Windrush stories inspire 'exciting' quilts display

Ivya Scott, of the Ipswich Windrush Select Committee, says the project had helped participants learn more about their history

Colourful handmade quilts created by artists whose families have connections to the Windrush movement are being exhibited in Suffolk.

Windrush Quilt is being displayed at The Hold, in Ipswich, by community group Suffolk Windrush until the end of July.

The thought-provoking artworks were produced by local people during a series of workshops held at the Castle Hill Community Centre in Ipswich.

"It was real eye-opener – people were sharing their stories and helping each other," Ivya Scott, from the Ipswich Windrush Select Committee, said.

"It was quite exciting seeing people discover their history, and put their history into their quilts – it was unexpected."

The artworks were designed and produced during a series of workshops

Each quilt tells a different personal story, be it about a loved one's journey from the Caribbean to the UK, or something they have learned about their family.

"One person discovered her dad used to play in a band and she put that into the quilt," Ms Scott said.

"For her, that was exciting because she understood why her and her family loved music."

The works are inspired by the Windrush movement and the history of those who were part of it

The Windrush generation largely relates to people who came to the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971.

In 2018, a scandal was revealed when it emerged that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, with some wrongly labelled as illegal immigrants.

This inspired one of the quilts that features in the exhibition.

"She built her quilt around that and what happened to the Windrush generation and that hostile environment," added Ms Scott.

"She got different bits of material and each one was a different colour, and she was able to put words into the quilt to reflect that.

"We learnt from each other about our history and our parents, so it was quite exciting."