Liberation begins in the Imagination

- Blurb -

Today, around a million British people are of Caribbean descent,reflecting a history of post-war migration that essentially begins andends with the Nationality Act of 1948 and the Immigration Act of 1972- the so-called Windrush Generation. For many, London in particularwas where the cultural archipelago of the Caribbean came togetherfor the first time - communication and travel between the islandsbeing difficult. This British-Caribbean connection gave rise to a diverse,complex and exciting wealth of Black cultural forms. At one end ofthe spectrum, British-Caribbean art is abstract, symbolist and at timescosmological; at the other it is socially realist, with many other positionsin between or off that spectrum. Where art is engaged with changesin society, it evokes a community' s struggle to forge an identity andlivelihood for itself in an environment that often proved hostile. Otherworks evoke deeper historical experiences, in particular the traumaticafter-images of plantation slavery and its legacy in culture and society. This comprehensive volume brings together key writings on theinterrelationship of Britain and the English-speaking Caribbean nations,focussing specifically on the art of the Caribbean diaspora in Britainfrom the 1920s to today. Combining classic writings with some newlycommissionedcontributions, it explores intersecting areas of Black-British cultural production and reflects the diversity of the Black-Britishexperience. With contributions from a range of scholars, Liberationthrough Imagination is an invaluable sourcebook for those interested inthe rich and diverse field of postcolonial British-Caribbean art.