Caribbean Voices: Shaping Docklands trail

Download the trail guide to help find your way around.

Amber Ogunsanya-Williams

Amber, hailing from Tower Hamlets with roots in Anguilla, St Lucia and Nigeria, is an award-winning inclusive play specialist. Recognised as an NSPCC Champion of Childhood, she drives positive change through innovative, purpose-driven solutions and global collaborations. A trailblazer in inclusive playwork, Amber transforms organisational cultures, fosters resilience and creativity and is celebrated for her impactful play parties and conferences.

Deanna Melvina Michel-de Sousa

Born and raised in Tower Hamlets and of St Lucian heritage, Deanna is the owner of Nzinga Dance Company. Nzinga Dance present performing and visual arts, with a remit of preserving Caribbean history and culture and bringing this to life via the arts. Deanna is also DJ Melvina Moves, an open-format multigenre DJ crafting retro and world music sets.

Amanda Hansavathy

Amanda Hansavathy, a multidisciplinary artist from London Docklands, has been exploring her Indo-Saint Lucian heritage for over 20 years. Currently pursuing a master’s in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art, she works with mediums like sculpture, oils, watercolors, photography, textiles and moving images. Her article 'Indian Arrival Day', published in The Dodo, honours Indian indentureship history and the arrival of Indians to the wider subcontinent. Amanda also created a collective mandala featuring over 300 family surnames connected to this heritage.

Kevin Stuart

Kevin Stuart runs the organisation Taking Shape. He spent his early years in Bethnal Green, which proved to be significant for him and his family as they experienced the changes in the area first-hand. This forms part of his story of being a young, British boy of West Indian heritage living in Tower Hamlets.

Hear the real, lived experiences of Caribbean Londoners who served in the Second World War: Connie, Hector and Sam.

Caribbean culture has shaped the fabric of London Docklands and Tower Hamlets for centuries, yet there's still more work to be done to reveal the extent of its impact. Why not share your story with us?

London’s East End has been home to people of African Caribbean origin since at least the 16th century. Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives holds records of this heritage, which can be explored using their introductory user guide.

You can also find out more about Communities of Liberation, a historical research and public art project aiming to increase awareness of the history of African presence in Tower Hamlets, by identifying the places, spaces and networks in which they lived, worked or socialised during the British Trade in Enslaved Africans.