A Windrush exhibition in south London aimed at honouring the history, legacy, and contributions of the Windrush Generation to British society has been vandalised.
Portraits featured in the Windrush Untold Stories exhibition, currently installed in Windrush Square in Brixton, were damaged on Thursday.
Friends of Windrush Square said the “deliberate vandalism” was “not only an attack on public art, but a blatant act of racial hatred directed at a community that has given so much to the life and spirit of the UK”.
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.
The exhibition features 20 portraits and first-hand accounts of those who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean between the late 1940s and 1970s.
Friends of Windrush Square said the vandalism had caused “considerable distress” to local residents, artists, volunteers, and project partners, “many of whom are directly connected to the Windrush legacy”.
Ros Griffiths, chair of Friends of Windrush Square, said: “This is a deeply upsetting and shocking act of racial disrespect.
“Windrush Untold Stories was created to celebrate the contributions and resilience of the Windrush Generation, whose story is central to the fabric of British life.
“That it should be targeted in such a hateful way is a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges we face in building an inclusive and respectful society.”