UKCCA

Raising the status of carnival arts

Ten years ago virtually no one could have imagined that one of the most under funded and under valued art forms could spark a cultural regeneration renaissance.

No one could have predicted how a world wide heritage of traditional creativity and celebration would galvanise multiple partners and join one of the most disparate and diverse communities in the UK, culminating in a landmark £7.3 million, state of the art building serving multiple audiences.

But one organisation had the vision and the drive to make it happen…

Luton Carnival Arts Development Trust (LCADT), was established in 1998 to add value and extend the activities of the Luton International Carnival. Since that time, this vision has been much enhanced and extended, successfully positioning the UK Centre for Carnival Arts as a national organisation and leading agency for carnival in all its guises.

UKCCA works from a strategic to grass roots level complementing and supporting agendas for neighbourhood renewal and regeneration, tourism development, arts in education, business development and community cohesion.

We facilitate: 

  • Business Development and inward investment – through the Centre’s developing business advisory scheme, incubation programme and street market facility
     
  • Developing employable skills - encouraging people to take part in work experience and practical workshops as a way of building confidence, self esteem and pathways to higher education and employment
     
  • Innovative educational programmes that raise educational indices at key stages right up to national degree level
     
  • Crime diversionary work tackling anti social behaviour and channelling disaffection through creative enterprise, workshops and international development work
     
  • Complementing town wide and regional regeneration through the creation and support of an ever growing carnival community
     
  • Environmental sustainability achieved by incorporating hi tech materials and designs into external and internal fabric of the building design and creative outputs
     
  • Sustainable resources disseminating best practice, event management and support, seminars, conferences and workshops that will advance peoples understanding of carnival and its related sectors ensuring that projects can be self sufficient
     
  • Promoting Luton International Carnival as one of the best carnivals in the UK, positioning Luton as a creative and cultural capital and increasing tourism
     
  • Developing the National Carnival Archive “Carnival Essence". Carnival Essence explores the role of carnival in Luton and the broader national and international significance of this powerful cultural and political force. The project documents and celebrates the roots of carnival and the diversity of the Luton Carnival over the last 30 years, through newspaper cuttings, oral histories, a specially commissioned film and a collection of carnival materials form flyers and photos to sketches and t-shirts.

The UK Centre for Carnival Arts will officially launch in a Carnival Spectacular on the 2nd May 2009. Carnivals and communities across the UK will take part in this must attend event and the expertise of carnivalists around the world will be called on to make sure that carnival reigns supreme!

We will have 40,000 site visits per year and engage:

  • 150,000 carnival spectators
  • 6,000 performance attenders
  • 2,000 carnival participants
  • 2,000 community project participants
  • 1,500 school pupils
  • 1,000 course attendees
  • 500 conference visitors
  • 500 archive users
  • 40 carnival businesses
  • 25 other carnivals

To watch a video of what the centre will look like inside please visit:
http://www.youtube.com/carnivalarts