Deptford X and Migration Museum

‘Celebrating Community: Reflecting on the 2022 Deptford X Parade’, an exhibition and series of workshops delivered in partnership the Migration Museum.

Migration Museum, Lewisham Shopping Centre
21 January – 5 February 2023
Preview: 4 – 7pm, Friday 20 January 2023

‘Celebrating Community’ displayed costumes and photographs from the 2022 Deptford X Parade, ‘The Earth is a Beehive’ by Jelili Atiku. Atiku is a Nigerian artist and activist, who was commissioned to produce a processional performance for the final day of Deptford X Festival 2022. Atiku collaborated with children from Lewisham schools; Edmund Waller Primary School, Turnham Academy, Watergate School, as well as Woodpecker Youth Group, to produce a spectacular parade around Deptford that drew on the complex histories of the borough and its people while celebrating the rich heritages and collectivity that persist in the present day.

The exhibition was an opportunity to see a film and photographs of the parade; Atiku’s costume; and to discover more about the ideas behind Aitku’s work. It was a family-friendly exhibition that included collage workshops for children that celebrated what it means to live in Lewisham borough and be part of a diverse community.