Caribbean artists and their work

When Caribbean immigrants settled in 1950’s Britain, they brought their tropical music, languages and styles to the hostile motherland.

Jamaican-born photographer, Neil Kenlock was determined to photograph, in his words, the ‘strength and determination’ of the Black community. By documenting demonstrations, families, cane-rows and Rastafarian culture, he used his photography to combat stereotypes.

Look at the woman in this picture. Despite the financial hardship and racism of her times, she proudly sits in her front room. She wears a smart, tailored dress with coordinating accessories and immaculate make-up. Her hair is in its coiled, natural state: a symbol of defiant self-respect.

Within the photograph we can see a shining television, brimming cabinet, thriving plant collection and clashing, swirling prints of the carpet, wallpaper and curtains. Portraits featuring current fashions and symbols of status were often sent back home for relatives to admire.

Artist Michael McMillan has also depicted front rooms within his work. Here he describes specific trends of Caribbean décor:

Growing up in our front room caused m

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Caribbean art

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The Caribbean Artists You Should Know

The first wave of mass Caribbean migration into Britain began when the passenger liner, HMT Empire Windrush, arrived at Tilbury Docks in 1948 with approximately 800 West Indians aboard, and hence the Windrush Generation was born. Amongst them were a number of aspiring artists, setting into motion the events that would lead to the formation of The Caribbean Artists Movement.

Recent political independence would be the catalyst for many artists seeking to reinvent themselves and promote their own cultures by venturing abroad in search of new skills and audiences for their work. In a London flat on the 19^th of December 1966, a small informal meeting was held by Edward Kamau Brathwaite, which would be the beginning of CAM (Caribbean Artists Movement). Brathwaite was a Barbadian-born historian poet who had recently arrived in Britain. Although he was aware of other Caribbean artists, he found it almost impossible to get in contact with them. Together with broadcaster academic Andrew Salkey, and the political and cultural activist John La Rose, they set out to create a forum, which would allow anyone interested in Caribbean Arts to meet in order to share ideas and interests.

^{Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) Guyanese, 'Arawak'}

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