Windrush Day 2021

To mark Windrush Day 2021 we are exploring the domestic experiences of the Windrush generation in the UK.

We invited artists, activists and academics to explore interiors, craft, community and music from our brand new 1970s front room.

Curated by Michael McMillan, the front room looks at the home life of an African-Caribbean family setting up home in the UK in the mid 1900s.

We will be sharing films and other activities on Tuesday 22 June and throughout the week. 

Windrush Day marks the anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks. On board were over 1000 passengers, 802 of whom gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the Caribbean.

What's happening

• Craft, change and community: Rose Sinclair describes the history of textile making by black women in the Caribbean in the early 1900s and its role in community building. 
• The legacy of Windrush: Mia Morris, Michael McMillan and Zerritha Brown discuss growing up in a 1970s front room, music from the era and the lives of the Windrush Generation
• A brief history of black interiors and a house tour with Kemi Lawson on Instagram
• Waiting for myself to appear: The writer and director of the film, Michael McMillan, sat down with actress Esther Niles to discuss the issues raised, watch the conversation
• The 1970s front room jukebox: created by Michael, this genre-defying playlist is the ultimate soundtrack to the 1970s front room

Get involved

• Share your memories and help us preserve the histories of African-Caribbean domestic life in Britain. Contact the Museum for more information. We want to hear your stories of setting up home, creating families and communities, and also how the Windrush Scandal has affected belonging and homemaking. Find out more about our Documenting Homes archive
• Take part in a craft activity, guided by Rose Sinclair, learn how to weave using a mini-loom while exploring the importance of craft and textiles to the story of Caribbean homemaking in the UK. Contact the Museum for more information.