Windrush Reflection Room in Ipswich is set to move again

Max Thomas says the front room was an iconic space for families

Organisers of a re-created "Windrush living room exhibition" say they need a permanent home.

The Reflection Room was set up in 2021 in an empty shopping centre unit in Ipswich.

It has moved several times within Sailmakers, but needs to vacate the current space by 4 March.

Max Thomas, from the Ipswich Windrush Society, said they needed a sponsor "so we don't have to keep coming back with the begging bowl".

"This is a sensory room - people submerge themselves in this. We've had people come in here and say this is a healing room," he said.

Along with furniture, the room contains pictures of Suffolk's Windrush generation who have passed away

The shopping centre has offered the group another unit to use, but Mr Thomas said that would only be for a few months.

"We would like organisations like Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, someone to come and sponsor the Ipswich Windrush Society - champion us so we can come together and say this does not just reflect the Windrush generation, but the whole community," he said.

"They can see this reflects being British in the 40s, 50s and 60s and we can build upon this."

'You're in history'

Dan Sedgewick feels there are too many empty spaces in Ipswich town centre and the reflection room is a 'beautiful thing'

The room includes items popular amongst people of Caribbean heritage living in Britain from 1948 onwards, including furniture, bedspreads, a dial-telephone and even a metal bathtub.

One of those who supports the idea of a permanent base is Dan Sedgewick, a former teacher and storyteller.

"This room is put together like a story. You're in history," he said.

"You can learn facts and figures, historical procedures and all the things that happened, but when you're actually 'in' something and you're seeing the things that people were using, it's very powerful."

Ivy Scott says visiting the room can help people understand the issues the Windrush generation faced

Another supporter is Ivy Scott, a retired teacher and officer in the National Education Union.

"This is what I would term a community museum and it needs to be kept because we don't have a lot of places where children can go and find out about the culture of the Windrush generation or find out about black people as well," she said.

"I think that is missing from the curriculum. Having this room [gives children] the opportunity to explore, to use artefacts, to see things that were used by that generation, see where they worked.

"They can understand that those people were invited here to work; they didn't just come.

"So when you hear about the Windrush scandal, people don't often understand that those people were invited to help rebuild Britain, and being told that story and seeing the artefacts, they begin to understand it."

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An Ipswich Borough Council spokesperson said: "The council are pleased that visitors have been able to enjoy the Ipswich Windrush Society collections within the Reflection Room in Sailmakers... and also when they've been on temporary display at Ipswich Town Hall as part of the Windrush Anniversary celebrations.

"We hope the Ipswich Windrush Society can find a suitable location for their substantial collection and look forward to continuing collaboration with them over hosting individual elements of their collection as part of future exhibitions in the town."