Welcome to my world

The West Indian Front Room

This innovative exhibition explores the essence of homes created by post-WWII immigrants who have come from the Caribbean to Britain since the 1960s. The central focus of the show is an installation by writer and guest curator Michael McMillan which represents his vision of the traditional ‘West Indian’ front room, drawn from memories of his parents’ and relatives’ homes in the 1960s and 1970s.


Front Room, Brixton c1973. Photo by Neil Kenlock

Special attention has been given to the choices people made in furnishing their front room, the symbolism of particular objects and the links between objects and personal identity. Michael's evocation of a typical ‘West Indian’ front room includes a range of possessions popular in African-Caribbean homes at the time and which he believes had special resonance for their owners. His rich recollection of being a young boy in his parents’ front room describes some of these objects and evokes the textures, smells and sounds of that East London home:

For full details see www.geffrye-museum.org.uk
The exhibition runs from 18 October 2005 to 19 February 2006.

Science - inventors and innovators

During Black History Month the Science Museum, London, is presenting a range of fun events for schools and families, and a debate especially for adults, to celebrate the contribution to science and technology made by black scientists and inventors.

Our events take health as their core theme, to coincide with some newly updated displays in The Science and Art of Medicine gallery, and to celebrate the long medical traditions and contribution to health from black science.

“Eku gbadu” (Enjoy!)

This year, the Cheltenham Book Festival celebrates a central theme of Africa, showcasing both new and exciting writers as well as established and respected authors from around the world

“Africa is all over the news this year but many of the words heard and images seen, not least Bob Geldof’s Live-8 line-up, have only confirmed to me that the position that vast continent occupies in the British imagination has barely moved on in the past 20 years. My plan for Cheltenham ’05 was to put a bit more African nuance and depth on the table, as well, of course, as showcasing quality new writing. Journeys, both mental and physical, is the theme of our event with British-African diasporans Ekow Eshun, Bernadine Evaristo and Dee Jarrett Macaulay, and African heritage bubbles through the consciousnesses of the British protagonists of Orange New Writers’ winner Diana Evans and her fellow debut-novelists. We have a new Catch-22 style satire in the shape of Patrick Wilmot’s Seeing Double, and performance and discussions on the current health of African literature and Brit-African / black British theatre with a cast of luminaries. Oh, and did I mention the Cabaret? As they say, in my part of the old country, ‘Eku gbadu’ (Enjoy!).”