There are plenty of activities for residents to get involved in, in the lead up to Windrush Day – even in lockdown. Windrush Day celebrates the diversity of Ealing, London and the UK by remembering the 1,027 passengers docked at Tilbury on board the SS Empire Windrush in 1948. 

Art exhibition on Windrush 

What does the arrival of the Windrush Empire mean to you? This is your chance of answering that question in as creative a way you can. The artwork that is submitted will then be showcased at an art gallery. 

Here are some tips from the Descendents, a local organisation that focuses on art education projects aimed at children and young people, mainly of of African and Caribbean descent – who organised the event: 

• Create a piece of art which could be a drawing, a painting or photo of something and/or someone  
• Write a poem, short story or song  
• Stitch a work of art using sewing/needlework. 

Please submit your entries by Saturday 20 of June via email to admin@descendants.org.uk   

To call in to the Zoom art exhibition on what ‘Windrush means to me’ on Monday, 22 June at 5pm, email admin@descendants.org.uk for the login details. 

To find out more about Windrush Day visit the website: https://www.windrushday.org.uk/ 

Bollo Brook 

Earlier this year we reported that youngsters from Bollo Brook Youth Centre in Acton put on an exhibition at the Tate Modern that questioned ‘their place in the world’, with the title: ‘who we are, who we aren’t. It is time to have difficult conversations about race’.  

Now residents can enjoy the artwork and explore the themes from the comfort of their own homes as a new website is being launched on the exhibition. The website comes out on Windrush Day (Monday, 22 June), so look out for social media posts pointing to it. https://ealingnewsextra.co.uk/features/bollo-place-in-the-world/ 

Council leader Julian Bell said: “I am reminded of my wife’s late parents  who came in the late 50s from the Caribbean. They came from Dominica and St Lucia, they travelled on a ship called the Bianca C. And they came to London and settled in Ealing. In the late 60s they, along with other black pioneers in Ealing, organised and set up the United Anglo-Caribbean Society here in Ealing. That organisation still exists today and does fantastic work among the black community here in Ealing. And I am grateful for everything that they do.

“I am grateful for that Windrush generation and all of the contributions that they have made to Ealing.” 

Yesterday (Thursday, 18 June), two events were organised by WAPPY https://www.wappy.org.uk/about-us, which is a local organisation that aims to develop the creative writing and illustration skills of young people, ages four-18 years from diverse backgrounds and offer volunteering opportunities for those who want to develop career skills.