An exhibition at the Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre about migration from the Caribbean will open during the 75th anniversary year of the Windrush arrival in the UK.
The exhibition: Leaving for the Metropole: An Odyssey of the Working Class is curated by Patrick Semiramoth from Guadeloupe and Willy Vainqueur from France and is translated by Antonia Wimbush of the University of Liverpool (UoL). It runs from Monday, June 12 until Friday, June 23 with viewing from 8.30am - 5pm Monday - Friday.
Antonia, a researcher in French Studies at UoL will give a talk about her project at the launch. She is interested in how memories of migration to the UK are transmitted to the next generation through cultural works and community memory projects.
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On the theme of the exhibition, Antonia told the ECHO: "It gives a historical overview why people left the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the 1960s and 70s through an organised migration scheme called the BUMIDOM (Bureau for the Development of Migration in the Overseas Departments). It contrasts their experiences with the experiences of people arriving in the UK as part of the ‘Windrush generation’.
"It talks about the daily experiences of people faced with racial discrimination and highlights the loneliness that some felt, but it also emphasises positive experiences some people had. It also talks about people’s experiences of return to the Caribbean."
Curator Patrick Semiramoth is a history teacher at a secondary school in Guadeloupe. His mother migrated to mainland France through the BUMIDOM scheme, which sparked his interest in curating an exhibition about migration.
Willy Vainqueur is a French photographer based in Seine-Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris. His photographs focus on the daily lives of people living there.
Patrick said: "My mother came to France in the 1960s via the BUMIDOM. At one point in my life, I, like many of us, began to question who I was and where I had come from. I found a book about the topic, and that’s when I found out about the existence of the BUMIDOM.
"I spoke to my mum about it. I asked her, ‘have you heard of the BUMIDOM?’ She told me she had arrived via the BUMIDOM. And that sparked this whole process. how I became interested in the topic".
It also explores the arrival of people in Liverpool and community work carried out to keep those memories such as the 'Daughters of the Windrush' film, by Liverpool film maker Bea Freeman. The film looked at voices of women who’ve been largely excluded from stories of the Windrush, following the ship's arrival in 1948 with people from the Caribbean to settle in the UK.
In particular Harold Phillips, known as Lord Woodbine, is mentioned. He was at one stage seen as the de facto manager of the Beatles, and opened the New Colony Club in in Berkley Street, Toxteth. Lord Woodbine’s club was one of many places where the Beatles played in their early years.
Antonio continued: "We became interested in thinking more about the similarities and differences between Caribbean migration to France and the UK in the post-war era. I'm organising a conference at the University of Liverpool on the BUMIDOM on 22 and 23 June 2023, so it seemed an ideal time to put on the exhibition and bring this work to a larger audience in Liverpool".
For tickets for the launch visit Eventbrite HERE
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