Measuring the experience: the scope and value of artist-led organisations

MEASURING THE EXPERIENCE – 5

Who was consulted (continued)

Maggie Berkowitz, artist

Manick Govinda, Project Officer, The Paul Hamlyn Foundation

Mark Dey, Visual Arts Officer, West Midlands Arts

Martin Devine, Assistant Director, Leisure Services, New Forest District Council

Mary Gavagan, Scott Gallery, Lancashire University

Matthew Miller, artist, member of Red Herring, co-founder, Fabrica

Michael Harrison, Kettle’s Yard Gallery

Michael Mould, Bruvvers Theatre Company, 36 Lime Street Ltd, Away with the Fog.

Michele Farmer, Director, Artspace

Mike Campbell, Cultural Development Co-ordinator, North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council

Nick Clements, artist and Director of The Pioneers

Nigel Cutting, Principal Arts Officer, Richmond Borough Council

Nik Ingham, Executive Committee member and artist at Luneside Studios

Northern Arts

Paul Collett, Arts Projects Officer, London Borough of Camden

Paul Hatton, Visual Arts Department, Lancashire University, artist

Paula Brown, Principal Combined Arts Officer, London Arts Board

Pete Mosley, Consultant

Pete Mosley, Consultant

Peter Barker/Phillippa Russell, ceramic artists, co-op leaseholders

Peter Flanagan, painter, tenant

Peter Podmore, painter, co-op leaseholder

Peter Wilson, painter/printmaker, tenant

PeterReddick, Chair of Bristol Printmakers Workshop, trustee of Artspace Bristol, Ltd, artist

Philippa Goodall, Pgorgamming Director for Photography, Watershed Media Centre

Richard Cox, Visual Arts Officer, Arts Council of Wales

Richard Powys, Cambridge Arts Forum

Rosy Greenlees, Head of Visual and Media Arts, Eastern Arts

Sally Morgan, Lecturer, Art & Social Context, University of the West of England

Sally Reilly, Cambridge Open Studios

Sally Sheinman, Northamptonshire Contemporary Arts

Sarah Kirby, Printworker, Leicester Print Workshop

Sarah Osborne, artist and Director of The Pioneers

Sharon Lawless, Forest Forge Theatre Company

Simon Davies, Exhibitions Officer, Central Museum and Art Gallery

Stephen Beddoe, Visual Arts & Crafts Officer, London Arts Board

Stephen Snoddy, Exhibitions Director, Cornerhouse, Manchester

Steve Chettle, Cumbria Public Art

Steve Garret, Director, Community Music Wales

Steve Morris, Access Arts

Su Davies, Alfred East Art Gallery

Sue Woolhouse, stained glass artist, co-op leaseholder

Syanne Van Nitfik, artist

Sylvia Wright, City Gallery, Leicester

Tamara Krikorian, Director, Artworks Wales

Tim Eastop, Visual Arts Officer, Arts Council of England

Tim Kendall, furniture designer, co-op leaseholder

Tim Knowles, Chair of Artspace Studio Provision (Bristol) Ltd, trustee of Artspace Bristol Ltd, artist

Tony Woof, Visual Arts Officer, North West Arts and Development Co-ordinator for Friends of the Storey Institute

Val Millington, Director of Visual Arts, South West Arts

Val Murray, Peter Hatton, TEA

Yvonne James, artist



MEASURING THE EXPERIENCE – 4

Who was consulted:

Adrienne Avery-Gray, Leicestershire Museums, Arts and Recreation Service

Aileen McAvoy, Head of Visual Arts, North West Arts

Alan Haydon, Head of Visual Arts, Northern Arts

Alec Bell, Arts Officer, Arts & Events Unit, Lancaster City Council

Ali Rhind, rag-rug maker, co-op leaseholder

Alice Smith, furniture designer, co-op leaseholder

Andrea Finn, artist

Andrew Rothwell, Arts Development Officer, Newcastle City Council

Ann Wallace, artist

Anna Diamond, Arts & Cultural Services Department, Cardiff County Council

Anne Ellen, Co-ordinator, Artspace

Annie Cargill, Wysing Arts

Annie Sheridan, Isis Arts

Anthony Sargent, Head of Arts and Entertainments, Birmingham City Council

Artscope (Malcolm Smith & Steve Marshall), community visual arts project, tenant

Bernadette Koranteng, painter, tenant

Bernard Living, artist and curator, co-founder of BN1

Bonnie Kemske, Cambridge Open Studios

Bridget Jones, stained glass artist, co-op leaseholder

Bronac Ferran, Senior Combined Arts Officer, Combined Arts Department, Arts Council of England

Carole Bemant, Arts Development Officer, Bristol City Council

Catherine Standing, Commissions, Public Art Development Trust

Charlotte Powell, painter, tenant

Chris Daunt, printmaker/painter, tenant

Chris Humphrey, Arts Development Officer, South West Arts

Chris McHugh, artist, member of Red Herring, co-founder, Fabrica

Chris Squire, Impossible Theatre

Christine Wilkinson, artist

Daniel Sancisi, Space Explorations

Daniela Karsten, Combined Arts Officer, Arts Council of England

Dave Clark, Folly Trust

David Wild, ceramic artist, co-op leaseholder

Dawn Langley, Senior Arts Officer, Hampshire County Council

Deborah Barker, project director, Fabrica & freelance arts administrator

Deborah Grub, Head of Arts & Leisure, Brighton Borough Council

Derrick Price, Associate Dean, Faculty of Art, Media & Design, University of the West of England

Dominique Swain, Grants Officer, Cambridge City Council

Elaine Roberts, Arts Officer, Arts Unit Lancashire County Council

Elizabeth Macgregor, Director, Ikon Gallery

Emily Stracey, artist

Emma Anderson, former Head of Foyer Visual Arts, Royal Festival Hall, London now Visual Arts Officer, North West Arts

Fiona Bradley, Exhibitions Curator, Tate Gallery, Liverpool

Francis Gomila, Colin Pearce and Ivan Smith, Fine Rats International

Geni Glatt, textile artist, tenant

Hilary Lane, Arts Officer, East Sussex County Council

Hugh Adams, formerly Visual Arts Officer, Southern Arts

Ian Hunter, Director, Projects Environment, Manchester

Jane Campey, Lancaster & Morecambe College of Art & Design

Jane Sallis, Co-ordinator of Artists First

Janet Currie, East Midlands Arts Board

Janet Currie, Visual Arts Officer, East Midlands Arts

Janet Currie, Visual Arts Officer, East Midlands Arts

Janet Currie, Visual Arts Officer, East Midlands Arts

Janita Bagshawe, Principal Keeper, (Museum & Education Services), Brighton Museums & Galleries

Jenny Eadon, Cambridge Artworks

Jill Hlalo, jeweller, co-op leaseholder

Jim Shea, Visual Arts Officer, South East Arts

Jim Walker, Tourism and Arts Officer, South Lakeland District Council

John Andrew, artist

John Angus, Chair, Friends of Storey Institute, artist

John Hume, Economic Development Officer, Newcastle City Council

John O’Connor, Chair of Artspace Bristol Ltd, artist

Jon Bewley, Co-Director, Locus+

Karen More, artist, member of Phoenix Studios

Ken Byers, painter, tenant

Kirsten Bell, textile artist, co-op leaseholder

Laurie Short, Cumbria Visual Arts Development Agency

Lene Bragger, Exhibitions Officer, Brewery Arts Centre

Linda Fredericks, project initiator, now Director of ArtSway

Lisa Lee, Knighton Lane Studios

Liz Howarth, Arts Development Officer, Hove Borough Council

Liz Whitehead, artist, member of Red Herring



MEASURING THE EXPERIENCE – 3

Many individuals and organisation have assisted this research project by providing financial support, advice and encouragement at various stages. Particular thanks are due to Fiona Ellis (formerly Art Director at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation), Janet Currie (East Midlands Arts), Alan Haydon (Northern Arts), Tony Woof (formerly at North West Arts) and Eric Moody, (Department of Arts Policy and Management City University, London), whose early enthusiasm and positive suggestions enabled the study to get off the ground.

Andy Feist (Senior Research & Planning Officer at the Arts Council of England) contributed invaluable advice to defining the research brief and methodology. I am also indebted to the Visual Arts and Combined Arts departments of the Arts Council of England, and the Visual Arts Departments at Eastern Arts Board, South East Arts, London Arts and the Arts Council of Wales for financial support to specific case studies. Due to the interest in the project shown by Jeremy Newton and Monica Tross, an important contribution to the research costs also came from the Lottery Department at the Arts Council of England.

Thanks are also extended to Lee Corner, Antonia Payne, Judith Staines and Janet Summerton who, with great skill, personal commitment and abundant energy, undertook a number of the case studies on my behalf.

MEASURING THE EXPERIENCE – 2

From the Introduction to the study:

“I first thought about undertaking a study of artist-led organisations in 1992, although it took some time before I was able to gain the interest of anyone who might help to fund it. I felt that there was a lack of awareness of the achievements of artist-led ventures, and that a study which attempted to do some analysis of them would make a useful contribution to the development of national and regional arts strategies.

As an artist myself, I have had first-hand knowledge of the setting up and management of a number of artist-led organisations. I have also provided formal and informal advice to a various artist-led groups over many years. Through contributing to a-n and editing a number of books for AN Publications, and because of previous research projects, I have gained a broad understanding of the wide range of approaches which constitute contemporary visual arts practice and of the specific role of artists as initiators within the arts infrastructure.

Following extensive discussions over a period of time with Fiona Ellis (then the Art Director at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation), and a core group of visual arts officers from regional arts boards, I embarked on this study. Funding for Stage 1 was granted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation with the proviso that “a consortia of regional arts boards” would fund a number of case studies for Stage 2. The two reports for Stage 1 were completed May -July 1995. These were the Survey of Group Studio Provision which looked at some 150 artist-led studio groups, and Refreshing Alternatives thumb-nail sketches of 240 artist-led organisations providing a range of resources and activities.

Interest generated by these reports, linked with the changing climate for visual arts funding and in particular the advent of the National Lottery, resulted in the core group of three regional arts boards swelling to five regional arts boards and two arts councils. A pilot case study was completed in February 1996 and remaining case studies, undertaken by a team of researchers were completed April – September 1996.”

MEASURING THE EXPERIENCE – 1

There’s been heightened conversation in recent months – especially in England where Arts Council England’s NPO strategy cut funding to many artists’ bodies – about the role of and support for the artist-led within publicly funded arts policy.

Because this is a field I have researched in depth, I thought it might be useful to ‘serialise’ some of the evidence I have gathered and analysed to help fill a gap in knowledge, in support of and to inform advocacy from artists and others nowadays for greater recognition of this essential ‘R&D’ and social enterprise within the landscape of contemporary visual arts.

These were the objectives for my study, conducted between 1993-1996:

To examine the artist-led approach to the generation and presentation of the visual arts in the UK, covering well-estabished and recently formed groups (ie of two or more) and including thoe with a defined legal status as well as others more loosely formed, to determine whether organisations or groups formed, directed and controlled by artists

– have the potential of providing a wider range of people with a visual arts experience and of delivering tangible benefits to society and to artists

– provide innovative examples of interpretation and prosentation of the visual arts and provide indicators of the role of artist-led organisations within future arts planning strategies

– are viable ways of enabling funding bodies to realise their stated aims and objectives.

Through this blog, I will summarise and articulate the 3 studies I conducted and, looking at the conclusions and recommendations I made, draw out any evidence pertinent to those who are charged with creating and delivering arts and cultural policy nowadays.