Social Centres round up

network | 18.05.2005 14:33 | Free Spaces | London

Ok, rampART in London is celebrating it's first birthday next weekend (21st May) and they will be having a bit of a party with band and stuff. They also intend to do some kind of presentation and show films about various social centres around Europe. So, how about we get together something of a round up of the current social centre projects in the UK. Leave comments here listing those you know of or write up something about the ones you are involved in or frequent often.

Here's a list of London spaces that I know of...

Insititue of Autonomy
rampART
St Georges Theater / Circle Community
Ragged School / Loaf
LARC (bought bulding)
Freedom autonomy club (does that count?)
Area Ten
491 Gallery
The 192

Some of them are arguably not social centre but it's difficult to define.

So please add to the list and write a bit about any that you know something about.

network

Comments

Hide the following 16 comments

Another london space

18.05.2005 16:49

Don't know if this counts as a social centre but if you included Area 10, 491 and 192 then there is also Unity Works in Hackney Wick which has been around for a couple of years I think. Doesn't seem to fit into the 'activist scheme' but nether-the-less. It runs a organic food co-op and puts on hippy type musics events - magic hat money mostly but fixed price stuff also.

Up North

18.05.2005 21:18

Up in Nottingham there is the fab Sumac Centre which is not squatted but purchased with money raised by the sale of thousands of veggie burgers.

http://www.veggies.org.uk/sumac/

"The Sumac Centre provides resources and a meeting place for local groups and individuals campaigning for human and animal rights, the environment, peace and co-operation world-wide.

Established in the mid 1980s as the Rainbow Centre, Sumac works independently of, but in co-operation with, other groups both locally and nationally.

We receive no regular funding, but exist through the hard work of many people, all of whom are volunteers."

jamie

More, further north

19.05.2005 10:35

Up in Bradford you've got the anarchist social centre '1 in 12 Club'.
Not squatted, the place has been around for 20 years.

http://www.1in12.com

Leeds has a strong history of social centres with A-spire coming and going for years and more recently Maelstorm. Now there is 'The Common Place'
a large social centre in the centre of town. Cafe, gig venue, art space, library, meeting room, creche, health room, games room, bookshop, internet access, food co-op, film nights, chill-out space etc.

http://www.thecommonplace.org.uk

george

Down south

19.05.2005 11:16

In Brighton there is the Cowley Club, another purchased building collectively run as a libertarian social centre. It houses a cafe and bookshop during the day, a private members bar during the evenings, and is a base for a variety of other projects.

Their website is www.cowleyclub.org.uk

emmily

Definition

19.05.2005 11:29

Area 10 listed by the orginal poster is clearly not a social centre by any reasonable definition - it is in their own words 'a colabrative arts space'. see

http://interoperable.org.uk/area10/Xoops206/html/modules/xfsection/article.php?articleid=14

The inclusion of Area 10, 142 and the 491 begs the question, what exactly is a social centre?

Gumboot

in the South West

19.05.2005 12:45

Bristol has the Kebele Kulture Projekt, based in Easton, Bristol.

It's been running for over ten years providing a space for the development of radical community politics and international solidarity.

Kebele means ‘community place’ in Ahmaric, an Ethiopian language. The term is used to refer to the community groups in Ethiopia which organise around issues and needs like justice, education, community decisions, health, etc.

The Rastafarians who took part in the revolution in Grenada in 1979 also used the term ‘Kebele’ to refer to the community centres in each neighbourhood where – at least in theory – the revolution was based. The revolution in Grenada was defeated in 1983 when the USA invaded this tiny island.

The website is www.kebele.org I think.

Doug

Ragged School

19.05.2005 12:59

At the Ragged School, Hales St, Deptford, London SE8.

is a new project that Use Your Loaf is invovled with including squatters from Pepys and (ex?) Open Arts Platform (previous group using the space) plus other assorted wonderful folk. The devolopers are allowing us the use of the building until the builders need to start work (their planning application has just been knocked back, so it could be quite some time). The building is managed by a (at present a loose) collective. The collective meeting are on Thusdays at 7pm so come along and get invovled. There is plenty of room for projects to happen and exhibtion space as well.

Centre 13, Bham

19.05.2005 14:41

There is Centre 13 in Birmingham, a squat at 4-4A School Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13, not sure what has happened to it because I have only visited it once about three months ago, but a friend of mine is/was invloved in it. Haven't seen much on Indymedia or enrager/libcom about it, in comparision to the former Nursery centre which was also in Brum.

Tom A

c13

19.05.2005 17:00

Centre 13 was a squatted space which was evicted on May 4th, allegedly because of 'complaints', but really because the owners had an anti-squat agenda and want to sell the building for development. Many of the locals were pleased the building had some life put back into it, particularly those who had used it before it was abandoned, when it was a community centre focussed on the youth and the elderly.

The squat wasn't really a 'social centre' in that it wasn't run particularly collectively, and there were issues about ensuring the space was safe. It was mainly used to exhibit the work of a local artist, show a few films and a few parties. It was very 'anarcho-capitalist'.

stinkbomb

anarcho capitalists

19.05.2005 22:50

There seems to be a lot of anarcho capitalist behavior in squat projects. It's quite common for squats to charge a fee or take a cut for events put on by 'outsiders'. It's also pretty normal to find stella at two quid a can.

stu

56a INFOSHOP LONDON: ANOTHER SOCIAL CENTRE

20.05.2005 11:42

14 years old this June, the 56a INFOSHOP in Walworth South London welcomes all to check out our haven of books, records and cds, shirts, socks, coffee, archive, food co-op, bike space and squatters advice and hanging out. We were squatted from 1991 - 1993 but now we operate under conditions of tenancy. We are still pretty much the same though.Keeping on doing what we do.
In June 2005, we are putting on a Festival of Mapping..all details here: www.mdx.org.uk/mapfestival.html

For our place:
www.56a.org.uk
See you down there...
56a Comrades...*-)

@
x

Anakee Mentales-Luun
Homepage: http://www.56a.org.uk

Other London spaces

20.05.2005 18:56

There is also Suttongrad, which while not a open social centre as such as it is people homes, it does have a weekly cafe/film night and hosts occasional benefit gigs.

Apparently there is also something called the Eton Mission Social Club in Hackney Wick but I've never meet anyone thats been there and I read some controversy about the place being a rip-off 'fiver in, two for a beer' alternative capitalist squat gig venue rather than a social centre of any kind. But enrager list the place so it can't be that bad?

Rob

clarification

22.05.2005 14:30

To just clear up a bit of confusion people had, Centre13 and The Nursery
Social Centre in Birmingham, were two different projects run by two different groups
of people, and both with two different agendas. Centre13 has apparently now been evicted, and we handed the Nursery building over to the RITE project back in Feb (

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/03/306375.html)

''There seems to be a lot of anarcho capitalist behavior in squat projects. It's quite common for squats to charge a fee or take a cut for events put on by 'outsiders'. It's also pretty normal to find stella at two quid a can.''

Only speaking from personal experience, it takes a lot of effort time and money
to run a social centre. No one gets paid but things have to be paid for (leccie, water, food/drink to stock the cafe, prop, court charges ect ect)The cafe we ran at the Nursery
was donation based, so that helped restock the cafe ready for people to use.
But as an aside to that we ran a couple of really good partys, where people donated a bit
of cash towards the space. All the money collected was put back into the project, not into our pockets.

http://stuffit.org/nursery/ - Nursery Website

http://lists.riseup.net/www/subrequest/scbrum - Public mailing list for anyone
interested in getting involved in any future projects

love and rage

Kidda

Brum social centres

22.05.2005 21:14

Any idea when there will be any new social centres being set up in Brum? The Nursery was very good, it's a shame that I was only able to visit it twice.

Tom A

The Ragged School Loaf is Toast

23.05.2005 19:01

The Use Your Loaf, have now pulled out of the Ragged School Collective. This of course means no more Friday night cafes. Over the last month there has been a lot of conflict and confusion within the Ragged School collective and between the household (itself beset with divisions) there has also been various thefts including two break-ins into our booze cupboard, the last happening late Sat night. It is clear that at least one member of the household had been present at both times ( we don't know who for sure or if they were actively invovled) and that the household as a group are unwilling to take responsibility ( despite some individuals being responsible when there). We no longer feel we can be invovled in a space where so little respect and trust is present.

The Ragged School Collective will continue (now meeting on 7pm Tuesdays) and we wish then luck (the're gonna need it) hopefully they will overcome these difficulties.

Watch this space for future developments.

yours for the collective
Jason & John

loaf

New! Birmingham Cre8 Social Centre

08.06.2005 15:58

>>>>>
In response to this Tom, you're in luck! Brum G8 Dissent group have a Social Centre open in Digbeth..it's very recent, more info will be posted on the list soon..Many of the same members from the Nursery collective will be there..

phone:07904 529362
email:

brumg8dissent@riseup.net
or www.stuffit.org/brumcre8

It's called Cre8 and it will be run as a Magic Hat Cafe from 12 - 3pm, this is for definite on the 2 weekends coming (10th - 19th June), then possibly during the week and after..........
The other main function of it is an infostall to highlight the G8 summit and how it affects us here in Birmingham and globally..
We will also be doing some impromptu workshops, having live music and films and basically try to do summit about 'it all'
Lots of help wanted, day and night - get in touch :)

22.05.2005 22:14
Any idea when there will be any new social centres being set up in Brum? The Nursery was very good, it's a shame that I was only able to visit it twice.

Tom A

feral yen