AIR

AIR Communications Officer Jack Hutchinson heads to Kunst en Zwalm festival in Belgium to interview Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale from the Caravan Gallery.

How did you first become involved in Kunst en Zwalm?

We were put forward by Aspex in Portsmouth with whom we've worked on many occasions. When Aspex relocated to Gunwharf Quays we had the first exhibition in their new space. The Caravan Gallery itself formed the centrepiece of our 'Is Britain Great? exhibition. Consequently we developed a taste for indoor Caravanning in winter.

What have been your highlights of this year's project?

It was great having more time than usual to fully immerse ourselves in a totally different environment. We're much more accustomed to working in urban areas so appreciated the challenge of responding to a rural location in a foreign land, namely Belgium. Our hosts worried we'd find nothing to photograph so it was gratifying to hear visitors to our exhibition proclaim we'd really succeeded in capturing the character of Zwalm. Another highlight was meeting such a great bunch of people and making new connections that could lead to future projects.

Why did you start The Caravan Gallery?

Because we like to be independent and initiate our own opportunities. It came into being through a commission offered by Portsmouth City Council and Art Space Portsmouth (of which Jan is a member) to create an art event on Southsea seafront over a Bank Holiday weekend in celebration of the new millennium. We gutted the inside of the caravan (a vibrant mustard egg-shaped Bluebird Europe circa 1969) to create a pristine white gallery space in which we exhibited drawings and photos examining British leisure, landscape and lifestyle. The weekend was such a success we decided to carry on and develop a project we could tour. Eleven years later we're going from strength to strength!

You have exhibited in an eclectic range of locations. What draws you to a particular place?

We'll go anywhere because we believe everywhere is interesting in its own way, although obviously we find some places more inspiring than others. Our work is all about trying to define a sense of place and we are influenced by psychogeography.

We started off by devising a regional tour, supported by the then Southern Arts, around the south of England where we're based and then ventured further afield. We've always been pretty good at self promotion and before long we were receiving invitations from galleries and festival organisers to exhibit in their locality. Prior to a Caravan Gallery appearance we make a research visit to the area in question to take photographs in order to create a place-specific exhibition.

We've exhibited everywhere from a petting farm in Bracknell (part of an outreach project for South Hill Park) to Paul Smith Space, Tokyo - that came about as a result of sending fashion designer Paul Smith a copy of our first book, 'Welcome to Britain'.  As far as events and locations are concerned we like to mix it up a bit so you could find us anywhere from a prestigious art event such as Liverpool Biennial to a community celebration in South Kilburn in conjunction with the Empty Shops Network.

Would you describe your work as socially engaged practice?

Most definitely. A mobile exhibition space like ours is perfect for reaching a wide demographic, from art fans to members of the public going about their everyday business. Many people who visit The Caravan Gallery admit they would never normally get involved in art. We deliberately chose our caravan for its faintly comic and nonthreatening appearance. It arouses curiosity wherever we go and that helps to entice people in.

The photos we show reflect our own observations of life in 21st century Britain but we're always eager to know what other people think. At times The Caravan Gallery feels like a social club , debating chamber and confessional on wheels bringing together people from all walks of life. We're on hand to engage with our audience and are accountable for the images we present. Visitors share background information about things we've photographed and fill in gaps in our knowledge. We invite people to get involved in a number of ways depending on the situation - sometimes we exhibit in large scale venues where there's more scope for a range of activities. An example of this was the Pride of Place Project (which we plan to tour) at the University of Portsmouth's Space gallery. Half of the exhibition was generated by audience participation, whether contributing to The People's Map of Portsmouth, filling in surveys, making souvenirs or donating found ephemera.

Have you ever encountered any hostility?

Hostility is very rare as we go out of our way to make people feel welcome and help them understand what we're doing. There are always exceptions, however, and we do sometimes meet the odd individual with a chip on their shoulder who thinks we should be showing nice pictures of sunsets and thatched cottages. It's only to be expected. This year we had a run in with an officious shopping centre official in Swindon who was mortified we'd been given permission to park a small yellow caravan in his newly regenerated precinct. The public loved it though!

You were also invited by Creative Partnerships to work with Fulbridge School, Peterborough. How did this project differ from your usual activities?

We were contacted by a Creative Agent who'd seen an article about us in a magazine. It inspired her to organise a project based on a caravan and we, along with several other artists, were invited to oversee the creation of the Fulbridge School Caravan Gallery, now a permanent fixture in the school playground. We worked with Year 3 children from a wide range of cultural backgrounds to create an exhibition inspired by a day trip to the seaside resort of Hunstanton. We were able to adapt our approach to their needs and encourage them to record their personal impressions of Hunstanton in new and exciting ways. They created souvenirs, postcards and their own unique brand of tourist information. It was extremely hard work but great fun. Some of the challenges we faced included fitting in with the constraints of the school timetable and building a good relationship with a teacher unaccustomed to having so much mess and mayhem disturbing her classroom routine - needless to say the children had a wonderful time! Happily, everyone was really positive about the outcome.

You are supported by Panasonic. How did this come about?

We've been using their cameras for years as they offer great quality in a compact package and were some of the first with built-in image stabilisation and flip-out screens. We find them ideal for street photography and for taking photos in less than perfect conditions when we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. When we meet people on the road they always ask what cameras we use. We contacted Panasonic suggesting it was only fair they provide us with cameras in return for all the advertising we do for them. Imagine our delight when they agreed!

What equipment have they given you?

Everything from satnavs to cameras  - they keep us up to date with the Lumix range from nifty TZ20 compacts to high performance Lumix G micro system cameras and lenses. They've been extremely supportive of our work- they've paid us to take The Caravan Gallery to promotional events and have bought copies of our books to give away to their customers. Our remit is to bring their cameras to life and encourage people to be creative - it's not just about cameras, it's about the pictures you can take with them. We've also managed to persuade Hewlett Packard provide us with a large format printer and Drobo to give us back up/storage units. All we need now is for someone to sponsor us with a reliable towing vehicle!

Your books 'Is Britain Great?' parts 1 and 2 were a huge success. Any plans for a third edition?

Yes! Is Britain Great? 3 is well underway and will be out in good time for Christmas!

What's next?

We have plenty more projects and publications in the pipeline and are looking forward to securing more venues for our Pride of Place Project in the UK and abroad. We'd love to hear from any venues who might be interested in working with us. Another venture we're excited about is Culture on Wheels, an international celebration of the best in mobile culture. We're collaborating with Dan Thompson of the Empty Shops Network to organise a festival in 2012.

Links:

Visit the Caravan Gallery website

Follow the Caravan Gallery on Twitter and Facebook

Learn more about Kunst en Zwalm here

Jack Hutchinson

Jack Hutchinson is an artist, writer and educator. A specialist on the role of digital technology within the visual arts, he is Communications Officer for AIR: Artists Interaction and Representation through a-n The Artists Information Company. His writing has featured in a diverse range of publications, including Dazed and Confused, Garageland, Guardian Culture Professionals, Twin Magazine, a-n Magazine and Schweizer Kunst. Based in London at Bow Arts Trust, he is an active campaigner for artistic, legislative and economic measures that enhance artists' working lives and professional status. His multi-disciplinary visual practice has featured in solo and group exhibitions across the UK.

jackhutchinsonair@googlemail.com | www.jackjhutchinson.wordpress.com

First published: a-n.co.uk September 2011