Good morning
Today I would like to share a short piece written by one of my wonderful volunteers about the ARKA Teatr visit to Barking in August.
In the middle of August Jasmine Street took on the role of curator in partnership with Arc Theatre
for a visit to Barking and Dagenham of Poland’s ARKA TEATR following their successful visit to the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
ARKA’s 4-day performance of The Ball at Stephen Hawkings at the Malthouse Theatre in the Icehouse Quarter in Barking was very well received. It is clear that the Icehouse Quarter, situated alongside the Roding River on (wait for it) Abbey Road (!) is a hidden gem, simply waiting to be discovered.
It’s Terrace Café on the banks of the river was a focal ‘community meeting place’ for ARKA’s ensemble, volunteers and visitors who knew what was going on and simply wished to join in. And all of this happening right in the heart of community, alongside terraced houses, apartment blocks and local businesses.
There was a wonderful snapshot of the Terrace Café’s potential when one of the actors picked up a guitar one lunchtime and proceeded to strum a Tracy Chapman number. This got one or two people on their feet plus a joyous sing-along. One volunteer commented that this area of the Borough will soon rival Shoreditch in avant garde community regeneration and revitalization.
As a volunteer for the ‘ARKA project’ but an ‘outsider’ to Barking and Dagenham, I felt very much ‘part’ of community. For an area of London targeted by the xenophobic British National Party (BNP) the cohesiveness of this very diverse community was apparent at the Happiness and Wellbeing Festival which coincided with the ARKA visit.
The festival, held in the town square, engaged the entire community in activity from all a cross-section of the generations doing a ring dance, and a young Polish schoolgirl doing her Michael Jackson moves, through face painting led by the South Asian community to indigenous Brits sitting on the ground eating Jamaican Jerk Chicken. The Square was populated by local businesses and other service providers showcasing their wares, as well as some enthusiastic participation from the Polish actors. And all this on a rainy blustery Saturday afternoon.
In his blog on “The role of the arts in thriving communities”, Kaid Benfield writes:
I believe one of the indicators of a healthy community – the kind of place that is likely to be loved and endure – is good evidence of creative expression. Whether it’s painting, photography, music, dance, sculpture, performance or something else, people like being around artists who inspire not just our rational selves but also our more intuitive, “right-side-of-the-brain” selves.
The sense I took away of ‘community’ in Barking, and I realise that it was just a snapshot in time and place, was not one of a shared and common past. Its not even necessarily shared common values in the sense that this is bandied about especially by right~wing politicians. It was community more in terms of a human eco~system, based on tolerance, respect, kindness, interrelationships and interdependence, that acts to sustain the wellbeing of the whole. And the Arts have a critical role to play in engaging and integrating community.
Today I would like to share a short piece written by one of my wonderful volunteers about the ARKA Teatr visit to Barking in August. 
In the middle of August Jasmine Street took on the role of curator in partnership with Arc Theatrefor a visit to Barking and Dagenham of Poland’s ARKA TEATR following their successful visit to the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
ARKA’s 4-day performance of The Ball at Stephen Hawkings at the Malthouse Theatre in the Icehouse Quarter in Barking was very well received. It is clear that the Icehouse Quarter, situated alongside the Roding River on (wait for it) Abbey Road (!) is a hidden gem, simply waiting to be discovered.
It’s Terrace Café on the banks of the river was a focal ‘community meeting place’ for ARKA’s ensemble, volunteers and visitors who knew what was going on and simply wished to join in. And all of this happening right in the heart of community, alongside terraced houses, apartment blocks and local businesses.
There was a wonderful snapshot of the Terrace Café’s potential when one of the actors picked up a guitar one lunchtime and proceeded to strum a Tracy Chapman number. This got one or two people on their feet plus a joyous sing-along. One volunteer commented that this area of the Borough will soon rival Shoreditch in avant garde community regeneration and revitalization.
As a volunteer for the ‘ARKA project’ but an ‘outsider’ to Barking and Dagenham, I felt very much ‘part’ of community. For an area of London targeted by the xenophobic British National Party (BNP) the cohesiveness of this very diverse community was apparent at the Happiness and Wellbeing Festival which coincided with the ARKA visit.
In his blog on “The role of the arts in thriving communities”, Kaid Benfield writes:
I believe one of the indicators of a healthy community – the kind of place that is likely to be loved and endure – is good evidence of creative expression. Whether it’s painting, photography, music, dance, sculpture, performance or something else, people like being around artists who inspire not just our rational selves but also our more intuitive, “right-side-of-the-brain” selves.
The sense I took away of ‘community’ in Barking, and I realise that it was just a snapshot in time and place, was not one of a shared and common past. Its not even necessarily shared common values in the sense that this is bandied about especially by right~wing politicians. It was community more in terms of a human eco~system, based on tolerance, respect, kindness, interrelationships and interdependence, that acts to sustain the wellbeing of the whole. And the Arts have a critical role to play in engaging and integrating community.
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