Capital Project

The New Art Exchange

All past projects have been achieved with the dedication of a small team of workers, directors and volunteers. It has been exhausting yet rewarding work, but APNA Arts are now on an ambitious new stage of development with an Arts Council of England Capital 2 project. Over the next couple of years APNA Arts will be concentrating on organisational development, capacity building, and all the development work needed in delivering a new £5 Million flagship art centre.

For too long, ‘Black’ organisations have traditionally been under funded and have survived through the dedication of a small team. The New Art Exchange Flagship art centre in Nottingham will celebrate the wealth and diversity of the arts from South Asian and African Caribbean backgrounds in partnership with EMACA Visual Arts.

The art centre will comprise of galleries, workshop spaces and education spaces, carnival and theatre production & rehearsal spaces, archive/library and café/leisure areas. The New Art Exchange will provide excellent facilities and support to promote traditional and contemporary Black Arts, and to enable Black artists and practitioners to create, develop, innovate, present and promote their work, engaging with the whole of the local community, the people of Nottingham and the wider region.

Supporting this mission the New Art Exchange will:

Place particular focus on supporting and developing emerging artists and practitioners, providing a stepping stone for talent

Engage with artists locally, nationally and internationally

Encourage interaction between Black artists and communities

Encourage participation ­ particularly from communities within the immediate area to the New Art Exchange

Promote the arts as a vehicle for personal development and life long learning

Encourage the engagement of children and young people, enabling them to “grow” through the arts and to experience a range of high quality arts and craft activity

Focus on Black Arts but seek to encourage the engagement of all

For the context of the New Art Exchange, Black Arts refers to the heritage and cultures of Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia.