Windrush Seaside Memories exhibition ‘shows people what they have in common’

The summer-long exhibition also aims to counter a lack of visibility of black people spending time at coastal spots.

Anita McKenzie’s Seaside Memories exhibition at Folkestone Museum in Kent honours the legacy of the Windrush generation by showcasing the ‘widely un-acknowledged’ experiences of black communities enjoying the UK seaside (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

A summer-long exhibition has been honouring the legacy of the Windrush generation by showcasing the “widely unacknowledged” experiences of black communities enjoying the UK seaside.

Creative producer Anita McKenzie said the response to her Seaside Memories exhibition has been “overwhelmingly positive” after she collected nostalgic photographs of African and Caribbean people at the beach in the 1950s to 1970 for the Windrush 75 anniversary.

The 25 donated snapshots, with captions reminiscing about early seaside experiences, are on display at Folkestone Museum, in the heart of the Kent port town, in a bid to also show people what they have in common.

Ms McKenzie said: “Everyone can relate to the title, but when they come to the museum they will be under no illusion it’s about African and Caribbean memories… (it’s) to get communities to think about experiences they have in common.”

The 65-year-old curator’s work also aims to counter a “lack of provision for people of colour” in Folkestone and challenges the lack of visibility of black people spending time by the coast.

Ms McKenzie recalled some feedback from one mother who said her daughter had asked if they could move to London because at school “I don’t see anyone who looks like me”.

And after the family had visited the exhibition and saw black children on the wall she was “elated”.

Ms McKenzie said: “It reinforces the reasons for doing it in the first place.

“It goes out and touches people in ways you can’t know beforehand.”

Of wider feedback in the town, she said: “Some of the responses in Folkestone have been phenomenal, have been beautiful.

“I do feel really touched and grateful and I’m looking forward to doing more.”

From the depiction of different types of visits, from school coach trips to families driving down to the coast, Ms McKenzie said food was a central theme that came up, whether it was “candy floss or rice and peas, it’s part of the experience”.

For Ms McKenzie, a Windrush descendant, she remembers trips to Margate from London with her siblings and cousins, and playing with starfish.

On the importance of the seaside, she said: “My mum was a very proud Indian Jamaican. For me it’s about honouring the legacy of our ancestors.

“The sea is a really important thing in that it brought, for me, my African and Indian ancestors from their respective countries to Jamaica and from Jamaica to here.

“(I have) total respect for everything they coped with and the legacy they left for us.”

The exhibition continues to run until the end of August. Find out more at https://folkestonemuseum.co.uk/whats-on/seaside-memories/