The enigma of arrival: the politics and poetics of Caribbean migration to Britain

When the HMT Empire Windrush docked in the Port of Tilbury, outside London, in June 1948, it carried one of the largest groups of West Indian migrants to the United Kingdom, and its journey has become an iconic symbol of Caribbean post-war migration to Britain. The impact of West Indian migration was transformational for British society, touching all aspects of life, including work, culture, politics and sport. The design for the Virtual museum of Caribbean migration and memory (VMCMM) began in 2017 as part of the EU-LAC Museums Horizons 2020 project. The virtual museum was paired with a complementary physical exhibition, 'The enigma of arrival: the politics and poetics of Caribbean migration to Britain', designed by the Barbados Museum & Historical Society and The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus. The exhibition travelled to key locations on main Caribbean migration routes, as well as prominent final ports of call, in order to encompass the totality of the migration experience, obtain stories from those affected, and show connections with modern immigration topics. It was created and first installed in Barbados Museum and Historical Society in 2019. The panels were edited down through SFC SARRF funding, for the St Andrews iteration displayed in St Salvator's Quad.