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Africa Centre, London

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The Africa Centre, London was founded in 1964 at 38 King Street, Covent Garden, where over the years it held many art exhibitions, conferences, lectures, and a variety of cultural events, as well as housing a gallery, meeting halls, restaurant, bar and bookshop.[1] The Africa Centre closed its original venue in 2013, and now has a permanent home at 66 Great Suffolk Street, Southwark, south London. It is a registered charity.[2]

Africa Centre, London
Formation1964; 60 years ago (1964)
FounderMargaret Feeny
TypeCharity
Legal statusActive
Headquarters66 Great Suffolk Street, Southwark
Location
  • London, England
Websitewww.africacentre.org.uk

History

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The Africa Centre was opened in 1964 at a ceremony officiated by Kenneth Kaunda, the newly elected first president of Zambia, at the Grade II-listed 38 King Street.[3][4] The building, which had been a banana warehouse in the 18th century and subsequently an auction house,[5] was "given by the Catholic Church in perpetuity to the people of Africa in 1962".[6][7]

The idea for the centre was conceived in 1961 by Margaret Feeny, whose aim (as described by Lloyd Bradley) was "to foster non-governmental relations between newly independent African nations by bringing people together on neutral apolitical ground. It would also maintain informal cultural links between Britain and her former colonies, while offering a friendly meeting place for Africans living in London."[8]

Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to meet Thabo Mbeki at the bar, and described it as a home "to all who are Africans, and all those who have a care for the interests of the continent and its people".[4] In the words of Richard Dowden, "it became The Place for African presidents, freedom fighters, writers and artists to speak and debate. You could find everything African there, from Ghanaian food to fierce debates and fantastic parties. Sometimes all three at the same time on a Saturday night; a High Life or Congolese band playing to a crammed floor of dancers while below in the basement radicals and reactionaries sipped pepper soup and argued about evolutionary versus revolutionary change. During the week there were talks about art, African dance lessons, films and plays."[6] The Association for the Teaching of African and Caribbean Literature (ATCAL) was among the influential organisations that used the Africa Centre's facilities, holding its inaugural conference ("How to teach Caribbean and African literature in schools") there in 1979.[9]

In the 1970s and 1980s, political movements including the Anti-Apartheid Movement would also provide the backdrop for concerts at the centre. In October 1981, South African UK-based Angelique Rockas premiered a performance of the anti-junta, anti-fascist drama El Campo (The Camp) by Griselda Gambaro.[10]

The Centre has had a long association with music. In 1975, Wala Danga, a Zimbabwean promoter and sound engineer, organised his first club night there. As he told Lloyd Bradley: "The Africa Centre was unique... One of the first places that people from different African countries really used to mix, because for a lot of the African students it was like a home away from home."[8][11] Due to popular demand, Wala's club nights led to the birth of the "Limpopo Club" in 1983. The club, which ran for over two decades, would host numerous future icons such as Youssou N'Dour, Angélique Kidjo, and Salif Keita.[11] From 1985 to 1989, Jazzie B would bring his Soul II Soul sound system, which would acquire "legendary status".[11]Despite Wala's active participation and significant contributions, there does not appear to be any public acknowledgement by the Centre. He was one of the voices against the closure of the Covent Garden site[12] during the Save The Africa Centre campaign.Wala Danga died on 25 November 2022.[13]

The Centre held frequent exhibitions. Five Black Women in 1983, with Sonia Boyce, Claudette Johnson, Lubaina Himid, Houria Niati and Veronica Ryan,[14][15] was the first "widely respected" exhibition featuring black women artists.[16] In 2005, the London Art and Artists Guide described it as a "very lively arts centre" that held classes in dance, movement, and literature, and hosted meetings in the evenings; and The Calabash, London's first African restaurant,[17] was considered "well worth a visit".[18] The bookshop sold books published only in Africa, as well as "excellent handicrafts and sculpture".[19] A large mural by Malangatana Ngwenya that decorated the stairwell of the centre's original building in Covent Garden[20][21] has now been installed in The Africa Centre's new premises in Southwark.[22]

In August 2012, the building at King Street was sold to a property developer.[3][23] This was despite a concerted campaign to keep The Africa Centre at its original base. The campaign was supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Yinka Shonibare, Bonnie Greer, Sokari Douglas Camp among many other notable figures.[7][21][23][24] Following significant multi-million pound funding from the Mayor of London's Good Growth Fund[25] and the Arts Council England, The Africa Centre completed the refurbishment of its new premises on Great Suffolk Street in Southwark,[26] [27]in 2022.[28]

In 2018, Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp was appointed as director of the Africa Centre,[29][30][31] holding the position until a management restructure in 2020.[32] Led by Board Chair Oba Nsugbe, appointed in 2011, the charity's longest serving trustee,[33] the Centre operated without a Chief Executive until the appointment of Olu Alake in October 2023.[34]

The Africa Centre used to host a popular annual Summer Festival in Covent Garden on the Piazza, since 2013[35][36]and continued for a few years in Southwark. The last one was held in the summer 2018.[37]

A 60th anniversary programme was announced in March 2024.[38] In a public appeal in October 2024, the Centre announced that it was facing financial struggles.[39] This is also reflected in its public filing.[40]

Centre directors

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References

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  1. ^ Anthony Acheampong, "The Africa Centre in London", The Courier, n° 171, September–October 1998, pp. 76–77.
  2. ^ "Charity framework". Charity Commission. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Covent Garden's Africa Centre may become retail premises". BBC News. 24 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b Mark Brown (12 August 2011). "How London's Africa Centre could be saved | Art and design". The Guardian.
  5. ^ West Africa. West Africa Publishing Company, Limited. 1966. p. 1263.
  6. ^ a b Richard Dowden, "Saving the Africa Centre?", African Arguments, 13 June 2011.
  7. ^ a b William Wallis, "Battle for London's African heart", Financial Times, 15 July 2011.
  8. ^ a b Lloyd Bradley, Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital, Serpent's Tail, 2013, p. 160.
  9. ^ Lee Jasper, "The Africa Centre to be sold", OBV (Operation Black Vote), 3 June 2011.
  10. ^ "The Camp Context".
  11. ^ a b c Hanspeter Kuenzler (4 August 2016). "Music at the Africa Centre, London". Hanspeterkuenzler.com.
  12. ^ Joseph Adamson (1 February 2012). WALA , PROBABLY THE BEST AFRICAN MUSIC PROMOTER & DJ IN EUROPE. Retrieved 5 November 2024 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ Dangarembizi, Tanaka (12 March 2023). "Walton Dangarembizi obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Box 9 Contents – Press Releases 1983–89". Making Histories Visible. 3 March 2015.
  15. ^ Dana Arnold; David Peters Corbett (2016). A Companion to British Art: 1600 to the Present. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 305. ISBN 978-1405136297.
  16. ^ "Lubaina Himid MBE". Diaspora Artists. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  17. ^ a b Tom Craigmyle, "Margaret Mary Feeny, MBE", Bath, 18 January 2012.
  18. ^ Heather Waddell (November 2005). "National Centres and Institutes". London Art and Artists Guide. London Art and Artists Guide. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-9520004-6-4.
  19. ^ Kris DiLorenzo (April 1986). "Traveling Life – The Africa Centre". The Crisis. 93 (4). The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.: 8, 63. ISSN 0011-1422.
  20. ^ Jade Maloney, "Malangatana's Mural, The Africa Centre, London", jademaloney.com.
  21. ^ a b "African viewpoint: Death knell for African culture in UK?". BBC News | Africa. 15 June 2011.
  22. ^ Angela Cobbinah (16 June 2022). "The Africa Centre – home at last". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  23. ^ a b c d e "The blog of the Save The Africa Centre Campaign". Savetheafricacentre.wordpress.com. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  24. ^ Chipo Chung, "Africa Centre politics: microcosm of failed democracy", Open Democracy, 18 May 2011.
  25. ^ Says, John Davies (19 December 2018). "'Cultural beacon and natural home for the growing BME community' – Africa Centre awarded £1.6 million in fund". Southwark News. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  26. ^ Versi, Anver (25 May 2022). "London's iconic Africa Centre to reopen after £5.6m refurbishment". New African Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Africa Centre plans new home in Great Suffolk Street". London SE1. 15 June 2015.
  28. ^ African, New (2 July 2022). "London's Africa Centre reborn". New African Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE Appointed As Our New Director", Africa Centre.
  30. ^ Giverny Masso, "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp named director of the Africa Centre in London", The Stage, 10 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Kenneth Tharp Announced As New Director Of The Africa Centre" Archived 6 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Voice, 10 May 2018.
  32. ^ "Senior staff redundancies at the Africa Centre". ArtsProfessional. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  33. ^ "THE AFRICA CENTRE LIMITED - Charity 313510". prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Olu Alake to join The Africa Centre as its new CEO". The Africa Centre. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Still saving the Africa Centre", New African, 18 September 2013.
  36. ^ "The Africa Centre Summer Festival 2015". Africacentrefestival.com. 1 August 2015.
  37. ^ Haider, Arwa (21 August 2018). "Africa Centre summer festival review – street party gets its groove back". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  38. ^ "The Africa Centre announces programme for its 60th anniversary". The Africa Centre. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  39. ^ "Securing Our Legacy, Saving Our Future". The Africa Centre. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  40. ^ "AFRICA CENTRE LIMITED(THE) charges - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  41. ^ "Alastair Niven LVO OBE", Council for Education in the Commonwealth, 31 March 2016.
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51°30′11″N 0°06′06″W / 51.50298°N 0.10153°W / 51.50298; -0.10153

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