The Black Cultural Archives (BCA), an educational charity based in south London since 1981, will lease Raleigh Hall, a four-storey building in Brixton, from Lambeth council. It is estimated that the derelict listed building will cost £5m to refurbish and extend.
The BCA has a collection of documents and materials relating to the presence of African and Caribbean people in the UK. The archive includes an oral history archive and a photographic collection dating from the 15th century to the present. It also holds paintings and artefacts such as the Benin Bronzes, although most are replicas.
Sharon Burton, the acting chairwoman of the BCA, said: ‘Raleigh Hall will stand as a living monument to the black presence at the heart of the capital of black Britain. We are trying to make black history and culture a mainstream experience for all. It’s history for everybody.’
Burton said the primary audience is expected to be black people living in or visiting Britain, but she said: ‘In our experience at the BCA, there is interest from the white community, both in Britain and abroad.’
The fundraising project will now get underway in earnest. Burton said it hoped a substantial part of the £5m would come from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). There are also plans to negotiate a small grant from Lambeth council.
The building will include permanent and temporary exhibition space, an educational workshop suite, a reading room, wet rooms and seminar rooms. The initial projection of 20,000 visitors annually is under review. The launch date is 2009.
Entry to the centre will be free, but a charge will be made for some temporary exhibitions, education facilities and the use of seminar rooms. Burton said the BCA is working towards financial independence. ‘We are not looking for the heritage centre to be forever dependent on organisations like the HLF.’
She added: ‘We are mindful that in the heritage sector, there are large numbers of organisations chasing similar pots of money. But we think we have a fairly unique initiative that is not being done on this scale or with this focus.’
She said it was this uniqueness, along with hitting national priorities such as regional development and social inclusion, which would attract public sector funding.
But a spokesman at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the chances of revenue funding for a new organisation, even with a strong case, were ‘very slim indeed’. He said the plan is to reduce the funding portfolio rather than to expand it.
Forging partnerships with museums is another strand of the BCA’s work. Burton said the BCA has had informal discussions with the British Museum and the Horniman Museum about the possibility of borrowing the original Benin Bronzes and other items.
And the BCA would act as a gateway to museums and archives by providing online access to other collections relevant to African and Caribbean history.
‘We are filling a niche in the market that is not effectively filled by [existing museums] and because of their broad remit they are unlikely to do so,’ she said.
Felicity Heywood
The BCA has a collection of documents and materials relating to the presence of African and Caribbean people in the UK. The archive includes an oral history archive and a photographic collection dating from the 15th century to the present. It also holds paintings and artefacts such as the Benin Bronzes, although most are replicas.
Sharon Burton, the acting chairwoman of the BCA, said: ‘Raleigh Hall will stand as a living monument to the black presence at the heart of the capital of black Britain. We are trying to make black history and culture a mainstream experience for all. It’s history for everybody.’
Burton said the primary audience is expected to be black people living in or visiting Britain, but she said: ‘In our experience at the BCA, there is interest from the white community, both in Britain and abroad.’
The fundraising project will now get underway in earnest. Burton said it hoped a substantial part of the £5m would come from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). There are also plans to negotiate a small grant from Lambeth council.
The building will include permanent and temporary exhibition space, an educational workshop suite, a reading room, wet rooms and seminar rooms. The initial projection of 20,000 visitors annually is under review. The launch date is 2009.
Entry to the centre will be free, but a charge will be made for some temporary exhibitions, education facilities and the use of seminar rooms. Burton said the BCA is working towards financial independence. ‘We are not looking for the heritage centre to be forever dependent on organisations like the HLF.’
She added: ‘We are mindful that in the heritage sector, there are large numbers of organisations chasing similar pots of money. But we think we have a fairly unique initiative that is not being done on this scale or with this focus.’
She said it was this uniqueness, along with hitting national priorities such as regional development and social inclusion, which would attract public sector funding.
But a spokesman at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the chances of revenue funding for a new organisation, even with a strong case, were ‘very slim indeed’. He said the plan is to reduce the funding portfolio rather than to expand it.
Forging partnerships with museums is another strand of the BCA’s work. Burton said the BCA has had informal discussions with the British Museum and the Horniman Museum about the possibility of borrowing the original Benin Bronzes and other items.
And the BCA would act as a gateway to museums and archives by providing online access to other collections relevant to African and Caribbean history.
‘We are filling a niche in the market that is not effectively filled by [existing museums] and because of their broad remit they are unlikely to do so,’ she said.
Felicity Heywood
