the original passengers and copies of their passports and boat tickets, have been printed on the 432 panes of glass.

Evewright's mother, Clarice Agatha Reid, died in April 2020 and only two of the 1948 passengers are believed to still be alive.

Thursday will be a big opportunity for Evewright to reach new audiences.

"It's really exciting," he said.

"As an artist you like your work to be seen, but that's not the reason I felt I needed to do this.

"I just wanted to pay homage to that generation and it started with my mother in a sense, her story, it was almost a memento to her.

"That generation is passing away. We're losing them. So to me, the walkway is more than just an artwork, it's personal."

The London International Cruise Terminal at Tilbury will open its doors on Thursday to school children and the public for a series of free events, including guided tours of the walkway, steel band performances, workshops from the National Archives, Caribbean dancing and street food.

Evewright added: "I'm so honoured on the 75th year that all of us can go down there and spend a bit of time and say, 'You know what? This place was the start of a lot of great things for this country.'

"We brought a dream with us, but they also brought music, they brought culture, they brought fashion."

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