THE ICA PROJECT

REVISITING THE CARIBBEAN CLUB THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY, CONVERSATION AND PERSONAL ARCHIVES

16 - 24 NOVEMBER 2024

Tony Powlett by John Ferguson (2024), commissioned by SPILL Festival

The Ipswich Caribbean Association building (ICA) on Woodbridge Road had been a community centre and social club since the early 1970s, hosting fitness and martial arts classes, dominoes clubs, dance nights, elders’ luncheon clubs, and much more. It served traditional Caribbean cuisine, was the home of the Suffolk Samba Band, and provided supplementary school education to children and young people.

The ICA Project revisits the building (which was demolished in 2012) through specially commissioned photography, newly collected oral histories, and archival materials made public for the first time. These elements all come together in an exhibition at the SPILL Think Tank that uncovers and explores the significant cultural and social impact of the ICA; its history, its programmes, and its importance to the many people and groups which used its services and facilities.

The ICA Project gathers and preserves memories of the past while asking us to recognise the ongoing impact of its absence.

Visit www.ICAmemories.co.uk to explore more texts, images, audio and video related to the Caribbean Club’s history.

EXPLORE THE ICA PROJECT

  • SAT 16 - SUN 24 NOV 2024, 10:30 - 16:00
    SPILL THINK TANK, IPSWICH, IP1 3QH

    This group of specially commissioned portraits by renowned local photographer John Ferguson capture the faces and stories of those for whom the Ipswich Caribbean Centre meant something special.

    Shown alongside John’s photographs are a series of rarely seen archival materials including posters, photographs and home videos that document the life and times of the building through the eyes of the people who attended and contributed to its activities.

    FREE ENTRY

  • SAT 16 NOV, 12:00 - 16:00
    SPILL THINK TANK, IPSWICH, IP1 3QH

    Join our family friendly drop-in zine making session where you can make small books inspired by the images in the ICA Memories exhibition. How can we use the memories and images on display to imagine what a Caribbean Club of the future would look like?

    You will be supplied with everything you need to get creative, but you can bring your own images to work with too.

    FREE DROP-IN
    Suitable for ages 5+
    Children must be accompanied by an adult

  • A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN FERGUSON + TONY POWLETT

    THU 21 NOV, 19:30 (doors 19:00)
    SPILL THINK TANK, IPSWICH, IP1 3QH

    Join photographer John Ferguson, creator of the ICA Memories photographic commission, and Tony Powlett, an avid documenter of the Caribbean Club, in conversation with SPILL Artistic Director Robin Deacon. Together, they will share their knowledge and recollections of the ICA’s activities and communities, and their respective experiences documenting its vibrant history.

    TICKETS £5
    ONLINE BOOKING HERE

  • As part of The ICA Project, SPILL’s Artistic Director Robin Deacon has interviewed many of those who helped shaped the Caribbean Club’s events and activities alongside those who fondly remember them.

    Clips from these audio interviews can be accessed within the ICA Memories exhibition or listened to in full on the www.ICAmemories.co.uk project website, launching in November.

    The oral histories will be preserved for long-term public access and enjoyment by archivists at Suffolk Archives in Ipswich and the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton.

OPEN YOUR ARCHIVE, TELL US YOUR STORY

If you have memories or stories from the Caribbean Club’s history, including photographs or video which you would like to share with us, we would be delighted to hear from you. We will continue to record new oral histories and expand The ICA Project into 2025.

Please call 01473 216545 or send an email to robin@spillfestival.com for more details.

Images courtesy of Tony Powlett

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

One of the most significant projects of the 2023 SPILL Festival was Olivier Grossetête’s Monumental Constructions where we built a 16m tall replica of Ipswich’s historic Wolsey Gate (and an imagined college building around it) completely out of cardboard boxes and tape. When we asked the people of Ipswich for their suggestions for the building to be constructed, the large number of responses citing the ICA building told us that this was a much missed building which deserved a project which would not only highlight its great history, but the great loss borne by the communities who used it.

THANKS

SPILL sincerely thanks the voices who have contributed to the oral histories as well as those who featured in John Ferguson’s photographic project.

We would like to thank our project steering group who provided invaluable input over the course of The ICA Project: Chris Cumberbatch, Franstine Jones, Imani Sorhaindo and Marcus Harris-Noble.

Thanks also to Deborah Carr, Stephen Carr, Helen Dawson, Pen Foreman, John Ferguson, Margaret Holder, David Loney, Brian Powlett, Bryony Rudkin, Emily Shepperson, Max Thomas of the Ipswich Windrush Society, and Clem Turner of the Caribbean and African Community Health Support Forum for their help and guidance.

Special thanks to Tony Powlett, Elijah Turay, Skippa J, Supa Marky and YT for their generous archival donations.

We are delighted to be working with Suffolk Archives and the Black Cultural Archives to bring the story of the ICA to a wider public.

The Ipswich Caribbean Association project is being funded by the Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust and by Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grant programme, celebrating working class histories.

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