STORIES and art chronicling inspiring individuals of the Windrush generation were seen and heard for the first time by some elders since the exhibition launched in Colchester.

More than 50 elders and their families from Essex and the Hibiscus African Caribbean Elders Association in East London congregated to view the multimedia installation by black British artist Everton Wright.

Identities and Stories: Caribbean Takeaway Takeover is an immersive experience which covers the walls and tables at the S&S Caribbean Cafe in Colchester, showing past and present photographs, memories and documents of participants' individual stories.

This includes former Brightlingsea resident, Nell Green, who came from Jamaica to England in 1962 to train as a nurse, and Lenore Sykes, a trained nurse and midwife from Trinidad.

Both speak on their career experiences with the NHS for audio interviews as part of the exhibition, which is especially poignant given its 70th birthday this week.

"The installation has created an opportunity for people to immerse themselves and find out about this generation of people, and ask questions which many felt they were unable to do before," Everton said.

"With the recent Windrush deportation scandal our community needs not just healing but the general public need to learn more about these Windrush pioneers, and what this generation and their children mean to British society."

The elders luncheon was held at the Caribbean restaurant in St John Street where the exhibition is being shown until July 22.

Visitors are being encouraged to fill out passport postcards with their own migration stories to post on a memory wall, adding to the specially-made archive and website.

Extracts of the ten audio recordings, which include the first black woman to work in the Stock Exchange and a promising Olympian, will be held on the projects website here.

Full-length audio will be available to the public at the Essex Record Office once the project ends.

READ MORE: WINDRUSH 70TH ANNIVERSARY MARKED WITH ART AND AUDIO STORIES