Windrush Walkway of Memories opens in June

LONDON:

The Tilbury Bridge Walkway of Memories, an immersive visual art experience dedicated to the Windrush generation, will open to the public on June 26 at the Port of Tilbury in Essex.

The artwork is installed in an original passenger walkway 55 metres long, on 432 panes of glass collaged with photographs, documents, original boat passenger tickets and memorabilia. As visitors walk through, they may listen to audio stories about the lives of some of the elders whose images are featured in the installation.

The work features over 130 people from the Windrush era and their families, through photographs, documents and audio, telling stories in their own words of their arrival, the lives and the families they created, and their contribution to British society.

Tilbury Port is an iconic location which has an historic significance to the black community in Britain.

Although many arrived before 1948, those who arrived in Tilbury were the first large post-war wave of British colonial citizens to disembark from the SS Empire Windrush passenger ship at Tilbury cruise terminal.

The artwork is the fourth in a series of site-specific work created by artist Evewright, who developed the original Caribbean Takeaway Takeover, an installation originally staged at S&S Caribbean Takeaway in Colchester, Essex, in 2018.

The idea was to create an innovative and engaging art and sound installation in an informal setting owned and controlled by the Caribbean community.The exhibition will open with a special school’s event on National Windrush Day, June 22, followed by a preview launch on June 26 to mark the public opening of the installation.

It will be run throughout the summer and autumn, where visitors can experience and enjoy the outdoor artwork in a COVID-safe environment.