To mark the 100th anniversary of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium a new hard-hitting project has been awarded £250,000 funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
‘Becoming Brent’ is a series of related events, each exploring the impact of the British Empire in Brent, Britain’s colonial past and the harsh realities and ugliness of racism.
Wembley Park and the world-famous Wembley Stadium were built to host the British Empire Exhibition and welcomed 27 million visitors during 1924 and 1925.
The Exhibition was designed to showcase Britain’s dominance and success as a major power. We must acknowledge that much of this economic prosperity and success is built on the exploitation of peoples across Africa, the Caribbean, Ireland, and Asia. The British Empire encoded class and racial hierarchies still often experienced in Britain’s diverse communities today.
Residents will get the opportunity to review the materials and take part in a series of workshops, resulting in a creative community-led exhibition, an art installation and walking tours to illustrate local people’s thoughts and feelings about the past and how it resonates today.
Brent Museum and Archives will be running a series of workshops on the following dates.
Friday 6 September 11am – 2pm
Saturday 7 September 11am – 2pm
The grant will go towards digitising the collections held by Brent Museum and Archives making it easier for current and future generations to explore the texts, videos, images, and other materials that paint a bittersweet picture of how Brent has developed over the past hundred years.
