THE ICA PROJECT

Tony Powlett by John Ferguson (2024), commissioned by SPILL Festival

For over thirty years, the Ipswich Caribbean Association (ICA) building on Woodbridge Road was an important social and cultural hub for the town. Variously known as the Caribbean Centre or the Caribbean Club to its users, it functioned as a space for music, education, martial arts, food and conversation until its closure in 2010.

The ICA Project revisits the building (which was demolished in 2012) through specially commissioned photography, newly collected oral histories, and archival materials made public for the first time. These elements all come together in an exhibition at the SPILL Think Tank that uncovers and explores the significant cultural and social impact of the ICA; its history, its programmes, and its importance to the many people and groups which used its services and facilities.

The ICA Project gathers and preserves memories of the past while asking us to recognise the ongoing impact of its absence.