Windrush 2025
2025 saw the biggest Windrush Day yet, complete with two Windrush markets, an honorary reception for our elders and a Windrush Day showcase from Hackney Empire called ‘The Blessing: The Power of Community’.
Residents at the Windrush Day Town Hall Square party.
Windrush Amplified Art Grant
Following the launch of the Windrush Amplified Art Grant in 2024, this year Jazz Grant was commissioned to produce a brand new piece of work inspired by her Windrush roots. This year’s Amplified Art Grant partnered with the V&A East Storehouse who offered Jazz a three day micro-residency via their ‘Look What I Found"‘ scheme. Here she explored items in their vast archive to inform her collage-style practice. The result are on display at the V&A East Storehouse alongside her chosen artifacts. Watch this space for where you can see the artwork in the new Hackney Central Library when it reopens in January 2026.
Artist Jazz Grant reveals her artwork at her ‘Show and Tell’ at the V&A East Storehouse - Oct 4 2025.
BRAFA 40th Anniversary of ‘Let’s Make Africa Green Again
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of 'Let's Make Africa Green Again' - a song that went on to become 'Hackney's answer to Live Aid' in 1985 - we set Rising Ride - Hackney-based music charity, a challenge to reimagine the song for a new generation. The original song was written and recorded in 1985 by the British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal (BRAFA).
Spearheaded by Leon Leiffer of the Blackstones, the song united UK reggae artists like Janet Kay, Awsad, and Dennis Brown with local schoolchildren and raised thousands of pounds for the Ethiopian famine.
In 2025, Rising Tide CEO Jermain Jackman worked with Leon Leiffer to bring together 30 intergenerational participants who learned about the history of the song and reproduced new versions to be performed at both the Hackney Town Hall and The Hackney Empire's The Blessing Event. See how they got on!
Ridley Road Windrush Market
Ridley Road market got involved in the celebrations by hosting their first Windrush market on Sunday 27 June. The market has long hosted traders from the Windrush generation and is the number one spot for the most authentic, best-value, foods from Africa and the Caribbean. Residents were treated to a lively drumming workshop and performance from One Drum Foundation, Caribbean food and drink, steel pan performances and free fun fair rides for the kids. Visit the gallery below for the beautiful images taken by Future Hackney.