‘Windrush Front Room’ exhibition brings Caribbean heritage to Bristol’s Shakespeare Tavern

An exhibition titled “The Windrush Front Room” is being presented at the Shakespeare Tavern on Prince Street in Bristol from October 1 to 4, offering a nostalgic look back at the homes of the Windrush Generation.

The exhibit features a re-creation of a Caribbean front room, aiming to highlight the distinctive features of homes from that period.

Curated by Tony Fairweather, who is the son of Jamaican parents, the exhibition is part of a larger touring project called the Windrush Collection, which showcases artefacts associated with the Windrush Generation. The term “Windrush Generation” refers to the thousands of people from the Caribbean who migrated to the UK between 1948 and 1971 to support the country’s post-war labor needs. This group takes its name from the ship HMT Empire Windrush, which brought one of the first large groups of Caribbean migrants to Britain in 1948.

The exhibition will begin in Bristol and then move to London and Birmingham, cities that share historical ties to the migration of the Windrush Generation. Visitors to the event will have an opportunity to reflect on the history of the Windrush era, while also enjoying some of the cultural elements such as the Blue Spot Gramophone, a popular family feature during that time.

The exhibition is part of a UK tour organized in collaboration with Greene King and is raising funds for the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT). It provides a unique opportunity for the community to learn about and celebrate the legacy of the Windrush Generation in a setting that encourages conversation and connection.

Picture credit: Black Cultural Archives