image: Original dancers Vanessa Vince-Pang and Prentice Whitlow © Richard Moran Photography
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded funding to celebrate the fourth national Windrush Day.
Building on the success of previous years, 35 projects across England have been awarded a share of £500,000 from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
This year’s projects focus on bringing communities together – across different ages and ethnic backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate their local area about the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants across the country.
NSCD will receive £12,000, enabling a restaging of sections of the award-winning production Windrush: Movement of the People by NSCD Principal & CEO Sharon Watson MBE, first conceived for Phoenix Dance Theatre and last seen in 2018 as part of the 70 years celebrations of the Windrush generation. To mark Windrush day on 22 June 2022, free performances will take place at The Southbank Centre in London. Future performances are planned for Leeds venues, sharing this staged narrative with people in the region who supported its creation and the wider community.
Communities Minister Kemi Badenoch said:
“The legacy of the Windrush generation means so much to so many.
“As a first-generation immigrant myself, I understand personally how important it is to highlight how much we welcome and celebrate the contributions made by those who choose to make Britain home.
“Thanks to our funding, events will take place that help us to remember the leading role the Windrush Generation and their descendants have played in making Britain stronger, culturally richer and more inclusive.”
Chair of the Windrush Community Funds and Windrush Schemes group Paulette Simpson CBE said:
“I am delighted that we have been able to fund 35 excellent projects from across the country for the fourth annual National Windrush Day on June 22nd to celebrate the outstanding contributions that the Windrush Generation and their descendants have made, and continue to make, to British Society.
“This year we are encouraging new, innovative proposals to share the Windrush story and reach out to people in diverse local communities. In doing so, we can ensure projects will impact history, education and celebration in a meaningful way.”
CEO & Principal of NSCD, Sharon Watson MBE said:
“To be celebrating Windrush Day in this way and to be showcasing a work like this again is truly an amazing opportunity, and we are very thankful to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for these funds. Timely when it was first created, 'Windrush: Movement of the People' still resonates today. In spite of the challenges we have faced and continue to face as a community, we also have something to celebrate.”
To access the full list of projects being awarded funding, visit: gov.uk/guidance/2022-windrush-day-grant-scheme-projects-to-be-funded
