45 community organizations receive funding for Windrush Day celebrations

Over 40 organizations have received funding through the Windrush Day Grant Scheme for arts, education, and sports projects throughout England, marking the 75th anniversary of the MV Empire Windrush’s arrival in the UK, as announced by the Minister for Communities today.

A total of £750,000 has been allocated to various projects in England, including The Brixton Project, a community-driven carnival featuring art, theatre, and music, and the Blackstory Partnership, which is hosting a commemorative Windrush 75 event in Birmingham. In total, more than 200 Windrush Day projects have been funded with a collective £2.75 million over four years to honor the contributions of the Windrush generation and their families.

These community-led endeavors will mark the anniversary with events and activities scheduled between June 8 and August 31 this year.

Lee Rowley MP, Minister for Communities, remarked:

We aimed to celebrate the positive contributions made by the Windrush generation and their families to our country and acknowledge the input from all British Caribbean people in our communities.

Bringing people together fosters greater understanding and social cohesion. I strongly encourage everyone to participate in local happenings.

This year’s celebration of the British Caribbean community will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the MV Empire Windrush, when the first passengers arrived at Tilbury Docks.

Next month, communities will unite to honor and celebrate the pioneers who responded to Britain’s call to assist in rebuilding the nation after World War II.

Last year also saw the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at London Waterloo station. This Monument serves as a lasting tribute to the contributions of Caribbean pioneers across the United Kingdom. The DLUHC collaborated with the advisory Windrush Commemoration Committee, led by Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE, to realize this project.

Paulette Simpson CBE, Chair of the Windrush Community Funds and Schemes sub-group of the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group, stated:

This year’s celebration of the British Caribbean community will be particularly special, as we commemorate the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks 75 years ago.

From those initial passengers who built their lives here to the generations that followed, they have made and continue to make significant contributions to all aspects of British life.

National Windrush Day has now become an established event in the nation’s calendar, with exciting activities occurring from Brixton to Wolverhampton.

I encourage everyone to engage in this meaningful moment in our collective history.

Funded projects for 2023 include:

• The Brixton Project is a community-led celebration supported by local artists, preserving the histories, experiences, and voices of the Windrush generation while promoting community cohesion through a carnival of art, theatre, and music, along with visits to local landmarks central to the Windrush narrative.

• Manchester City of Literature is a creative initiative enabling young people to gain skills and confidence by collaborating with a professional filmmaker to produce documentary films and podcasts featuring Windrush generation members from South Manchester churches, sharing their migration, faith, education, and community-building stories.

• The Blackstory Partnership presents a poignant Windrush 75 event in Birmingham, comprising choir performances of West Indian folk songs, a West Indian Army Standard Ceremony, the launch of the ‘Windrush Generation – This Is Our Story’ book, and a Windrush 75 Awards Ceremony recognizing Windrush pioneers.

• The Jamaica Society Leeds introduces ‘Here: Windrush 75 Leeds’ — a series of public installations across the city featuring 75 oversized portraits to highlight the Windrush generation’s contributions to social and economic life in Leeds. The project includes interactive school sessions, a publicity campaign, and an online gallery of the portraits as its legacy.

• Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity’s ‘Came to Care’ project connects the stories of the MV Empire Windrush’s arrival with the NHS, both celebrating their 75th anniversaries this year, offering young creatives the chance to showcase artwork at a Windrush and NHS 75 celebration event.

• Friends of St Paul’s Luxuriance is creating a floral display in central Bristol to honor the Windrush generation, along with an educational training program for young individuals and initiating an afternoon garden party that combines Caribbean and UK native plants to create a vibrant, stunning display.

The complete list of funded projects is available here.