Celebrating 40 years of BCA!

We had a fantastic time celebrating our 40th anniversary at BizSpace at Bedford Heights on 13th November.

Around 100 people joined us including artists, community leaders, trustees and staff from both past and present BCA projects, alongside supporters, funders and some of the people who have benefitted from our work over recent years.  

We heard from Mags Brady at PBIC about our new migrant-led theatre company, “Held” and we had demonstrations of our Airships XR project by Dr Atif Ghani and J.E.S.S. from Community Portrait by Arnab Chakravarty.  We showcased the model designs for our River/ Flow/ Connect project with the help of sculptor, Paul Pibworth, and Anne-Marie Abbate and Sara Turner enjoyed capturing memories and thoughts for the future of culture in Bedford for our Time Capsule for the next 40 years!

Guests enjoyed the delights of the Bedford Allstar Steel Pan Band throughout the evening whilst digging through our archives over the years of so many projects.

However a real highlight was the poem by Anthea Barclay – written especially for the occasion Anthea embodied BCA in this incredible artistic acknowledgement of 40 years of service in Bedford.

We also made a cheeky announcement about a new project for 2027, but I’m afraid you had to be there…   

We are grateful to our supporters BizSpace for providing us with incredible hospitality on the night.

Here’s to the next 40 years!

  1. Upcoming Event

    Bedford Borough’s Cultural Vision: a Cultural Compact for Bedford 
  2. Upcoming Event

    AIRSHIPS XR: DECEMBER POP UP EXPERIENCE

Image credits: Andy Willsher