Cultural center

A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. History and scope Cultural centers typically offer programming that may include visual art exhibitions, performing arts venues, film screenings, libraries, educational workshops, and public lectures, often with the goal of broadening access to cultural participation across a community. The concept of a dedicated public space for cultural life has roots in the civic institutions of antiquity, though the modern cultural center as a distinct institution emerged primarily in the twentieth century, shaped in part by postwar urban development projects and national efforts to invest in public culture. Governments in many countries established large-scale cultural complexes as symbols of civic identity; notable examples include the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. (opened 1971), the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (inaugurated 1977), and the Queensland Cultural Centre in Brisbane (completed 1988). Smaller community-based centers have similarly proliferated as vehicles for cultural preservation, arts education, and social cohesion, particularly in communities with distinct ethnic, linguistic, or regional identities. Cultural centers are distinguished from museums and performing arts venues by their multipurpose character. The term is used internationally, though analogous institutions may be called a maison de la culture (France), a Kulturhaus (German-speaking countries), or a casa de cultura (Latin America and Spain). Africa Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt Fendika Cultural Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia National Cultural Center, Kumasi, Ghana Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, Lagos, Nigeria Guga S'Thebe Arts & Cultural Centre, Cape Town, South Africa Ndere Cultural Center, Kampala, Uganda Uganda National Cultural Centre, Kampala, Uganda Asia Central Cultural Center (CCC), Dhaka, Bangladesh Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong, China Municipal Market of Baucau, Baucau, East Timor Cultural Center by Talenmark Developers, Calicut, India Nandan, Kolkata, India Rabindra Bhawan, Ranchi, India Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata, India Dhanadhanya Auditorium, Kolkata, India Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Mumbai, India Kohima Capital Cultural Center, Kohima, India Telugu Saamskruthika Niketanam, Visakhapatnam, India Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Bahman Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran Taiwan Cultural Center, Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Korean Culture Center, Tokyo, Japan Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center, Kuwait City, Kuwait Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Centre, Salmiya, Kuwait Palestinian Heritage Center, Bethlehem, Palestine Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pasay, Philippines King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC), Singapore Jaffna Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Beigang Cultural Center, Yunlin, Taiwan Japanese Cultural Center, Taipei, Taiwan Kaohsiung Cultural Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan Keelung Cultural Center, Keelung, Taiwan Ketagalan Culture Center, Taipei, Taiwan Lukang Culture Center, Lukang, Taiwan Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center, Taipei, Taiwan Taichung City Dadun Cultural Center, Taichung, Taiwan Taichung Municipal City Huludun Cultural Center, Taichung, Taiwan Tainan Municipal Cultural Center, Tainan, Taiwan Xinying Cultural Center, Tainan, Taiwan Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Bangkok, Thailand Thailand Cultural Centre, Bangkok, Thailand Atatürk Cultural Center, Istanbul, Turkey Europe Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria Kulturværftet, Helsingør, Denmark Tullikamari Cultural Centre, Tampere, Finland Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France Gasteig, Munich, Germany Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Kallithea, Greece Letterkenny Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Ireland European Cultural Centre, Venice, Italy Nida Culture and Tourism Information Centre "Agila", Neringa, Lithuania Public institution Cultural center "Nikola Djurkovic", Kotor, Montenegro ACU, Utrecht, Netherlands De Balie, Amsterdam, Netherlands Glaspaleis, Heerlen, Netherlands OT301, Amsterdam, Netherlands Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon, Portugal Kuryokhin Center, Saint Petersburg, Russia Cultural Center of the City of Bor, Bor, Serbia Dom omladine Beograda, Belgrade, Serbia Matadero Madrid, Madrid, Spain North America Casa de la Cultura, Puebla, Mexico Centro Cultural Mexiquense, Toluca, Mexico Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros, Mexico City, Mexico Tijuana Cultural Center, Tijuana, Mexico Centro Cultural Baudilio Vega Berríos, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Asheville Culture Project, Asheville, North Carolina, United States Centro Cultural de la Raza, San Diego, California, United States Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States Cultural Arts Center, Columbus, Ohio, United States Cultural Center of Charlotte County, Port Charlotte, Florida, United States Detroit Cultural Center, Detroit, Michigan, United States El Centro Cultural de Mexico, Santa Ana, California, United States El Museo del Barrio, New York City, United States Eyedrum, Atlanta, Georgia, United States Greensboro Cultural Center, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States Howland Cultural Center, Beacon, New York, United States ISSUE Project Room, New York City, United States Kansas City Irish Center, Kansas City, Missouri, United States La Casita Cultural Center, Syracuse, New York, United States La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, California, United States Merced Multicultural Arts Center, Merced, California, United States Nā ʻAikāne o Maui Cultural and Research Center, Lahaina, Hawaii, United States Park Performing Arts Center, Union City, New Jersey, United States Polynesian Cultural Center, Lāʻie, Hawaii, United States Russian Cultural Center, Washington, D.C., United States Self Help Graphics & Art, Los Angeles, California, United States The Kitchen, New York City, United States Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo, Florida, United States Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural, Los Angeles, California, United States Ugly Mermaid Venue & Cultural Centre, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States William V. Musto Cultural Center, Union City, New Jersey, United States Oceania Perth Cultural Centre, Perth, Australia Queensland Cultural Centre, Brisbane, Australia Ngarachamayong Culture Center, Koror, Palau Vanuatu Cultural Centre, Port Vila, Vanuatu South America America Cultural Center, Salta, Argentina Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina Centro Cultural General San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina Libertad Palace, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Cultural Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, Brazil Ema Gordon Klabin Cultural Foundation, São Paulo, Brazil São Paulo Cultural Center, São Paulo, Brazil Agustín Ross Cultural Center, Pichilemu, Chile Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda, Santiago, Chile Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Quito, Ecuador Cultural Center of the Republic "El Cabildo", Asunción, Paraguay Centro Cultural de Lima, San Borja District, Lima, Peru See also Community centre Infoshop Music venue References