The Garrett Centre Commission

Background and context

LADA has been based in the East End since it was established in 1999. After five years in The White Building in Hackney Wick, we moved into a former Unitarian mission The Garrett Centre, Mansford Street, Bethnal Green in September 2017 to begin a new chapter in our history. The Mansford Street mission began as a centre for social action in the late 19th century. Founded by Unitarians — a bit like Quakers and also committed to working for liberal causes — the building has been a hub for working with local communities and has recently relaunched as The Garrett Centre, intending to host arts, ethical and community focused groups and social action projects. It has housed Simple Gifts, a community project working collaboratively with local people, for the past five years and is now welcoming LADA as part of a new outreach phase of the building’s life. The Garrett Centre shares many of LADA’s values and concerns around issues of equality, feminism, displacement, study and research. LADA and The Garrett Centre look forward to a positive future working together.

Our new space will strengthen LADA’s position as a Centre for Live Art — a knowledge and research centre, a production centre for programmes and publications, and an online centre for digital experimentation, representation and dissemination.

We will continue to host individual and groups in our Study Room, but with increased space, we will also host expanded public programmes, regular LADA Screens events, Thinkers in Residence schemes, our first physical Unbound shop, and a new ‘desk space’ scheme for Live Art Producers, curators, researchers and artists. Our new location also offers opportunities for more local engagement with individuals, communities and neighbourhood organisations.