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The London Action Resource Centre (LARC) claims to be a "collectively run building providing space and resources for people and groups working on self-organised, non-hierarchical projects for radical social change".. Originally called the Fieldgate Action Resource Centre, a company limited by guarantee, No. 03836099 was set up with this name. In 1999 the building became the property of this company which is now known as the London Action Resource Centre Ltd.. However this asset does not appear in any of the accounts filed by the organisation at Companies House. The building is situated in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, and was formerly a synagogue and at one time housed the Louise Michel International Modern School.
Function of LARC
The London Action Resource Centre claims to support individuals and groups taking direct action on social and ecological issues, or enagaging in other radical projects. Groups using the space include the London sections of Queeruption, Indymedia and Rising Tide UK. It also functions as an info-point for Peoples Global Action.
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.
LARC is open to visit every Wednesday 1pm til 6pm, Thursday 4 til 9pm, and Sunday afternoon from 2pm til 5pm.
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 the Reclaim the Streets faction centred around Mark Brown just after their success in the Carnival against Capitalism which occurred June 18th 1999.
The library was setup to run on the principles of the Antisystemic Library on June 18, 2003. A split in the User Group over institutional racism and the inclusion of fascist groups in the Peoples' Global Action which LARC is one of the main organisers, lead to the expulsion of the no platform group West Essex Zapatista at the December 2004 AGM of the company. This lead to the expulsion of the Voice Refugee Forum and eventually the relocation of the antisystemic library. Many of the books were retained by the LARC library.
Events which have occurred at LARC since January 2003 are listed on the group's website
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."
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
- Mission statement taken from LARC website
- Company House Records
- B Proprietorship Registry No. NGL59400 available from The Land Registry
- List of events held at centre since January 2003
- Shotton J. (1993) No Master High or Low - Libertarian Education and Schooling 1890-1990 Libertarian Education 095139973X
See also
External links
- LARC website
- London RTS website (historical interest, not updated)
- Louise Michel International Modern School