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			{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2024}}
	{{POV}}
			{{Short description\|Self-managed social centre in london}}
			The '''London Action Resource Centre''' (LARC) is an ] ] and ] situated in ], in the ] of ]. Previously a school and a synagogue, it was purchased in 1999. It hosts meetings and events from various groups and is part of the ].

			==History==
	The '''London Action Resource Centre''' (LARC) is a "collectively run building providing space and resources for people and groups working on self-organised, non-hierarchical projects for radical social change".<ref></ref> The building is situated in ], in the ] of ], and was formerly a ] and at one time housed the ] ].
			The building was constructed 1866–7 as a mission house and infants’ school, keeping this usage until around 1918.<ref>{{cite web \| url=https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/survey-of-london/tag/london-action-resource-centre/ \| title=Two curiosities on the London Hospital estate in Whitechapel \| accessdate=3 September 2018 \| archive-date=18 July 2018 \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718105401/http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/survey-of-london/tag/london-action-resource-centre/ \| url-status=live }}</ref> It then housed the ] International Modern School, organised by Jewish anarchists. It also hosted the New Worker's Friend (]) Club and the East London Anarchist Group. It was then converted into a ] in 1925.<ref>{{cite web \| url=https://libcom.org/history/62-fieldgate-street-yesterday-today-tomorrow-mark-kauri \| title=62 Fieldgate Street: yesterday, today and tomorrow \| accessdate=3 September 2018 \| archive-date=3 September 2018 \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903215136/https://libcom.org/history/62-fieldgate-street-yesterday-today-tomorrow-mark-kauri \| url-status=live }}</ref> After World War II, the building was used in the ] before falling into dereliction.

			LARC was purchased in the autumn of 1999 by people active in ], just after the ] which occurred on 18 June 1999. It was rebuilt over three years.<ref>{{cite journal \| url =https://socialcentrestories.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/london-action-resource-centre/ \| title =London Action Resource Centre \| journal =What's This Place? Stories from Radical Social Centres in the UK and Ireland \| publisher =LARC \| date =2008 \| access-date =7 November 2015 \| archive-date =4 March 2016 \| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160304211843/https://socialcentrestories.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/london-action-resource-centre/ \| url-status =live }}</ref> '']'' described it in 2005 as "a hub of the new anarchist movement."<ref>{{Citation \| last =Sebestyen \| first =Anna \| title =Tony Mahoney \| newspaper =Guardian \| pages = \| date =19 November 2005 \| url =https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/19/guardianobituaries.gayrights \| accessdate =7 November 2015 \| archive-date =5 March 2016 \| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160305034345/http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/19/guardianobituaries.gayrights \| url-status =live }}</ref>
	==Function of LARC==

	The London Action Resource Centre supports individuals and groups taking ] on social and ] issues, or enagaging in other radical projects. Groups using the space include the London sections of ], ] and ]. It also functions as an info-point for '']''.

			It has been used for events and as a meeting place by various groups, including the Radical Librarians Collective, ] and ] in London.<ref name="CiO" /><ref name="QB">{{cite book \|last1 = Quinn \|first1=Katherine \|last2 = Bates \|first2 = Jo \| chapter = Everyday activism: Challenging neoliberalism for radical library workers in English higher education \|editor-last1=Lyn \|editor-first1=Tett \|editor-last2=Mary \|editor-first2=Hamilton \|title=Resisting Neoliberalism in Education: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives \|date=28 August 2019 \|publisher=Policy Press \|location=Bristol \|isbn=978-1-4473-5006-4 \|page=123 \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnSqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123 \|language=en}}</ref> It was originally known as the ''Fieldgate Action Resource Centre''. LARC is part of the ], alongside other projects which were set up around the same time, like the ] in Brighton and the ] in Nottingham, and also the ] in Bradford.<ref name="CiO">{{cite book\| editor-last1 =Katzeff \|editor-last2=Steen \|editor-last3=Hoogenhuijze \| title = The City Is Ours: Squatting and Autonomous Movements in Europe from the 1970s to the Present \| publisher =PM Press \| date =2014 \| location =\| pages =167 \| isbn =978-1-60486-683-4}}</ref><ref name="Chatt">{{cite journal \|last1=Chatterton \|first1=Paul \|title="Give up Activism" and Change the World in Unknown Ways: Or, Learning to Walk with Others on Uncommon Ground \|journal=Antipode \|date=March 2006 \|volume=38 \|issue=2 \|pages=259–281 \|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8330.2006.00579.x\|bibcode=2006Antip..38..259C }}</ref> On its own website, the project states it is "a cooperatively owned and run building dedicated to the furthering of social justice and environmental issues, locally, nationally and globally. We believe this is done through direct action, refusing to be a spectator or waiting for someone else to do it for us. It is about taking back power and realising our potential to bring about change. This is an anti-capitalist, non-hierarchical space."<ref>{{cite web \| url =http://larcwhitechapel.wix.com/larc#!about_us/csgz \| title =About Us \| publisher =LARC \| access-date =7 November 2015 \| archive-date =14 December 2015 \| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20151214080900/http://larcwhitechapel.wix.com/larc#!about_us/csgz \| url-status =live }}</ref>
	The resources of the building include office space, computer and internet facilities, a roof garden and a radical library. The space is used for meetings, talks, yoga, self-defence, film screenings, womenzone, kids days, and banner/prop making for a variety of autonomous actions.

			In April 2022, the LARC was raided by the ] during protests by ].<ref>{{cite news\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/14/just-stop-oil-protesters-scale-fuel-tanker-to-block-m4-access-in-west-london\|title= Just Stop Oil protesters scale fuel tanker in west London to block M4 access \|date=14 April 2022\|website=The Guardian}}</ref>
	LARC is open to visit every Wednesday 1pm til 6pm, Thursday 4 til 9pm, and Sunday afternoon from 2pm til 5pm.

			==See also==
	The address of LARC is 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 1ES.
			* ]

			* ]
	== History of the project ==

	LARC was purchased in the autumn of 1999 by a group of people who had been involved in direct action throughout the Nineties as part of the anti-roads movement, ] or the ] which occurred June 18th 1999. The library was run on the principles of the ] between June 18, 2003 and December 2004. Events which have occurred at LARC since January 2003 are listed on the group's website <ref></ref>

	== History of the building ==

	On Sunday 6th March 1921 the last of the English International Modern Schools opened at (62) Fieldgate Street. There was still a small group of Jewish anarchists living in London who had been associated with the Workers Friend Group, Louise Michel's International Modern School and the anarchist commune at Marsh House during the war. Some of these people, C.B Warwick, Helena Applebaum, A. Gilbert, E. Michaels and H. and E. Samuels formed themselves into a group known as the Free Educational Group and announced in Freedom in February 1921 that they were looking for teachers.

	By June 1921, having started with 30 children, there were over 100 at the school, and there was an average weekly attendance of 85. The school declared it's aim "to combat the anti-social environment of capitalist education as operating through the state schools and the religious institutions, and to bring up the child in the spitit of freedom". The school intended to entertain "such subjects that may develop the young mind towards the love of nature, beauty. self-expression and social outlook and activity." Further, the method was to attempt to "interest and instruct without the use of domination."
	<ref>Shotton J. (1993) ''No Master High or Low - Libertarian Education and Schooling 1890-1990'' Libertarian Education 095139973X</ref>

	The Fieldgate Street School continued until 1928, when it was forced to close because of a shortage of funds and difficulty in finding teachers.

	==References==		==References==
			; Notes
	<references/>
			{{reflist}}
			; Bibliography
			* {{Cite news\|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/d9c4d5b1-2146-42b9-8857-e80db1480dea \|work=] \|date=19 November 2003 \|title=How I infiltrated hard core of the protest movement \|first=Laura \|last=Peek}}
			* {{cite news\|title=...And Their Headquarters \|work=] \|date=1 May 2003 \|last=Sawer \|first=Patrick \|last2=Akwagyiram \|first2=Alexis }}

	==~~See~~ ~~also~~==		==External links==
			*
	* ]
		⚫	* (historical interest, not updated)
	* ]
		⚫	*

			{{coord\|51.5170\|-0.0640\|type:landmark_region:GB-TWH\|display=title}}
			{{UK far left}}
			{{Anarchism}}
			{{Infoshops}}
			{{Authority control}}
			{{Use British English\|date=November 2024}}

	==External links==
	*
⚫	* (historical interest, not updated)
⚫	*

	]		]
	]		]
			]
			]
			]

Latest revision as of 01:05, 12 November 2024

Self-managed social centre in london

The London Action Resource Centre (LARC) is an anarchist infoshop and self-managed social centre situated in Whitechapel, in the East End of London. Previously a school and a synagogue, it was purchased in 1999. It hosts meetings and events from various groups and is part of the UK Social Centre Network.

History

The building was constructed 1866–7 as a mission house and infants’ school, keeping this usage until around 1918. It then housed the Louise Michel International Modern School, organised by Jewish anarchists. It also hosted the New Worker's Friend (Arbeter Fraynd) Club and the East London Anarchist Group. It was then converted into a synagogue in 1925. After World War II, the building was used in the rag trade before falling into dereliction.

LARC was purchased in the autumn of 1999 by people active in Reclaim the Streets, just after the Carnival against Capitalism which occurred on 18 June 1999. It was rebuilt over three years. The Guardian described it in 2005 as "a hub of the new anarchist movement."

It has been used for events and as a meeting place by various groups, including the Radical Librarians Collective, Queeruption and Indymedia in London. It was originally known as the Fieldgate Action Resource Centre. LARC is part of the UK Social Centre Network, alongside other projects which were set up around the same time, like the Cowley Club in Brighton and the Sumac Centre in Nottingham, and also the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford. On its own website, the project states it is "a cooperatively owned and run building dedicated to the furthering of social justice and environmental issues, locally, nationally and globally. We believe this is done through direct action, refusing to be a spectator or waiting for someone else to do it for us. It is about taking back power and realising our potential to bring about change. This is an anti-capitalist, non-hierarchical space."

Latest revision as of 01:05, 12 November 2024

History

See also

References

External links