History

The history of the Africa Centre is, like most histories, one of dynamism and change. But it is also unique in that it is intrinsically linked to the wider history of the African continent and its Diaspora.

In recounting the past of the Centre, we are inevitably recounting the exciting and turbulent years of the last Independence struggles; the ensuing political disenchantment and the forced exile of dissident African thinkers and intellectuals; and the more recent years of the development experience -which have coincided with the emergence of a new generation of Africans in Britain. All of these processes the Centre has explored and discussed, always involving Africans in Britain and pioneering fruitful debate.

Since its inception in 1961, the Africa Centre’s remit has been to bring Africa’s cultural diversity to the fore and to promote greater awareness about political and socio-economic developments affecting the continent and its Diaspora.

Over the years, leading African artists, writers, academics, politicians, and musicians have met in the Centre, been a source of inspiration to one another, and shared their visions of Africa with varied audiences, helping to nurture cross-cultural understanding and dialogue in the U.K and abroad.

The Africa Centre has been developing over the past few years, and had a well advanced scheme for the building in King Street by the end of 2008; the film made by Wrench and Franks shows what would have been achieved had the global recession not hit, making fundraising impossible. Click here to see the film.