Pretty Vacant

Right, we have our first show of 2010 under our belts already – hurrah for us!!

The show launched last Tuesday and runs all the way until 26th February.

As shows go, this one was relatively straight forward. For a change.

It was a welcome change of pace (and scale) from our Volte show in December, and gave us a chance to get back to basics. We were able to refine our brief, our work delivery and hanging processes, and our communication with exhibitors in a way we haven’t been able to since our first show last July.

This time we partnered up with a council funded project in Dudley called “Art Space”. It was great for us to see how an extention of our practice could function.

The “ArtSpace” project has seen a empty shop unit in Dudley be transformed into an operational exhibition and community workshop space. It seems to have been a success locally, becoming quite a little hive of activity during workshop hours. While we were setting up we came across some trully wonderful creative local people who have previously been without a forum for their practice, and Art Space has been providing that forum.

It really is a tradgedy that “Art Space’s” occupation ends in March.

for anyone who is interested, in our show or the Artspace project the gallery is located here: 203, High Street, Dudley, DY1 1PT

New year, new post. A little belated I admit, but still the idea is there.

Just before Christmas, Pretty Vacant had a new show in an old disused railway building in Wolverhampton. The building was in the middle of being developed into a chinese resturant when the recession hit and work had to be stopped…

And all I have to say is thank heavens for the recession!! Without it, a truly beautiful building would have been totally lost behind the bells and whistles a such a commercial inhabitance would have brought with it.

So instead of being usurped by the food industry, this iconic building was entrusted by a particualry open-minded and visionary big-wig-owner-man to Fine Art degree student Antoinette Ayllene. She has unlocked the true potential of the building by transforming it into “Volte Galleries”. By transforming, I mean putting a sign outside and inviting artists from across the region into a series of open exhibitons. Inspiring.

So we rented a few of the wonderfully delapedated rooms from Antoinette to host our own Pretty Vacant show. And what resulted is easily my favourite exhibition we’ve done so far…

…Now there are plans to develop a spring/summer event which will see the whole place buzzing with the same excitement that fuelled the shows at Christmas …

watch this space.

The space was literally amazing, and made a truly perfect exhbition space.

My my, it has been a while (again)

Now… what’s been going on in Pretty Vacant land since my last update… Well, we’ve had another show, this time in the Mander Centre in Wolverhampton as part of Wolverhampton’s “Art at the Centre” festival, which was very successful. This show was a very different experience to that we’re used to; being part of a larger event and being part of the buzz was something very exciting.

I think we felt the difference most in the planning stages of the show… we’re normally out there on our own; negotiating with property owners and centre managers ourselves. So it was quite alien to have that part of the process in someone else’s hands. We had assumed that this would give us a nice little rest from the stressful bit, and have a nice easy show where we just turn up with the work and do the fun bit of hanging the show. This wasn’t so much the case, because, being the worry worms we are, having the reins in someone else’s hands was a tad stressful. I guess we’ve been spoilt in our earlier shows by being so very in control of the whole process; and now we found ourselves waiting on other’s decisions, and not knowing exactly what was going on. (Needless to say the stress was all needless in the end, as stress usually is)

This experience though, was invaluable. Realistically, we’re not always going to be “out there on our own”, so working with others is a skill we need to have really well honed – this event was a great start.

The other detail that set this show apart was our use of the space; the walls of our unit were entirely covered in Slat wall panels. Our usual approach is to convert the shop into as much of a white cube gallery as we can manage. This unit didn’t allow us to do that, and this, combined with the festival theme of retail and shopping meant our white cube approach had to change. We embraced the shop-ness of the shop and decided to use it as a feature (cunningly meeting the brief of the festival at the same time). We acquired lots of shop fittings – hooks, prongs and shelves – and used these to hang the work. The result was a very different look to our previous shows, but it was interesting nonetheless. This is the first show where we really usurped the role of the high street retailer; adapting merchandising principals and imitating the language of retail in our catalogue. (“New Season” “Sale” “Grab a bargain”). Instead of setting ourselves apart from the rest of the high street, we were blending in, becoming one of them. In terms of us interfacing with the general public, people who would normally run a mile from an art gallery, maybe this is the right approach? Perhaps art has to change, or already is changing? Maybe not. I’ve not decided yet.

Its been a while, so without further ado, let the blogging commence…

Our arguably insane idea of preparing a gallery space and setting up an entire exhibition (containing the work of 25 artists) in 5 days actually worked. All was ready in time. Just.

Of course we could not have done it without our band of happy helpers (thanks to Jo Lister, Rebecca Turbin, Adam Hyde, and Deselena Edwards for being particularly helpful helpers)

So the show was up and running for Saturday 29th, and our first day well exceeded our expectations. We had over 200 visitors in an area with notoriously low footfall, and sold a painting (congrats Joanna Burton) (and woohoo!)

The people of West Bromwich have been amazing and embraced the show and it’s concept entirely. It seems they are very happy to have a little sprinkling of creativity and vibrancy in their shopping centre. Except for the very few grumbling ones who’s immediate response to everything is instinctively negative.

To be honest this air of pessimism is both understandable and somewhat expected: Once upon a time, the Queens Square Shopping centre was great. It was the pride of the region. Built in the late 60s it was one of the first “indoor shopping centres” to be built. It was state of the art. Cutting edge. Brand New.

Thing is, it never changed. It got stuck in its glory age while the rest of the world moved on. What remains now is a bit of a sad sight. Most of the units are empty, and all the vitality the centre once had has been lost to that irksome thing called time. And so all that optimism and pride was zapped, or rather, eroded away.

And the very miserable truth is that this story is strikingly similar for hundreds of town centres around the country (big sad face)

Which is where we step in with our shiny new art things (and a few pots of white emulsion) to save the day. Well, not save it exactly, but make it a little more cheerful least. (We hope). Because, as my very brilliant (west Bromwich-ean) Grandfather used to say : “a change is better than a rest”. Which I very much agree with, even if the change is only temporary.

So this, boys and girls, is what us creative types can do to help in our own little way. Plus get our work out in the real world at the same time. Sounds like a plan indeed.

P.S. I find it necessary to point out that for West Brom its not all doom and gloom, because the whole town is now standing on the brink of a brand new shiny age of brand new shiny things. The whole area is being regenerated and modernised; moving into the future by re-claiming its past. (for more information on this citin stuff see http://www.regenco.co.uk/)

That, for now, is that

And well done for reading all the way down here :-)

Time, it seems, really does wait for no-one.

We have still not received the paper work that needs to be signed and sealed before we access the unit (on Monday).

Still we carry on regardless … there really is nothing like a bit of blind optimism to get you through the day.

It’ll be fine.

In the meantime I am continuing (perhaps still with blind optimism) with my valiant efforts to create a bit of brilliant art for the show. There’s a few new pieces that have wandered off down a slightly different path, and I’m not entirely sure where they’ve gone… which is simultaneously very exciting and utterly terrifying.

So here we are with just 8 days separating us and the private view… wish us luck…I’ve a feeling we’ll need it