Agenda item

This report provides an update on work that is in progress in response to the priorities set by the Cultural Compact reflective of the commitment in the borough’s cultural strategy to explore the feasibility of having a Black history hub to celebrate the heritage and contributions of Black communities within the Borough.

Val Birchall, Assistant Director, Culture Tourism and Sport introduced the item which provided an update on the work in progress on the community collecting and engagement project being co-produced with residents to generate black history content for exhibition, conservation and education purposes.

Daniel Waller, Libraries and Archives Service Manager provided a presentation which covered the following points:

• Information explaining how the Black History Project would be implemented.
• Details on the interactive family history event held at West London College.
• The Wendell Park Primary interactive workshop, the outcomes and how this made the students feel.
• Information on the Island Records Blue Plaque celebration.
• Information on The Black History Month Launch event held in Lyric Square.
• Details of the Windrush 75^th Anniversary celebrations held in Shepherd’s Bush Green and at Riverside Studios.
• The Phase 1 – activities currently under way in Fulham and plans for the Phase 2 And 3 Activities of the Community Collecting and Engagement work planned for Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith, taking place between October 2025 and October 2026.
• in the intention for a celebratory culmination event and the creation of a resource for the whole community.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang commented he was pleased with the work which had been conducted and cited it as a good example of co-production. He highlighted that he had attended several Black History events which had been excellent. He referred to Bob Marley who recorded in the borough and the Mercury Prize Winner, Arlo Parks who came from Hammersmith and Fulham which illustrated there was a rich history of culture within the borough. He echoed the Chair in thanking Councillor Sharon Holder for her work in the area and the need to continue it and develop it further. He asked where some of the Black History collections might be placed, so that the artefacts became a permanent resource for the London community, as well as for people from further afield. In response, Val Birchall explained the current thinking was that some elements of the collection would be exhibited in local communities as this would be a way of building an understanding of what had been happening there. In the longer term, it was hoped there would be an exhibition of materials which might take place in a library or the new civic campus. Currently, officers are working with local communities to try and establish the most appropriate location for materials, depending on what the content was. Councillor Adam Peter Lang agreed that using the civic campus for some of the materials was a good idea.

Councillor Chevoppe-Verdier agreed that the civic campus would be used but he also wished to ensure that the materials were available to residents across the borough. So, the use of roving collections was a possibility. The Authority also remained mindful of the cost implications of hosting a collection in the long term.

Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris thanked officers for the report and noted the progress which had been made. She noted that a major player in the borough, rich in histories, had not been involved and that was the BBC. In response, Daniel Waller confirmed the Council contacted the BBC when the Cultural Compact was being established but officers had not fully explored BBC participation and officers would follow up this suggestion. Val Birchall highlighted that Riverside Studios had the Black Theatre Archive which was another important resource to incorporate into the project.

Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris commented the Council had some artefacts in the archives at Fulham Palace. She asked if these were going to be included, where the Council held them. In response, Daniel Waller confirmed that existing collections from the Council and Fulham Palace would be used and incorporated.

In terms of the location of the collection, Councillor Amanada Lloyd-Harris understood there were leanings to potentially house this in the north of the borough. She felt it was important the collection was located centrally so everyone had access to it, and it was not difficult to view. In response, Val Birchall confirmed that a final destination for the collection had not been agreed, but the intention was for all residents to be able to access it.

Councillor Ashok Patel commented that the definition of black in paragraph 5 of the report, was a wider picture than simply the Windrush Generation and so he felt that officers needed to look at this further. And in relation to the Working Group, whether this was reflected in this definition and if there was full participation as far as diversity was concerned within the Working Group. In response, Val Birchall confirmed that the Working Group was constituted before the community had an opportunity to consider what the term black meant and how they wished to define it, and it was acknowledged that there needed to be a wider representation on the Working Group as a result. In relation to the Windrush aspect, Val Birchall explained that currently with the Fulham phase of the project, the aim was to focus on the larger population groups in that area. However, there was scope to look at pockets or particular communities that were more prevalent as the project progressed.

The Chair, Councillor Vaughan commented there was a trove of evidence being discovered and several events were being put on. In terms of the timing of the project, he asked whether there would be an overlap between the Fulham phase and Black History month in October. Daniel Waller confirmed that the timing of events and activities had been discussed by the Steering Group, and it was making plans to ensure connections were made with different people locally.

The Chair asked how the cultural thread would be taken forwards, such as The Bush Theatre, which was a large supporter and promoter of black culture (and a considerable amount of new writing was supported there), the Blue plaques celebrating Fanny Eaton the first black supermodel and whether the play that was written about this and shown at the Sands Ends Arts and Community Centre in Fulham could be reshown during Black History month. The Chair also mentioned Island Records and Peckings Records in Askew Road and asked if some of this local scene could be explored.

The Chair also asked what publicity and support officers had for the events and whether they had considered the intergenerational aspects of the events. In response, Daniel Waller confirmed the play concerning Fanny Eaton had been successfully shown at Sands End Community Arts Centre, Riverside Studios and the borough’s three main libraries (which meant it was seen by a new audience of persons that were not theatre goers) and this would be reshown. In relation to the music element, Daniel Waller confirmed that the Cultural Team had been working on this aspect and Emma Jerrard in the Events Team was looking to draw on the rich musical heritage into future events. In relation to publicity, as the Council was working with partners such as Fulham Palace, it was a case of using their publicity channels in conjunction with the Council’s. And with regards to the intergenerational element, Daniel Waller confirmed that as part of the Steering Group, the Council had good contacts with schools, Nubian Life and the Libraries and Archives Service also had a Heritage Officer who also had a strong list of contacts. Looking ahead to the conclusion of the project in 12 months’ time, Daniel Waller stated that it required a significant amount of development if it was going to encompass all the resources in the borough and it would be a huge project.

Concluding the item, the Chair explained there was a wealth of interesting events on the horizon to develop the project further, and the committee would welcome a further update in due course. Reiterating some of the discussions, the project needed to be brought to local communities, the BBC needed to be consulted and engaged, and no final destination had been agreed for the collection. Further points included the need for wider representation on the Team bringing the Project forward. It was also important that the thread of music, theatre and Black culture was pulled together as had played an important part in the life of the borough, as well as capturing and documenting memories from previous large-scale events, such as the Windrush event.

RESOLVED

1. That the Committee review and comment on the report.