Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2025: Projects to be funded

Over a total of 9 days, we will work with approximately 30 serving prisoners of Windrush descent across 6 UK prisons. These 30 individuals will be supported to write and perform poetry and rap bars celebrating their roots. The workshops will be facilitated and delivered by Windrush creatives and people with lived experience of prison. [...] Hackney Empire is collaborating with Counterpoints Arts, the national organisation working in the field of art, displacement and cultural change who coordinate Refugee Week UK. The partners will frame this unique blessing with musicians and spoken word artists as part of Refugee Week. The confluence of the Refugee Week 2025 theme of ‘Community as Superpower’, the summer solstice and Windrush Day marks the shared relevance of this day. [...] The project begins with an oral history session led by 2 short story writers, capturing the lived experiences of Caribbean elders. This session sets the foundation for a series of engaging poetry, gardening, and cooking workshops, where participants will creatively respond to themes of migration, resilience, and cultural tradition.