Coalbrookdale Gallery
Wednesday 4 October-Sunday 5 November 2023
During October, for Black History Month, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has collaborated with Windrush Generation Telford & Wrekin to expand its free temporary exhibition The Daily Grind to tell the stories of Windrush Generation workers in Telford and the Gorge.
The exhibition The Daily Grind, which opened in April 2023, shines a spotlight on the lives of the industrial workforce of the Ironbridge Gorge from the 18th century until the early 20th century. Drawing on the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s extensive archive collections, including oral histories, diaries, and photographs, this exhibition tells the little-heard story of the workers, from bone washers and moulders to pit girls and painters, who powered the Industrial Revolution. It explores who they were, the work they did, the vital contributions they made to the Gorge’s world-changing history and the hardships they faced, as well as the important role that religion, hobbies and leisure pursuits played in their identity.
For Black History Month, IGMT has collaborated with Windrush Exhibition Telford & Wrekin to include the stories of local workers from the Windrush generation. Throughout October, a dedicated display has been added to the exhibition where visitors can discover the stories of individuals who arrived from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1971 and worked in Telford’s industries, in particular engineering, paving the way for future generations.
To coincide with the exhibition, on Thursday 26 October, from 5pm-7.30pm, IGMT will host a special evening event where members of the public can visit The Daily Grind, enjoy the expanded display of the Windrush Exhibition and meet the founding members of the project, while enjoying light refreshments. This event is a chance to see the exhibition as it goes into its final week of opening.
Lauren Collier, Head of Interpretation at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and curator of the exhibition, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Windrush Generation Telford & Wrekin on this new display for Black History Month. Since The Daily Grind opened in April, we have had lots of positive feedback from people who have already enjoyed learning about the lives of industrial workers in the Gorge. We are pleased to be able to broaden the story we are telling to include the little-told story of workers from the Black community in Telford and to highlight the contribution that individuals from the Windrush Generation have made to local industries.”
Diane Drummond at Windrush Exhibition Telford & Wrekin said: “This exhibition is a small fraction of our fuller exhibition which includes interviews and many more photographic images. We are a diverse and welcoming community and families arriving here from the Caribbean have made a rich and lasting contribution to our local community here in the Gorge and throughout the whole of Shropshire. It is important to keep their legacy alive for future generations and this exhibition will help us do that and celebrate this vital part of shared history and heritage. We hope our exhibition will resonate with all cultures and communities, after all we are all connected, wherever we are from.”
The exhibition is hosted in the Coalbrookdale Gallery, at the offices of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. It is open 11am-3pm Wednesday to Sunday from Wednesday 4 October until Sunday 22 October and seven days a week between Monday 23 October and Sunday 5 November, when the exhibition closes ahead of a new temporary exhibition opening in spring 2024. Entry is free.
For more information about this and other autumn events at Ironbridge Valley of Invention, visit www.ironbridge.org.uk. More information about the Windrush Exhibition about the Windrush generation in Telford and Wrekin can be found at https://www.windrushexhibitiontelford.co.uk/.