British High Commission hosts ‘Windrush Portraits’ Artist Talk and ‘Barrel Children’ film screening in honour of Black History Month

As the sun set during a chilly evening in February, British High Commissioner H.E. Judith Slater, hosted an Artist Talk and Film Screening exploring the topic of the Windrush Generation. In honour of Black History Month in Jamaica, Michael Elliot’s Windrush Portraits art pieces were on display as guests took in the documentary Barrel Children: The Families Windrush Left Behind by British journalist and filmmaker Nadine White. Michael’s work often uses the British emblem of tea as a motif to signify the hope and promise of a new life, turned sour by the mistreatment that followed once the Windrush migrants arrived in Britain, portrayed in the form of cracked or drowning tea cups. 

This artistic expression added a beautiful abstraction to the concrete reality of the stories documented by Nadine, who self-produced the film, driving around the island with her cousin to interview families impacted by the Windrush migration. Both Michael and Nadine’s works beautifully shone light on not only the injustice that the Windrush generation faced, but the fragmentation their migration created within the family unit. 

“Kingston Creative is very pleased to have undertaken this initiative which allowed for deep introspection and discourse around a very sensitive subject,” Janet Crick, Deputy Director of Kingston Creative remarked. “The exchange of the artists, the interactions with the Windrush communities in both countries and the innovative use of public art to engage a wider audience, all contributed to the success of the project. We are particularly pleased to have this collaboration with the British High Commission to showcase our Windrush Portraits which dovetails most aptly with the film screening of Barrel Children. It’s been a very moving experience and a  fitting culmination to the initiative.”

The Windrush Portraits have been on public display throughout Black History month courtesy of iPrint Jamaica, who generously facilitated the public exhibition on their digital billboards and bus stops. Kingston Creative, partnered with the John Hansard Gallery, Black History Month South, and Southampton Black Archives, has been enthusiastic about widening the scope of the presentation and subsequent reception of art, using public signage as a means of democratizing art for the average viewer, similar to the role that murals play. 

As a public art exhibition shown on digital billboards, Windrush Portraits aims to challenge notions around the historically ‘permanent’ and somewhat exclusive nature of visual art, and engage audiences with digital and physical broadcast in public spaces. This public access to art is achieved through the marriage of art and technology, an objective that Kingston Creative has focused on through the Createch programme.

Led by Project Manager Susanne Fredricks, Windrush Portraits involved the collaboration of two contemporary visual artists, Michael Elliott (Jamaica) and Mary Evans (UK) for a nationwide public art campaign commemorating the Windrush Generation, commencing during last year’s Black History Month. Both artists undertook exchange visits to Southampton and Kingston in 2023, where they met the original migrant Caribbean communities in Southampton, and visited the National Windrush Museum https://www.nationalwindrushmuseum.com/, met Dr Les Johnson, and interacted with Windrush returnees and researchers, including returning residents, forced returnees, the High Commission staff and UWI academics in Kingston, utilizing this research to inform their new artwork.

Visual Artist Michael Elliott had previously worked on a Windrush series of works, but had not actually visited the UK before being selected by Kingston Creative to participate in this project. “Immersing myself in the Southampton community became an important step in bridging the gap between Jamaica and the UK in my Windrush journey,” Michael Elliot commented. “Especially speaking to the British West Indian community of varying ages and interests. Throughout my days there I have been able to listen to past and current experiences, present my work and garner useful feedback. My travel to the UK has given me even more inspiration for more stories to open up in my painting and to keep the connection between the two hemispheres. It is also an opportunity to challenge myself and to elevate the work into new possibilities that will provoke conversation and help to be a catalyst for change.”

Mary Evans added, “The visits to these places, facilitated by Kingston Creative, were part of a necessary and layered tapestry of research for the project. Immersing myself in a location’s culture, history, language, politics, cuisine and social structures is always important to me when I make work. It’s unlikely that the experiences will literally inform the work, more that the lived experience of the visits will percolate into my thinking and making.” 

The next stage of the project took place in October 2023, during Black History month in the UK, where Michael returned to the UK for the launch of the Southampton installation of the new artwork on shop windows around the city. He also spoke as a panelist at the Conference ‘Co-Creating Public Space – How Can We Thrive?’ on October 27, 2023. https://jhg.art/events/conference-how-can-we-thrive/ 

Windrush Portraits has just wrapped up its final stage with the broadcast of this new work from both artists on iPrint digital billboards and bus stops in Liguanea, Lady Musgrave, Manor Park, Six Miles, YMCA, Waterloo, Portmore, and Sam Sharpe Square (Montego Bay).

Windrush Portraits was conceptualised by Kingston Creative Board Director Dr. Kim Marie Spence and has been supported by iPrint Jamaica and the Rok Hotel Kingston, Jamaica, and the project is part of the programme Co-Creating Public Space, led by John Hansard Gallery, part of the University of Southampton, with funding from Arts Council England, Southampton City Council and GO! Southampton.