New exhibition highlights Windrush legacy in the Shires

A new and visually striking project which honours the resilience, memories and identity of the ‘Windrush generation’ has opened in Leamington Spa this month.

The Windrush Quilts project tells the story of Caribbean migrants who arrived in the UK between 1948 and the early 1970s and settled in the West Midlands. The striking artworks preserve and celebrate the stories of the ‘Windrush generation’ by depicting words and images of people from the Windrush generation living in the West Midlands today.  Each quilt tells a unique story through beautiful imagery and delicate stitching, embodying hope, struggle, racism, inequality but above all strength.

The text in the background of each quilt is transcribed from oral history recordings preserving the voices of those who lived through these times.

A local member of the Windrush Generation admires the new artworks at the exhibition opening.

Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, Royal Pump Rooms, The Parade, Royal Leamington Spa. 

The exhibition is free and runs from 31 January to 11 May.

The Windrush quilts are just one part of a wider exhibition at the Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, featuring the work of a range of  textile artists inspired by the permanent collection. The exhibition is free and runs from 31 January to 11 May.

The Windrush quilts project, by local artist Annabel Rainbow, hopes to highlight lost histories of those from the Windrush community who helped build today’s multicultural Britain, and to inspire generations that follow. Several of the individuals pictured in the quilts will be attending the opening night of the exhibition.

Annabel hopes this extraordinary collection inspires connection and understanding. She said:

“My art quilts are not really decorative pieces – they are narratives stitched into fabric, each one telling a story that reflects broader social themes.”

 Owen Mendez of Windrush in the Shires Volunteers said:

“Projects like this help to keep the voices of the Windrush Generation alive, at a time when we’re sadly losing people every month. We need to do more to preserve this history especially in places like Warwickshire. The Windrush story isn’t only relevant to cities like Birmingham and London, it matters here in the shires too.”“To his credit, what Gareth has done is integrate Black coaches, on merit, into the England set-up. Other managers didn’t do that.”