Bristol Cathedral commemorates the 75th anniversary Windrush Day by announcing a new special exhibition

Windrush: A Voyage through the Generations was created by the award-winning South London based social documentary photographer, Jim Grover, to honour the 75^th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush to Britain on 22 June 1948. It follows on from Windrush: A Portrait of a Generation which was created and exhibited in 2018, to honour the 70^th anniversary.

This new work explores how the subsequent generations are living their lives today in terms of the distinctive culture and traditions that the first ‘Windrush Generation’ brought to the UK between 1948 and 1971. It also shines a light on individuals, many of them women, groups and organisations doing so much to seek to keep the Caribbean culture alive, and to create continuity from one generation to the next.

“Thanks to his willingness to enter the world of his subjects, Jim Grover is a photographer with a gift for capturing intimate moments and community relationships. His first Windrush exhibition portrayed the lives of the first generation with great affection and respect, so I’m very excited to be hosting this new exhibition in Bristol Cathedral. It will not only share, but celebrate, the lives of the next generation of Britons with Afro-Caribbean heritage, to whom so much is owed,” says the Very Rev’d Dr Mandy Ford, Dean of Bristol.

The arrival of the ship HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury docks on 22 June 1948, bringing more than 800 passengers from the Caribbean, is a moment that shaped modern Britain. Windrush Day has become a key symbolic moment in the story of the Black British contribution to this country and the broader post-war migration from across the Commonwealth and beyond. The 75th anniversary year offers an unparalleled opportunity to deepen the public conversation about the past, present, and future of modern Britain.