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Spotlight: April - May 2002
Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre
The Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community
Centre, based in Chippenham Mews, Paddington, is London's leading and longest
established black arts centre. Its mission, since its inception in 1974, has
been to support and develop cultural, artistic and educational events and study
programmes which reflect the history and heritage of the area's diverse population,
not only for the benefit of local residents, but also to promote and raise awareness
about the range of African and Caribbean heritage arts on a regional, national
and international scale.
The aims of Yaa are:
- "To offer programmes of
quality in drama, writing, singing, music, carnival and other art disciplines
specifically relevant to our communities' future development
- To promote, present and encourage
combined arts and arts education in all its culturally diverse forms
- To play an active role in the
development of the local community and increase awareness of black and minority
ethnic cultural and artistic traditions
- To support work that challenges
discriminatory practices and negative stereotyping of black and minority ethnic
communities by integrating such codes of conduct into the above
- To strengthen the financial basis
of Yaa by increasing the number, publicity and quality of its revenue generating
activities that are not solely based on local and national government aid
- To continue as a Centre of Excellence
and Regeneration within Paddington."
Founded in 1974 as a community centre
for the work of the Maryland Neighbourhood Residents Association the Centre,
known locally as 'The Factory', became a meeting place for local artists, writers,
musicians, carnival participants and community organisations; specifically Caribbean
peoples of mainly Dominican, St Lucian and Montserrratian descent but also people
of Portuguese and Irish origin with a long history of residence in the Paddington
area.
An initial meeting with Yaa's director,
Shabaka Thompson, provided a detailed overview of the Centre's achievements
to-date: including information on its history as a meeting place and performance
venue for organisations such as the Association of British Calypsonians, Talawa
Theatre Company, Nitro (formerly the Black Theatre Co-operative), Cultural Exchange
Through Theatre in Education (CETTIE) and Jazz Warriors, its involvement in
the development of carnival arts programmes for the local community, the creation
of the Yaa Asantewaa Mas Band (regular performers at the Notting Hill Carnival),
arts education workshops for Westminster schools, Black History Month educational
programmes, and the development of a permanent exhibition space for displaying
the work of local artists.
The list of individual writers, musicians
and performance artists who have regularly used the Centre as a practice venue
and/or performance space over the years is quite exceptional and includes famous
names such as the comedian and broadcaster Richard Blackwood, the writer Caryl
Philips, the actress Carmen Munroe, jazz saxophonist and composer Courtney Pine,
and the comedienne Gina Yashere. Other internationally famous people who have
visited the Centre for specific performances and events include Maya Angelou,
Queen Mother Moore and Louise Bennett ('Miss Lou').
The Centre became officially known
as the Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre in 1986, taking its name from
Nana (Queen Mother) Yaa Asantewaa of the Asante people of Ghana (c.1850-1921).
In the spirit and character of Yaa Asantewaa, a freedom fighter who led an heroic
struggle against British colonial oppression to maintain the identity and ancient
cultural heritage of the Asante at the turn of the 20th century, the Centre's
ethos and vision is based on a steely determination to promote and celebrate
black and minority ethnic cultural heritage through artistic, community-based
and education-related initiatives.
With regard to archives, Yaa has
already begun the process of collating all the publicity materials used to advertise
and promote its various events and activities since the 1970s. A small, but
significant collection of photographs, videos, news articles and sound recordings
exists to illustrate aspects of the Centre's performing arts history, and there
are also printed materials covering the administrative history of the organisation:
including minutes of meetings held by the Centre's Management Committee and
Carnival Sub-Committee, Yaa's annual reports and funding applications and correspondence
files relating to the Centre's arts and community outreach work.
In addition to regular funding from
London Arts, the City of Westminster and the Stone Ashdown Charitable Trust,
grants confirmed in 2001 from the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB5) and the
Arts Council Capital Lottery Fund have enabled Yaa to commence work on an ambitious,
new building programme. Plans are underway to create a new Centre which, by
2007, will comprise new auditoria and practice rooms for arts performances,
a gallery, an ICT suite for after-school educational projects and various meeting
rooms for affiliated community organisations. Yaa have set aside space for a
visitor's centre and archive room to display and facilitate access to its collections
on the history of African and Caribbean heritage arts. Between now and then
it is hoped that, with the help of volunteers and training support from within
the archives sector, records cataloguing the content, type and extent of Yaa's
archival materials will be available in printed and electronic formats.
To find out more about the work of
Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre, please visit their web site at http://www.yaaasant.demon.co.uk/.,
or contact the Administrator c/o:
Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre
1 Chippenham Mews, Chippenham Road, London W9.2AN
Tel: 0207-286-1656
Fax: 0207-266-0377
Email: yaasant@btclick.com
The CASBAH project is in the process
of summarising information about one of Yaa's archival collections, namely material
on the Association of British Calypsonians, and aim to include this in CASBAH's
online database by the end of April 2002.
Report by: Carol Dixon
CASBAH Project Officer
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