Art grants to celebrate Windrush anniversary in Woodbridge

Several arts projects have received funding to mark the 75th anniversary of Windrush migrants arriving in the UK from the Caribbean.

Four schemes in the East of England have been selected, including the Woodbridge Festival of Arts and Music which has been awarded £23,670.

Tilbury in Essex, Broxbourne in Herts, and Bedford will also benefit.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) grants will go to 45 projects nationally.

The HMT Empire Windrush ship docked in Tilbury on 22 June 1948, with 492 immigrants on board.

They were invited from Caribbean islands including Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, to help fill post-war labour shortages.

Windrush Day recognises the contribution Caribbean communities have made to Britain.

The Woodbridge Festival will get the largest grant in the region, which will be used to host a programme of events on 30 August-3 September, including performances by Aswad and Soul II Soul's Jazzie B.

These will also include themed audio-visual skills workshops about the cultural legacy of Windrush generations on music, with a celebration of sound systems and a Caribbean Street Feast next to the River Deben.

Other organisations to receive money include the Pegasus Opera Company based in London, which has been awarded £17,194.

It is holding a Windrush concert series throughout June, bringing together intergenerational communities across London and Bedford, including an "Opera Flash Mob" during the Lambeth Procession festival in south-east London on 22 June.

The Evewright Arts Foundation, based in Purfleet in Essex, has been awarded £13,223 towards its programme of events.

The artist Evewright will stage an event that will include 40 Windrush elders performing in a celebratory dance installation against a backdrop of HMT Empire Windrush imagery filmed at Tilbury.

In Hertfordshire, Broxbourne Borough Council has been given £11,645 for its exhibition about the Windrush generation that will take place at the Lowewood Museum in Hoddesdon.

It will explain the history, experiences and achievements of the Windrush generation, including stories and memories of those living in the Broxbourne district.

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