As well as being a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) I have recently also become a member of ExtraOrdinary People (EOP) at Eastside Projects.
I am hoping that by belonging to both I will be able to satisfy both sides of my artistic personality.
The RBSA has a 200 year history, is an artist run, traditional group with a gallery in Birmingham’s prestigious Jewellery Quarter. Through this organisation I have access to a city centre gallery, a standard white-walled, large, well lit space. I can exhibit there in group shows one or two times a year. I can also book free space in the ground floor gallery/shop. I can, like I did in 2023, book a larger gallery space (at a cost) for a solo show if I so desire.
This space is run by a small staff, and volunteers from the membership, including a voluntary curator, secretary and president. The members hang the shows, and steward them. The average age of the membership is quite high and as a result of that, a high percentage of the membership is inactive. The driving need is to attract new younger members, from a more diverse population of artists, with more diverse art forms. Other than a small “splinter group” I was invited to join, there’s not much in the way of incidental, casual, critical conversation I have found. Although there are occasional artist talks, and I have applied to the society’s Professor of Painting for a portfolio review. Some of the members have lively contemporary practices, (nothing to do with their age) but many have a more traditional practice. It feels divided…Sometimes it is difficult to choose what to submit to group shows as my work is rarely in a frame, hangs on the wall using unusual techniques, or needs quite a bit of space. My submissions to the shows can be troublesome if I do not install it myself – which isn’t always possible. Despite these shortcomings, it’s a good space, with some good people I have been glad to meet.
Anyway…
Because of my need to engage with a different audience, I was drawn to Eastside Projects in Digbeth, across the other side of town. For those readers who do not know Digbeth, it is a tatty, post industrial area, known for venues like the Custard Factory, full of trendy bars and creative people… more recently priced out of the building for those who can afford ever increasing rents. The artists are pushed out to find as usual the more derelict spaces. Recently there has been more investment in the area, buildings are being snapped up and refurbished, newly paved areas are planted up with low level landscaping and the occasional tree as cranes hover overhead and the new station/interchange gets built for HS2. You get the picture…
Eastside Projects is the classic abandoned warehouse gallery space, concrete, girders, white-painted brick walls, and factory ceiling skylights. A high space, light and airy. The contrast to RBSA is not just in the space but in the way it is run. It is a NPO, and gets funding from the Arts Council, and is supported by Birmingham City University (although I’m not sure in what way). The curators are young, vibrant and have great, imaginative ideas on how to install the work. They have members exhibitions (selective) (I was selected) which include a crit chit chat on the last day. There are also opportunities for one-to-one mentoring with experienced people – artists and curators. I went to one of the crit events on Saturday and found it to be really informative, inspiring, to hear about other artists’ work, and to have mine also discussed in a way I haven’t experienced since doing my MA. I met a few people I’d not seen for years!
I did feel like the oldest person in the room, taking a chair round with me and hobbling about with a walking stick (I’m sure I will feel ten years younger when I get my new knee). But my work was respected, in its handling, its curation, and in the way it was talked about at the crit. It had plenty of space around it. (The downside sometimes with the RBSA is because of the need to bring in revenue the group exhibitions can seem a bit crammed). I talked to lots of interesting people, swapped instagram details, showed photos of other work… I came away buzzing.
I am back in the studio today, having taken the exhibited work out of the box, and hung it back on the wall. I recorded my bit of the crit and I play it back while looking around the studio. The new work I was unsure about, I now see with a different head on. It is a bit of a departure, but a departure worthy of time to explore what it might mean amongst the work around it.
On Sunday I did a stint as a volunteer steward at RBSA and was able to see the differences in sharp relief. Each group has its advantages and disadvantages. I think my practice probably sits half way between the two. Hopefully by having a foot in each camp I can take the best from each and achieve a balance that supports my practice.
