Over 2,600 local primary school children have Hackney Museum since October, taking part in interactive workshops to explore the borough’s African and Caribbean heritage.

This year’s Black History exhibition, ‘Roots, Rhythms and Records: The Sounds and Stories of African & Caribbean Music in Hackney’, looks at how, as early as 1873, Black musicians have been influencing the cultural scene in Hackney.

The children, aged from five to eleven, learnt about musicians with connections to Hackney, like Lovers Rock singer Louisa Mark and British hip-hop artist Overlord X. Older children had the chance to work with singer and rapper Donna Powell, aka Bad Lay-Dee, who gave them tips to produce and perform their own raps and songs. She said: “I taught hundreds of children how to sing and rap! But most importantly, the workshops focused on bringing out the best in young people and showing them how they can use music to increase their confidence.”