Windrush artwork

On 22 June 2020, the Council announced Thomas J Price and Veronica Ryan as the winning artists to be commissioned to create two new individual public artworks celebrating and honouring Hackney’s Windrush Generation, the first permanent public sculptures to do so in the UK.

Veronica Ryan’s series of large marble and bronze sculptures, representing Caribbean fruit and vegetables – inspired by her childhood visits to Ridley Road Market – will be placed by St. Augustine’s Tower in October 2021 to mark Black History Season.

Thomas J Price’s artwork will follow in June 2022 and be placed in Hackney Town Hall Square. Using photo archives from Hackney Museum, Hackney Archives, and 3D scans of Hackney Windrush residents and descendents, Thomas will create a large scale bronze sculpture, a physical representation of individual people from the African Caribbean diaspora.

The works will serve as a permanent expression of solidarity with the Windrush Generation, a recognition of the hugely significant contribution they have made to life in Hackney and the UK, and will symbolise the ongoing commitment from the borough to provide refuge and welcome to worldwide migrants.

The artworks are commissioned by Hackney Council and produced and curated by Create London. The Hackney Windrush Art Commission is made possible with Art Fund support, with additional funding from the Henry Moore Foundation.

The announcement follows the Council’s decision to launch Review, Rename, Reclaim which reviews the role of statues and the naming of landmarks, street names, parks and other public spaces to ensure they best reflect Hackney’s diversity and history of fighting racism.