2023 Windrush Day Grant Scheme: Projects to be funded
A short summary of the 45 projects to be funded under the 2023 Windrush Day Grant Scheme.
Applies to England
Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2023 successful projects
1. Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizens Association (BEMSCA) South West £20,000
This project will create an interactive exhibition celebrating the life of Bath’s Windrush generation. Visitors will enjoy a lively and educational experience through a unique mural showcasing the Windrush story, artefacts, photos, audio and video interviews with members of the Caribbean community living in Bath. This living exhibition will be hosted at Fairfield House. Visitors will gain a deeper understanding of the unique contribution of the Windrush generation to Bath. Parts of the exhibition will be included in informative education packs for use in local schools.
2. Bernie Grants Art Centre London £40,000
Inspired by Laura Serrant’s poem ‘You Called… And We Came,’ which speaks of ‘big hearts, skilful hands, quick minds’ and ‘the hopes and dreams of our ancestors’ (and which was read at the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument), this project is a unique festival of Windrush 75 activity. The festival includes a month-long schools programme, a newly commissioned artist’s mural launched on National Windrush Day, a community takeover, a week of artistic activity and a family weekend. The theme is generational legacy, asking what was retained from home and brought to England to make it home in the UK, and how we continue to share our cultural heritage with younger generations.
3. The Brixton Project London & National £29,280
In the first public spectacle of its kind, ‘Procession’ brings together diverse communities in a shared celebration that cements the histories, experiences and voices of the Windrush generation in the fabric of British heritage. From the Deep Shelters at Clapham Common to Brixton’s Windrush Square, Procession will follow the journey from the first temporary accommodation for arrivals to the Job Exchange on Coldharbour Lane. Built by community with the support of local artists, Procession harnesses the traditional spirit of carnival with art, theatre and music telling the Windrush story through connected themes: Ancestry, Island Life, Building Britain, Carnival, and Future.
4. BLACK* artists on the Move South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire & The Humber £21,435
This organisation will hold a cross-generational literary lunch in Bristol on National Windrush Day, inviting elders and school children to attend. The event will feature readings from all four books published through its 2022 Windrush work. It will deliver 20 assemblies and workshops in 20 schools across 10 regions. It will work with one key library in each locality, providing intergenerational community workshops. It will also work with communities in each region to compose two further anthologies – one a joint life writing collection for women and men, and a second collection of folk tales and personal stories for children.
5. Blackstory Partnership West Midlands £18,890
A commemorative, celebratory and educational event on National Windrush Day at Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The Rep) will take place. The evening programme involves: A short film showing the arrival of Empire Windrush; The Next Generation Choir – children from multi-ethnic backgrounds performing West Indian folk songs; The West Indian Army Standard Ceremony; A presentation of the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at Waterloo station; The launch of ‘Windrush Generation – This Is Our Story’ book; The Windrush 75 Awards Ceremony – recognising Windrush pioneers; and entertainment – Caribbean music and audience interaction.
6. Bounce Legacy London £24,325
This project will showcase outstanding British Caribbean artists and filmmakers and offer training to develop the next generation of talent. The project includes: A Windrush Day launch event featuring short films by British Caribbean filmmakers followed by Q&A with inspirational artists discussing the contribution of the Windrush generation; A 2-month training programme for 16-25-year-olds from Caribbean backgrounds (including practical workshops and masterclasses giving access to industry-standard training); 1-2-1 mentoring with support on building portfolios and CVs; Placement opportunities with Bounce, shadowing the team to deliver the events programme; and a final film screening co-curated by young participants to celebrate creativity of Caribbean storytellers, artists and filmmakers.
7. Brighton Book Festival South East £5,203
Building on the success of last year’s Windrush event, Brighton Book Festival will deliver a multi-day celebration of the 75th anniversary to inform, inspire and entertain audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The project will comprise two family festivals, using readings, arts and crafts and interactive activities to celebrate the history and achievements of the Windrush generation. There will also be a young poets workshop, helping to develop creative and performative skills and to draw inspiration from British Caribbean poetry. A further National Windrush Day event will comprise an evening of readings, discussions and performances that highlight and celebrate the contribution made by UK Caribbean communities.
8. Broxbourne Council East of England £11,645
The focus of the project is an exhibition about the Windrush generation that will take place at Lowewood Museum. The museum has a programme of developing and training community curators to record the histories of sections of the community that have not traditionally engaged with the museum. The funding will allow the creation of an exhibition that explains the history, experiences and achievements of the Windrush generation, including stories and memories of those living in Broxbourne. This will be supported by educational programmes and cultural workshops in local schools to stimulate young people’s participation in the exhibition.
9. Collage Arts London £18,560
The project is an intergenerational collaboration, bringing together elders and young people of the Caribbean communities in Haringey to create four children’s books of inspiring true-life celebratory stories from the Windrush generation and their descendants. These will educate cross-generationally about the immense contribution that the Caribbean communities have made to UK society and local communities. These books will be shared with all primary schools in the borough as well as being shared digitally free online. Collage Arts will also create films and podcasts of the stories being told that will be shared online for additional ongoing legacy.
10. Craftspace West Midlands £24,000
This intergenerational project will celebrate how textile crafts and making travelled from the Caribbean to England through ‘Dorcas Clubs’, a female network based within the newly formed black-led Pentecostal and Evangelical churches that emerged in 1950s and 60s Britain. A group of Caribbean artists and elders in Birmingham will collaboratively devise a ‘Front Room’ exhibit in a city centre shop space as a stimulus for audiences, including students and pupils, to learn how Caribbean crafting was a catalyst for social and economic change and acknowledge the contribution of Windrush craft heritage to British culture and other spheres of life.
11. Creheart-Collective West Midlands £15,100
GIVING VOICES will celebrate the contribution of the black and migrant communities in Dudley. Young adults of Afro-Caribbean descent will create a cross-disciplinary stage piece to celebrate the Windrush generation’s contribution to the society. The performance will be showcased at Creheart Community Centre and Brierley Hill civic hall.
12. Creative City England North West £6,890
This project will be driven by a diverse group of young people aged 11-16, including young people of Caribbean heritage, who will attend a series of 12 workshops to explore the Windrush story, engage creatively, learn new skills, meet key individuals and artists and design an event. The culmination is a National Windrush Day event for the community, led by the young people. This vibrant event will educate, celebrate and inspire community cohesion through food, music, exhibition, film showing, performances and speakers.
13. Cricket Arena Sheffield Yorkshire & The Humber £8,450
A cricket festival and series of cricket matches will be held at the Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club, with a Caribbean culture theme celebrating the Windrush generation and inspiring youth. The festival will include traditional Caribbean music and dance, food vendors, speakers on Windrush stories, local cricket teams playing in a tournament, and a children’s area with games and activities. The event will be promoted through local and social media and will have a plan for staffing and volunteers. Additionally, there will be ongoing weekly softball leagues at the Caribbean MUGA throughout the summer that will be repeated yearly.
14. Devon Development Education (DDE) South West £18,760
A programme of events celebrating Windrush 75 in Devon, including: a flag-raising/speeches at Devon County Hall, including a specially commissioned Devon Windrush flag, with the Chair of Devon County Council, councillors and Windrush group members in attendance. This formal event recognises the contribution of Windrush/Caribbean generations to Devon communities; a free, inclusive Windrush 75 celebration at Exeter’s prestigious museum, with Windrush/Caribbean activities, and a new educational Windrush 75 exhibition; and a July/August heritage pop-up centre in an Exeter high-street shop, creating a ‘front room’; space to discuss Windrush 75; programme of cultural events.
15. Enfield Caribbean Association London £20, 893
This project will produce an illustrated children’s book for 4-7-year-old children, and a Windrush resource pack to be used in secondary schools to teach about the Windrush generation. The pack will consist of an 80-minute film documentary, the book and lesson plans. The book will be launched in a library, with schools invited to attend. A copy of the book will be given to each primary school. The project also includes a Windrush thanksgiving celebration on National Windrush Day, with a film screening of the Windrush Voices documentary film.
16. Evewright Arts Foundation East of England £13,223
‘Belongings: Windrush 75’ commemorates and celebrates the peoples of the Windrush generation and the talents of descendants who have contributed to British society over the past 75 years. 40 Windrush elders will perform in a celebratory dance installation against a backdrop of imagery and the Empire Windrush passenger list, filmed within Tilbury Terminal and launched on National Windrush Day. It will form part of a weekend of public film screenings and projections based on the themes of migration, identity and settlement. It will be an immersive sound and vision art experience that seeks to educate wider audiences, deepening discussions and increase understanding.
17. Friction Arts West Midlands £21,815
‘Back Home’ is a photographic and AR project to be exhibited at the Library of Birmingham over an extended period, including National Windrush Day. The organisation will produce portraits of Windrush-era Afro-Caribbean people/families and interview them about what ‘back home/Windrush’ means to them. When exhibited, audiences will be able to listen to the voices of these people on their smartphones (via a QR code) while viewing the photographs. During National Windrush Day itself, the organisation will be part of a larger consortium of organisations celebrating in the city centre, including talks, films, archive access, discussions and wider oral histories.
18. Friends of Hannah More South West £6,600
The project will work to bring a group of Caribbean elders to Friends of Hannah More Primary school on National Windrush Day to run interviews with children. Friends of Hannah More previously worked with them during the pandemic – children sent in questions which elders answered from their doorsteps. The following day the project will run a celebratory event for the whole community, with performances from Bristol’s reggae orchestra and refreshments for all. The space will be decorated, including flags made by members of their multicultural sewing group.
19. Friends of St Pauls Luxuriance South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire & The Humber £21,186
The organisation has been running a community gardening project on 7 formerly abandoned patches of green space in St Pauls. They will organise a floral display in one of the organisations central spaces in St Pauls celebrating Windrush75, honouring and thanking Windrush elders. The project will entwine Caribbean and UK native plants and produce a beautiful, colourful display. They have also been running an educational training programme for young people in St Pauls for two years. Young people have asked the organisation to hold a residential summer school celebrating its history and creative accomplishments.
20. Gunnersbury Estate CIC London £8,812
The project, Jigsaw Heritage, will feature an installation and an accompanying programming. The exhibition is inspired by an artist’s grandmother’s voyage to the UK towards the end of the Windrush period. It consists of textile pieces blending traditional Jamaican cloth patterns with samples of an artist’s grandmother’s handwriting, wallpaper from her home and imagery found in the furnishings of Windrush homes. Programming to accompany the exhibition will include a launch event with music and spoken word performed by new and established artists.
21. Haringey Council (Bruce Castle Museum) London £15,500
‘Creating A Corner of the Caribbean In Tottenham’: inspired by Haringey’s elder and acclaimed designer the late Althea McNish, this project will celebrate and share stories and experiences about ‘what is home’ for Windrush generation elders. 22 June sees Bruce Castle lit up in Windrush Day colours, marking an evening for a discussion panel with intergenerational guest speakers. 24 June will be a community day for all ages to celebrate at three sites in Bruce Castle Park, including vintage-inspired stalls, storytelling and crafts, a film show, games, music, dance and food. It connects elders with communities to share experiences and get people involved to create a legacy film.
22. Harrow Council London £10,265
The ’Voices of Windrush’ project will curate a programme dedicated to educating young people and intergenerational families to come together to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Windrush in Harrow within the context of the wider historical story. This will be carried out through a series of programmed activities on 22 June 2023 that will bring diverse audiences together using an intergenerational and multicultural approach. The project will deliver a series of in-school workshops culminating in a day of celebration – featuring a concert with music and spoken word content and a theatre show aimed at families.
23. Inspiring Audio National £14,750
‘The Girl and the Suitcase’ is an audio project bringing Windrush generation stories to life in a fun and inspiring style for children. A ten-part drama will follow the adventures of Adanya as she explores different objects in her grandfather’s suitcase that he came with in 1948 from the Caribbean. Each object – from his glasses and stamps to passport and bus ticket – takes Adanya on a journey through time to catch up with ‘papa’, the people he met and places he saw on his journey to and life within the UK. This project will educate, celebrate and foster pride of the Windrush Generation.
24. Jamaica Leeds Society Yorkshire & The Humber £34,981
The project ‘Here: Windrush 75 Leeds’ is a series of public installations across the city of Leeds featuring 75 larger than life portraits of Windrush generation residents of Leeds placed in 15 strategically identified locations to celebrate and raise awareness of the contribution of the Caribbean people to the social and economic life of the city to a wider audience in an unprecedented format. The project will involve community engagements, a National Windrush Day event, interactive sessions with young people in schools, a publicity campaign promoting the installations’ significance and an online gallery of the portraits as a legacy of the project.
25. John Hansard Gallery South West £13,550
John Hansard Gallery will work in partnership with Southampton Black Archives to present ‘Windrush Legacy’. They will co-create a programme of activities bringing communities together – across different ages and backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate about the role that the Windrush generation have played in making Southampton stronger, culturally richer and more inclusive. Contributions from the Windrush generation will be celebrated through existing oral histories and new photographic portraits made available for the first time through the launch of Black Histories Archive on National Windrush Day. Through storytelling and neighbourhood events, oral histories will come to life, inspiring the next generation.
26. Kainé Management East Midlands £6,089
‘Better Together’ will focus on educating about the Windrush generation, engaging with peers regionally (Nottingham and Derby) and working with the Leicester Windrush Consortium to erect a Windrush memorial in the city. It will continue/expand the intergenerational engagement between the Windrush Generation, children and young people through hosting workshops in libraries, school and community settings. Stories and experiences will be creatively captured including a 75-piece bunting created by participants. There will be a series of intergenerational weekly summer sessions to develop and expand this work.
27. Kirklees Local Television Ltd Yorkshire & The Humber £21,249
‘Paraffinalia – 75 Years of Windrush’ is an innovative 5,350-sq.ft exhibition located in a Huddersfield town centre shop front, which will run over a 30-day period throughout June 2023. The exhibition will illustrate the history, aspirations and contributions of both the local and national Windrush generations, incorporating a fusion of exhibits, art, literature and performance as well as immersive elements in one single space. ‘Paraffinalia’ will bring a range of local organisations, artists and community activists together to create a bold, innovative, educational and commemorative experience for visitors. Exploring the many creative ways history and storytelling will be relayed.
28. Lewisham Churches Care London £13,320
This project will celebrate and commemorate the 75th Windrush anniversary through two fun-filled events for 100 people, one in Lambeth and one in Lewisham. Events will feature Caribbean food and music, drumming and quadrille workshops, and interactive theatre. Leading up to the events, members will participate in an intergenerational photography project to be exhibited in several locales in South London. The project will educate and commemorate through members’ personally and historically significant mementos. Following the two big events, the project will host six reflective workshops, documenting members’ personal histories and memories for an educational archive shared with local schools.
29. Manchester City of Literature North West £11,000
Manchester City of Literature will work with three Pentecostal churches in South Manchester to deliver an intergenerational project. Young people from Manchester will work with church elders, capturing their experiences of Windrush and faith, collaboratively producing podcasts and short documentary films which will be launched on digital platforms on National Windrush Day. The activity will allow young people to gain first-hand insight into the authentic Windrush experience and by producing short films and podcasts, this knowledge will be shared with the public, celebrating the contribution of the Windrush generation to the local community.
30. Newham Borough Council London £31,100
As a community-led project, ‘Memories of Home’ will celebrate and recognise Newham’s Windrush generation by capturing and preserving their memories of home in the Caribbean and their new home in the UK, and passing them on to future generations. The project will be centred around a recreated 1960/70s Caribbean ‘front room’, which will be used as a base for reminiscence sessions, oral histories, art workshops, theatre performances, film screenings, school workshops and exhibition. A peer training scheme for young people will run in parallel by London Stadium Learning’s Young Media Team, resulting in filmed documentation of the project’s activity.
31. Nottingham News Centre CIC East Midlands £9,700
‘Digging Deep Windrush Generation Miners & Their Industrial Contributions Project’ by Nottingham News Centre CIC and partners will raise awareness of the lived experiences of former industrial workers and miners of the Windrush generation who contributed significantly to the industrial labour economy from the 1950s and beyond. On National Windrush Day, they will host the Digging Deep touring exhibition, inspiring educational resources and hosting a free public discussion about the legacy of Windrush industrial workers and the impact on environmental considerations for greener sustainability in the East Midlands and beyond.
32. Pegasus Opera Company East of England, London £17,194
The Legacy and Hope: Windrush Anniversary Concert Series will create community cohesion by bringing together intergenerational communities across London and Bedford to celebrate the Windrush legacy through musical performances inspired by the Caribbean diaspora. The concert series will take place over the month of June, including an Opera Flash Mob on 22 June as part of the Lambeth Procession festival to commemorate National Windrush Day. Professional artists, amateur performers and community audiences will be educated on the Windrush story and the musical contributions of the Windrush generation while celebrating their shared identity and creating lasting memories through musicmaking.
33. Phoenix Dance Theatre Yorkshire & The Humber £21,900
12 schools will take part in weekly workshops over a six-week period, starting with a session run by a local black historian and Caribbean community members. The young people will learn about Windrush and the rich history and culture that was brought to Leeds. Using this information, they will work with Phoenix dance artists to create celebratory dance works. All the groups will come together to perform these pieces at a theatre venue in front of a live audience.
34. Renewal Choir South West £6,435
This project will celebrate and educate about the arrival and contribution of the Windrush generation to the UK through the medium of gospel music. The project will deliver a number of singing workshops to provide an immersive experience for school children Bristol. The project will be initiated through rehearsals leading to a performance to be held on National Windrush Day 2023 and will end with a showcase performance, highlighting the work achieved in the workshops. Various segments of the workshops and performances will be captured on video to provide a lasting legacy of Windrush Day 2023 in the South West.
35. Rosetta Arts London £18,096
Through the lens of art history and from a black British perspective, the project will create a series of educational workshops for young creative entrepreneurs and events, highlighting the stories of Caribbean artists that migrated to the UK in the 1950s and beyond. Rosetta Artis will explore the work of a pioneering generation of Caribbean artists including black British artists of the 1970s and 1980s. The young people will get an opportunity to co-curate an exhibition, host a spoken word event and assist in workshops to gain invaluable work experience and skills.
36. Rudolph Walker Foundation London £9,400
A group of 18 young people from three schools in Enfield will be matched with older people from the local Caribbean community. At an ice-breaking Caribbean-themed party to celebrate National Windrush Day, project participants will be introduced to each other and start to explore the story of the Empire Windrush and the experience of Caribbean migrants through music, spoken word, drama and conversation. The young people will work with their older partners, journalists, writers and performers to develop written and performance pieces celebrating their lives for a public exhibition and performance – and inclusion in Enfield’s local history archives.
37. Southwark Playhouse London £14,840
Across a series of 8 workshops, primary school students will work with a professional playwright to write their own plays inspired by and retelling the story of the Empire Windrush. These plays will then be simply staged at Southwark Playhouse, with professional actors reading students’ work, directed by a professional director. The students and their families will be invited, along with the general public. Following this, the students’ work will be edited and printed in a special anthology, with a copy given to each student, and additional copies will be given to school libraries.
38. Tan Teddy South West £10,000
Tan Teddy will hold two celebratory events on National Windrush Day – an early years celebration for 150 nursery children and their families at St Werburgh’s Primary School, and an evening Windrush performance in Taunton for people of all backgrounds. The Organisation will record a collection of Windrush early years songs and poems to be disseminated during the project in nursery settings across the South West and serve as a lasting resource subsequently.
39. Telford African & Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre (TAARC) West Midlands £20,585
Having engaged with local schools, Caribbean churches, Windrush members/families and local organisations, TAACRC will deliver the following events to commemorate, celebrate and educate about the Windrush generation: Community art; Bespoke Windrush seminars/workshops and collaborative creation of relevant art in schools; Collaborative schools’ art display/Windrush exhibition at Wellington Orbit, a local independent arts centre; Canal trip to Lancaster for Windrush members; Iconic film and commissioned Windrush poem at local arts centre Wellington Orbit; Windrush tea party with entertainment; Windrush family fun day.
40. Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity West Midlands £8,721
‘Came to Care’ will offer artistic commissions for young creatives (aged 16 to 25) from the local Caribbean community to explore and bring awareness to the contribution of the Windrush generation, particularly towards healthcare in Wolverhampton to coincide with joint NHS 75 celebrations. Over the course of their commissions, the artists will be supported with research, development and the creation of artistic outputs, which may encompass theatre, dance, music, art, writing or other art forms. The artworks will be exhibited and shared at a celebratory public event, taking place at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on National Windrush Day. Artworks will then be displayed at New Cross Hospital.
41. Warm Hut UK North West £10,000
Warm Hut UK will run the ‘Grandma Dishes’ project, which will see them invite older women from Windrush communities to share their cooking heritage with young people. This will involve using the transmission of a beloved recipe to question their relationship and the heritage that is being passed down from one generation to another. Young people will be invited to film and make a web documentary about the recipes of these grandmothers. Participants will be encouraged to think about how recipes and the gendered nature of their production fosters heritage and community cohesion. They will compare how recipes have changed over the years.
42. Westway Trust London £30,000
The project will celebrate the Windrush story, engaging supplementary schools, Windrush generation speakers and Caribbean partner organisations to deliver key activities: curated National Windrush Day school workshops reaching 300 children, speaker spotlights, art installations, and a community-wide celebration event with at least 1000 attendees. The overall theme of the project will be celebrating the MV Empire Windrush sea voyage, and the rich culture and heritage the passengers brought with them from the Caribbean. Through dialogue, celebration and installation of legacy art, the project will build community cohesion, empathy and pride amongst the diverse North Kensington populace.
43. Wesleyan Day Care Centre London £7,697
This project will involve cultural heritage cooking demonstrations for children and young people, community recipes for Caribbean dishes and a Windrush celebration event and community BBQ. The cultural heritage cooking demonstrations for children and young people involves engagement with local schools and education about Caribbean heritage. The community recipes for Caribbean dishes involves group discussion and 1-1 reminiscence sessions about food and cooking. From these sessions the organisation will develop 2-3 simple community recipe cards. Finally, to celebrate National Windrush Day, they will be holding a celebration event and community BBQ.
44. Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music South East £23,670
Woodbridge will host a summer programme of events and themed audio-visual skills workshops about the cultural legacy of Windrush generations on music, with a celebration of sound systems. It will begin with a carnival stage (18 June) during the Town’s Regatta, followed by the Town Council raising Caribbean flags on the town’s flagpoles, a poetry competition and exhibitions at venues across town (22 June). An outreach event in East London (23 June), a Caribbean Street Feast in a square beside the river in Woodbridge (24 June) and an event starting the weekend festival will be held in the town park (31 August).
45. Youth Plugin London £14,889
The project will focus on the creative legacy of the Windrush era by delivering a series of fashion/talent workshops and showcase that highlights their enterprising skills and contribution to style and culture in the UK. Participants young and old will create designs such as Zoot suits and full skirts that can tell a powerful story of creativity, skill and culture that came to London with the Windrush generation. Storytelling will be a key feature of the workshops and how using sustainable fashion methods helped bring people together to share stories and pass on creative and entrepreneurial skills.