The arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948 was one of several voyages from the British Caribbean; bringing back hundreds of service people who had fought for Britain in WW2. Our celebration of the ‘Windrush generation’ in Scotland for Windrush 75 will also include the lumberjacks from British Honduras who aided the war effort.
Thanks to our grants from the National Lottery Fund and from the Scottish Government we will pay respect to the Windrush generation and their descendants by bringing people together in a celebration of our rich cultural heritage and contributions to Scotland.
Our event will also highlight the support offered by Scottish Government to those wrongly stripped of citizenship in a revamping of the original ‘hostile environment’ in recent times.
Tickets
Priority booking for people of Caribbean heritage.
Please email [email protected] to request private tickets link.
We invite you to Windrush 75 – an intergenerational, family-friendly Caribbean celebration with short opening speeches, performances (music, dance, poetry), food, a children’s activity corner, Mas costumes and DJs!
Please note:
- Children (under 16) must be accompanied by an adult.
- Donations will be administered by Edinburgh Caribbean Association for a Windrush Legacy program.
- The performances may be recorded.
- To add to our legacy archive, filmmaker Etienne Kubwabo will be recording parts of the event including attendees, to create a short film which may be used publicly and online – you can give consent during ticket registration.
Brought to you by Edinburgh Festival Carnival and Edinburgh Caribbean Association, in partnership with City Art Centre, Scottish Government, National Lottery Awards For All, and our local Caribbean communities.
Guests include Caribbean and Scottish Caribbean community members, elders, business owners and families from across central Scotland; and Caribbean-heritage performers local to Scotland and the UK.
Line-up
Welcome from Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association
Welcome from Cammy Day, Depute Leader of Edinburgh City Council
Personal family stories connected to the Windrush generation
Windrush Compensation Scheme support from the Scottish Government
Caribbean food and drink from:
- Queen V-Ital (goat, chicken, vegetarian and vegan options)
- Island Slice Rum
Caribbean music from:
- Graham Mortimer Evelyn
- DJ Melvina Moves
- DJ Yemstar
Spoken word and poetry from:
- Anthony (Vahni) Capildeo
- Courtney Stoddart
- Roshni Gallagher
- Myles Westman
- Amadea Daley
- Jeda Pearl
Caribbean dance from:
- Melvina, Laurinda and Marta De Sousa from Nzinga Dance Company
Plus! Children’s activity corner, and Mas costumes!
Optional donation
This event including food is free. Please donate what you can. Donations will be used towards future Windrush-related projects by Edinburgh Caribbean Association.
Access
Please add your dietary and any other access requirements during registration.
BSL interpreters to be confirmed.
Venue accessibility info – from the Hub:
The front entrance of The Hub is ramped and there is level access to our outdoor terrace. On entering the building there is one set of automatic doors and one set of non-automatic doors. Our Ground floor has level access to Cafe Hub, which is accessible and Hub tickets, also accessible. There is one accessible toilet facility on our Ground floor.
From our ground floor there are five steps leading to our Sculpture Hall. There is a wheelchair lift which bypasses these steps. This does have a weight restriction (225kg). There is an accessible toilet facility on this level. This is the end of the public space within The Hub. The rest of the building is a private event space.
From our sculpture hall there is a passenger lift which goes to our 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor from our ground floor. The lift has level announcements and the buttons are at an accessible height with braille on them.
On our first floor there are two rooms, our Main Hall and Dunard Library. Our Main Hall has level access from the lift. Our Dunard Library has two steps entering it however there is a ramped corridor going from the Main Hall into the Library. There is an accessible ladies toilet on this floor.
Our Gallery is on the 2nd floor. The Main area of the Gallery has level access from the lift. The aisles of the gallery are not accessible. There is an accessible toilet facility on this floor.
We have a small meeting room on our 3rd floor. This room has level access from the lift.
Our fourth floor is private office space.
Toilets
The Hub has four accessible toilets on the premises. They all have grab rails and cord alarms. They are located on the ground floor, sculpture hall, 1st floor (ladies only) and 2nd floor. Our Ground floor toilet is the only accessible toilet available to Cafe Hub and Hub Tickets customers. The rest are available in our private event space.
Transport if needed
We will be providing a minibus/coach pickup in Glasgow for Caribbean-heritage elders and members who cannot use public transport and could not otherwise attend – please email [email protected].
We have a limited number of bursaries for people on low incomes. If travel costs are a barrier please email [email protected].
About Windrush 75
Windrush 75 marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush, and celebrates the people and communities of Caribbean heritage in the UK who helped to shape the cultural landscape of UK.
“The arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948 was one of several voyages from the British Caribbean; bringing back hundreds of service people who had fought for Britain in WW2. Our celebration of the ‘Windrush generation’ in Scotland for Windrush 75 will also include the lumberjacks from British Honduras who aided the war effort. Our Windrush 75 event will help us pay respect to the Windrush generation and their descendants through bringing people together in a celebration of our rich cultural heritage and contributions to Scotland. Our event will also highlight the support offered by the Scottish Government to those wrongly stripped of citizenship in a revamping of the original ‘hostile environment’ in recent times.”
Lisa Williams, Founder of Edinburgh Caribbean Association
Special Thanks
Thanks to: Edinburgh Festival Carnival and Edinburgh Caribbean Association, in partnership with City Art Centre, Scottish Government, National Lottery Awards For All, and our local Caribbean communities.
Big up and thank you to the organisers Giles Agis, Lisa Williams and Jeda Pearl, plus all the artists, tech team, sponsors, donors and supporters.
Artists and Organisers
About Edinburgh Caribbean Association
Recognising the vast range of cultural, educational, civic and activist contributions to Scotland by Caribbean and Scottish Caribbean communities, the Edinburgh Caribbean Association promotes Caribbean culture in Scotland, explores Scotland’s and the Caribbean’s shared heritage and provides a community for Caribbean heritage people based in Scotland and their families. CaribScot.org
About Edinburgh Festival Carnival
Working collaboratively with international emerging artists and Edinburgh-based community groups and practitioners, Edinburgh Festival Carnival produces Edinburgh’s annual carnival.
Lisa Williams is the founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and curates education programmes, arts events and walking tours to promote the shared heritage between Scotland and the Caribbean. She is a PhD candidate in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews and an Honorary Fellow in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.
DJ Yemst⭐️r has been in the DJ music industry for 9 years, he is known as the Versatile Vinyl Mix Master due to his style & genre knowledge in which he is able to play a mixture of music genres giving both music listeners and party people a true musical experience to remember. He’s renowned to playing 90s-2000s Soul/RnB/Hip-Hop, Rare Grooves, UK Funky House,Soulful House,Garage, Dancehall/Bashment/Reggae/Lovers Rock, Grime & AfroBeats. He has played at many Night Clubs & Bars across the UK i.e. Liquid Night Club, The Arches, If Bar, Liquid Rooms, Castle Club and many more.
- Facebook Page: DJYemstarUK
- Instagram: dj.yemstar
- AudioMack: djyemstar
- Mixcloud:djyemstar
Anthony (Vahni) Capildeo FRSL is Professor and Writer in Residence at the University of York. Recent publications include Like a Tree, Walking (Carcanet, 2021) (Poetry Book Society Choice). Their interests include collaborative work, and traditional masquerade. Capildeo served as a judge for the Jhalak Prize (2023).
Find them @VCapildeo Twitter.
Courtney Stoddart is an acclaimed Scottish poet, writer and performer. In June 2019, Courtney took part in the BBC Radio 1xtra and BBC Contains Strong Language Festival Word’s First Talent Scheme, making it to the final 12. She was selected to be published in an anthology by Own It! London and edited by Jude Yawson, co-writer of Stormzy’s Rise Up: The Story So Far. Stoddart starred in Hannah Lavery’s ‘Lament for Sheku Bayoh’ for 3 years running at the Lyceum Theatre and has represented Scotland at FLUP! literary festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whilst also being named as one of YWCA’s 30 under 30 in 2020. She has appeared on a panel at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, featured on Damian Barr’s Big Scottish Book Club on BBC Scotland and published in Neu Reekie’s #Neu Voices. As of 2021, she was announced as an Ignite Fellow with the Scottish Book Trust, and gained a First Class Masters degree in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. Courtney was also recently commissioned alongside Poet Laureate Simon Armitage for the BBC Centenary.
Roshni Gallagher is a poet from Leeds living in Edinburgh. Her debut pamphlet Bird Cherry is published by Verve Poetry Press. She is a winner of the 2022 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and Scottish Book Trust’s New Writers Award. Her work has appeared in a variety of literary publications including Best Scottish Poems, Butcher’s Dog, New Writing Scotland, Propel, and more. In her work, she explores themes of nature, memory, and quietness.
Find her @roshnigallagher on Twitter and Instagram, or at roshnigallagher.com.
Myles Westman is a Glasgow-based poet, performer and educator whose work traces the sonic expanse of black diasporic, aquatic and spiritual life. They are a co-founder of FIRE!! a bi-monthly performance night at Bonjour Lounge in Glasgow, their work can be found in publications by Peanut Press, Morocco Bound, and the forthcoming FIRE!! pamphlet.
Jeda Pearl is a Scottish Jamaican writer and artist, and Co-Director of Scottish BPOC Writers Network. Her work often traverses the ‘in between,’ exploring belonging, disability, secrecy and survival. In 2022, she was shortlisted for the Sky Arts RSL Award and longlisted for the Women Poets’ Prize. Her work is published/commissioned by New Writing Scotland, Not Going Back to Normal, Shoreline of Infinity, Rhubaba, Collective, Peepal Tree Press.
@JedaPearl on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Website: jedapearl.com
Graeme Mortimer Evelyn is a London based multimedia artist, percussionist and curator. He has exhibited within Princeton and Cornell University USA, Kensington Palace, Bristol Museums, The Church of England and co-curated the groundbreaking exhibition, Jamaican Pulse – Art & Politics From Jamaica and the Diaspora for the RWA Bristol in 2016.
IG | FB: @graemeevelyn
- Queen V-Ital
- Island Slice Rum
- DJ Melvina Moves
- Nzinga Dance Company
More bios coming soon.
