| Activity | According to Arnold Wesker, 'One of the most influential arts movements of the 1960s was CENTRE 42 ...of which I was elected Artistic Director. Its birth lay in the passing of an extraordinary T.U.C. resolution in 1960 calling for an enquiry into the state of the arts. The resolution was number 42 on the agenda. In response to it a number of writers, theatre directors and others involved in the arts said to the Trade Union Movement if you are interested in the arts we will set up an arts organisation of which you can take advantage for your members. CENTRE 42 was born in 1961with the aim of finding a popular audience for the arts, NOT an audience for popular art as was its frequently mistaken description.' (www.arnoldwesker.com)
One of the first initiatives following the setting up of Centre 42 was a series of six arts festivals staged in conjunction with the Trades Councils' recruitment weeks in 1961-1962. The festivals included art, ballet, poetry, song, and two multi-media shows, 'The Maker and the Tool, written by Charles Parker, and 'The Lonesome Train'.
In 1964, Louis Mintz gave the remaining 16 year lease of the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London as a base for Centre 42. It stayed there until 1983, when it closed due to a lack of funds. |