Thursday 30 November 2006


Chats Palace



If you think you are a creative person & are looking for like-minded people to bounce ideas off of – then look no further than Chats Palace.

All you have to do – is hop on the S2 bus at the end of Berkshire /Wallis Road – and it’ll take you straight there.

Chats Palace is a community arts centre in Hackney in the east end of London. They have occupied and developed the striking former Homerton Library building since the mid-1970s, and have been a registered charity since 1981.

The Centre currently comprises a flexible performance space (capacity 96 seated or 250 standing), a bar area which is also used for informal performances, a rehearsal studio, a meeting / study room and a workshop, as well as office space. The ground floor (main hall and bar) has full level access, but there is unfortunately no wheelchair access upstairs.

The Centre hosts over 200 performances a year in various disciplines including music, cabaret, theatre and dance. Thier performance programme blends professional companies with local talent and self-generated events, including performances by Chats’s Youth Live! performance groups, outreach projects, workshop participants, and the Carnival Club, which brings out a MAS Band for the Notting Hill Carnival every year.

Chats Palace also develops arts-based programmes and events with, for and by people old and young from a range of different ethnic, cultural and geographical communities in the Borough of Hackney and its immediate surrounds.

Hackney is the second poorest borough in the UK with one of the most diverse populations. Chats is also situated within the Homerton / Hackney Wick area, a densely populated inner city zone with three priority housing estates and many of the indicators of social exclusion. The Centre is funded by Hackney Council for work with children and young people, and by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund for outreach work within the Hackney Wick communities.

Chats has a longstanding reputation combining excellence and inclusivity, as a "Beacon of Light" to the surrounding community. Where there is such diversity alongside severe poverty and deprivation the need for creative expression and assisting people to make their voices heard and communicate their message is paramount.

Please, PLEASE, PLLEEEZZZZZZ go & have a cuppa in their café & have a look around – there is something for everyone there!

Check out:
http://www.chatspalace.com/index.php

1 comment:

Leabank Square said...

Hi Everyone

Chats Palace has just had a HUGE chunk of it's arts funding cut by the government.

Please visit the website - or better still - go to Chats - and see what you can do to help them.

It's SOOOO worth it!!

Sóna