Windrush Era and Beyond: Exploring Our Stories
The ‘Windrush Era and Beyond’ project shares the powerful stories of Windrush-era migrants and their descendants.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Windrush Day Grant Scheme, we’ve been able to explore the contributions, struggles, and legacies of the Windrush generation. This project isn’t just about history—it’s about honouring those who helped shape modern Britain.
On Windrush Day, we gathered at Hove Museum of Creativity to celebrate. The sun came out, and the joyful sounds of a steel band filled the air. Families enjoyed arts and crafts, Caribbean food, face-painting, and Windrush zine-making. A special mini-exhibit featured Windrush-era people, and one of the elders in the photos joined us, connecting the past with the present. Many attendees shared their stories with us, adding to our local history collection. Some of these stories will also help create a schools’ resource, so future generations can learn about this vital chapter of British history.
Over the summer, we were also fortunate to host storytelling workshops, led by Pauline Rutter who also conducted oral history interviews, allowing Windrush descendants to tell their stories in their own way. These sessions gave participants the space to reflect on their heritage and share their experiences.
The work of Pauline, along with the Collections, and the Culture Change teams continues to assemble more Windrush stories to share and add to the Brighton & Hove Museums archive.
For now, we’re proud to showcase some of these stories, made possible by the voices of three workshop participants. Through their personal histories, we invite you to see the Windrush legacy in a new light—one shaped by resilience, identity, and community.
