LEEDS BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise has announced a major exhibition showcasing the ground-breaking contribution of the Windrush Generation.

A limited number of guests were invited to a scaled down preview of the exhibition at Unity Business Centre in Chapeltown on Tuesday to mark Windrush Day 2021.

Delivered in partnership with Leeds Trinity University, ‘The Windrush Project’ exhibition features a series of video interviews with local Windrush reformers, together with a photographic display illustrating the growth and diversity of Leeds Windrush businesses and their positive impact on local communities.

The films were produced by Leeds Trinity’s final year journalism students under the guidance of the University’s Senior Professional Practice Fellow and Broadcast Journalism Programme Leader Katherine Blair.

The project is being supported by grant funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Windrush Day Grant Scheme.

Cedric Boston, Unity Interim Chief Executive, said: “Whilst it was disappointing not to be able to open our doors to the public on Windrush Day itself, it was a privilege to welcome a small number of guests who were so important in helping us put the exhibition together.

“We are immensely grateful to Katherine and her team at Leeds Trinity for producing the inspirational videos.

“Alongside the photographic display, they provide a truly fascinating insight into the life experiences of local Windrush Generation descendants who play such a critical role in everyday community and business life in Leeds.”

Cy Powell, a Unity Enterprise Board member who came to the UK from Jamaica in 1966 and features prominently in ‘The Windrush Project’ exhibition, said the pending opening of the exhibition was “fantastic.”

“Unity’s history and progress as a community-focused organisation with a strong social purpose is rooted in the Windrush Generation. I am proud that Unity has stepped forward to enable these stories to be told,” he added.  

“The people we spoke to had so much to say and it was fantastic being part of the team that put the project together.

“The stories we helped to tell are so important to Leeds as a city and it was a privilege to be asked to produce the show,” said Martha Sanders, Leeds Trinity MA Journalism student and producer of the series.

“I hope that people who visit the exhibition find the work impactful and that we have done the amazing interviewees justice.”

The exhibition will be open to the public between 10am and 3pm from 20 July until 15 December, subject to government guidance around COVID-19 restrictions eased.