The Windrush Legacy Creative Reflections project invited people of Caribbean descent based in Scotland to creatively explore our experiences, reflect on and celebrate our roots and our lives in Scotland, share cultural or personal stories and dream into our futures.
The project, co-curated by myself, Jeda Pearl, poet Courtney Stoddart, and artist Kezia Lewis, included two online creative writing workshops in May and June 2023, and two art workshops in December 2023. It culminated in an exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh (30th September 2023 to 28th January 2024), and a printed anthology, with copies sent to Edinburgh schools.
Anthology
The Windrush Legacy Creative Reflections anthology booklet was launched on 4th November 2023. It is a full colour perfect bound booklet featuring all the visual artworks, poetry and prose from the exhibition.
Edited by Jeda Pearl and Courtney Stoddart, designed by Kezia Lewis.
Every primary, special and high school in Edinburgh received a copy, as did all project contributors. A copy was also donated to the National Library of Scotland.
We would love to get more copies into more schools and libraries across Scotland.
This requires further funding and partnering with a publisher. If you are interested in supporting this, or receiving or buying a copy, please leave a note of interest here.
Two groups of anthology and exhibition contributors
Exhibition
Windrush Legacy Creative Reflections
- 30th September 2023 to 28th January 2024
- Free Entry
- Museum of Edinburgh
- 142-146 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DD (map)
- Open Monday – Sunday, from 10am – 5pm
Informal contributor exhibition meetups: Sat 20th Jan @ 3pm, and Sun 28th Jan @ 3pm.
Supported by: Scottish BPOC Writers Network, Edinburgh Caribbean Association, Scottish Government, and Museums and Galleries Edinburgh.
Exhibition Contributors
Poetry, prose and art from…
Co-Curators: Kezia Lewis, Jeda Pearl, Courtney Stoddart
Foreword: Lisa Williams, Founder of Edinburgh Caribbean Association
Contributors (bios below):
Anonymous, Phoenix Archer, Catherine Bissett, Dr Charmaine Blaize, Amadea Daley,
Sharon Farnum-Croome, Roshni Gallagher, Charlotte Grieve, Ashanti Harris, Kanika Leo,
Rhea Lewis, Tamzin McDonald, Zach McDonald, Jay Garfield Oliver, Luke Samuels,
Carmen R Lewis Thomson, and Isaac Thomson
Content Note: Among the joy, pride, honouring and celebration, some works explore racism, bereavement and related themes.
Venue Access
- Tickets are free
- The exhibition space at Museum of Edinburgh has level access and is on the ground floor, however, the rest of the Museum is not wheelchair accessible (Museum of Edinburgh access)
- The workshop space at City Art Centre is wheelchair accessible (City Art Centre access)
- Museum of Edinburgh sometimes give an online audio tour (TBC)
About the Co-Curators
Jeda Pearl (she/her) is a Scottish Jamaican writer and artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She writes speculative fiction and poetry, and her work often traverses/reflects the ‘in between’ and explores the intersections of be/longing, (intergenerational) memory, illness and disability, secrecy and survival. Her work examines the histories, cultures, folklores and languages of her ancestral islands, at times exploring grief and nature writing, often creating magical realist or science-fictional worlds.
In 2022, Jeda was shortlisted for the Sky Arts RSL Award and longlisted for the Women Poets’ Prize. She’s performed on The Big Scottish Book Club (BBC Scotland), at StAnza, Push the Boat Out, Event Horizon, Inky Fingers, and Hidden Door. Commissioned works include Caledonian Library, 3033 (Scottish Storytelling Centre), and Acts of Observation (Collective gallery) and her poems and stories are published Rhubaba, New Writing Scotland, Shoreline of Infinity, Aesthetica, and Peepal Tree Press.
Jeda’s website | Instagram @JedaPearl
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.
Courtney’s website | Instagram @amapoetica
Kezia Lewis is a Scottish Jamaican artist, designer and facilitator. She incorporates collage, painting and illustrative techniques in her work, playing intuitively with colour and form. Depicting everyday scenes and curated spaces, she explores memory, place, belonging and self, sparking familiar viewpoints, nostalgia or a journey to somewhere new.
Kezia is the art director of Windrush Legacy Creative Reflections exhibition and designer of the accompanying anthology.
Kezia’s Instagram @studio.kezikoko
Foreword Author
Lisa Williams is an author and founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and curates a range of arts and educational events focusing on Scottish-Caribbean connections. She is an Honorary Fellow in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD candidate at the University of St Andrews.
Lisa’s website | Instagram | X (Twitter)
Contributor Bios A-Z
Anonymous
Phoenix Archer is a heritage professional and multidisciplinary artist. She has a history of engaging in the culture and heritage sector to promote healthy representation. Phoenix likes to research diverse ways to increase respectful relationships with all kinds of people and create a more harmonious relationship between humans and the environment.
Catherine Bissett is an Edinburgh-based actor, playwright and government analyst. Her first solo play, Placeholder, which tells the story of an enslaved woman and her ‘free’ opera singer daughter, was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon award in 2022 and came runner up for Production of the Year in the Framework theatre awards in 2021. X (Twitter) @CatherinBiss12
Dr Charmaine Blaize is a co-founder of Women of Colour Scotland (WoCScotland), a community interest group founded by predominantly women of African and Caribbean heritage, who are committed to empowering and promoting positive change for women of colour and their families living in Scotland and diaspora. We strive to address educational, economic, social, health, political, and cultural inequalities in our society.
Amadea Daley is a music composer and writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She writes musical compositions and literary works, such as poetry and short stories in her spare time. She is currently studying sound production at Edinburgh College, strengthening her skills and building her career in the creative industry. Instagram @madie_the_sage | Website
Roshni Gallagher is a poet from Leeds living in Edinburgh. Her debut pamphlet Bird Cherry is published by Verve Poetry Press. In 2022 she won an Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. She writes about nature, memory, and quietness. Twitter/X | Instagram: @roshnigallagher
Charlotte Grieve
Ashanti Harris is a multi-disciplinary artist, researcher and lecturer. Working with dance, performance, facilitation, sound, installation and writing, Ashanti’s work disrupts historical narratives and reimagines them from a Caribbean diasporic perspective. Recent commissions and exhibitions include: Black Gold, (2023); Jerwood Staging Series 2022, Dancing a Peripheral Quadrille, (2022); An Exercise in Exorcism, Opening Night, JUMBIES, This Woman’s Work, Miraculous Noise, (2021). Instagram: @ashantisharda | Website
Kanika Leo
Rhea Lewis is a Jamaican – Irish/Scottish creative producer working interdisciplinary across dance, theatre & performance, collaborating with artists & communities to create ambitious productions, and space(s) for marginalised voices to be amplified in their own terms. Working in consultation & advocacy, Rhea contributes to decolonial & intersectional feminist change in the arts.
Tamzin McDonald is a Trinidadian Writer, Artist and Activist based in Scotland. She is also Co-Founder of Anti-Racism Education Scotland and Co-Admin of Women of Colour Support Scotland. Her work highlights and explores the Indo-Caribbean experience in the UK.
Zach McDonald
Jay Garfield Oliver is British born, Jamaican raised, Scottish based, a self-proclaimed humble polymath. His art, made from labels, packaging, found materials, stems from a fascination with layers, colour, texture, time, process, waste, the creation of order from chaos, the leftover and left behind, the othered, stereotyping, commercialism, sustainability and ‘the more humanity thinks it knows, the less it really does’ (Socrates).
Luke Samuels is Scottish and Jamaican with Nigerian roots. He has a wife from New Zealand and three children. Through curling coaching he would like to give the people of Scotland and Jamaica the opportunity to have more purpose, meaning and a sense of belonging through sport.
Carmen R Lewis Thomson is an animator raised in Edinburgh. She uses immediacy, playfulness and iterations to translate movement. Instagram: @carmens_art_world
Isaac Thomson is a young drummer and artist. Instagram: @eye_sak_original
Thank you to our partners Edinburgh Caribbean Association, ScottishBPOCWritersNetwork, and Museums and Galleries Edinburgh for space, resources and support, and the Scottish Government for funding this Windrush Generation Legacy program in Scotland. Special thanks to the team at the Museum of Edinburgh.
