Our exhibition, Windrush Cymru – Our Voices, Our Stories, Our History will be on display at Big Pit from 29 July – 31 August 2022.

In 1948, the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex carrying over 1,000 passengers from the Caribbean Islands. They bravely left their friends and families back home in response to Britain’s call for post-war workers. Over the next 40 years, thousands followed in their footsteps, with many making Wales their new home.

The history of the Windrush generation in Wales was recently the focus of an oral history project delivered by Race Council Cymru and funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund. During the course of the project, Windrush Generation Cymru from across the country shared their stories of migration and their memories of forging a new life in Wales.

This exhibition features the stories of over 40 of those Windrush Generation Cymru, told in their own words. The exhibition is an opportunity for visitors to learn about their journeys to Wales, and the challenges they faced in building a new life in a country far from their homelands – finding work and the attitudes of people towards them.

The stories show how the Windrush Generation Cymru, and their descendants, have made their mark in all walks of Welsh life: through the jobs they worked, careers they built, the children they raised, and the contributions they made to our communities and culture.

Read more about the project here – https://www.windrushcymru.org.uk/

Windrush Cymru – Our Voices, Our Stories, Our History is delivered by Race Council Cymru in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Wales Millennium Centre, People’s Collection Wales, Windrush Cymru Elders, and Black History Wales 365. With support from Arts Council of Wales, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and Gower College Swansea.