- Venue
- g39
- Location
- Wales
If You Build It They Will Come.
Until 9th August.
On the 3rd of July 1998 a small gallery space opened in Cardiff – ‘g39’ opened at a time of great optimism in a changing art market. We were in the throws of cool Britannia and the New Labour project was taking hold. Here we are a decade later and facing new challenges in a changing world, politics and economics aside g39 lives on. To celebrate this successful decade of survival g39 have decided to ambitiously bring all of the artists they have ever worked with back for a retrospective. In this review I (np) talked to Anthony Shapland (as) and Chris Brown about the exhibition and the need for artist-run spaces.
np – Why did you start g39?
The phenomenon of artist-initiated projects is by no means novel and the motivations and ambitions of different spaces are as varied as their output. The idea of providing independent or new ways of working acknowledges a certain ideological belief that the self-empowering nature of self artist-run spaces could be used to shape culture. A willingness to be open to change, being flexible enough to adapt and respond to dominant political or cultural trends – whether for or against – has ensured that these spaces have maintained a key position in the mechanisms of the artworld.
np – Did you feel as though you were setting up a new scene in Cardiff or simply answering a demand for contemporary art space?
as –In the nineties many London artist-led projects were often bankrolled by collectors and dealers who generated the self-fulfilling prophecy that they could gain kudos – and wealth. In Wales the pressures and motives have been different; in the absence of a prominent economic driver, artist-run activity has had to address other issues. The cultural factors of national identity, of a sense of being peripheral, and of the schisms caused by both language and geographic boundaries are omnipresent; through these are countered by a willingness to engage on an international level and the interesting tension in the pull forward of contemporary and the pull back of tradition. Since the outset of the g39 project there has been a sense that curatorial strategy could address these issues; if the space was to play a key cultural role it first had to develop a strong relationship with artists in Wales while acting a s a conduit for work from elsewhere . It was essential that this sense of cohesion, evolving in parallel but in different ways from its metropolitan counterparts.
np – Ten years is a long time for a artist-led-space to keep going, I guess it takes a great deal of commitment and dedication on the part of both yourselves and all the exhibiting artists.
as – g39 has survived ten years in Cardiff while large spaces have come and gone. It is partly been a flexibility and responsive attitude that has lent the project its longevity. Though the physical space is small – the size of a three-storey townhouse – it’s catchment is far larger, encompassing networks of artists to present pioneering work in a clear and accessible manner, that has generated and sustained support from visitors and artists alike. This ongoing success confirms that g39 is functioning as it was envisaged and that it is crucial that we continue to play an influential role in the visual arts in Wales. By virtue of surviving this long the space may have become part of the establishment, but its history of adaptability keeps the threat of bureaucracy, and the stagnation that comes with it, at bay.
np – I like to ask you Chris, what have you enjoyed most or found most rewarding about the g38 experience? And do you have any advice for anyone thinking of starting an artist run space?
cb – I think I've been asked these questions before, and given a different answer every time! In the past I've said that it's simply the gratitude from individual artists and the satisfaction of realising technically demanding or challenging pieces that I found most rewarding. So much so that it kept me investing my own (unpaid – whispered) time in g39. However I'm slightly wary of this economics where the artist-run space survives chiefly on volunteer input and goodwill, and is seen to be in some way 'noble' or worthy, simply because this fact. While this is undoubtedly one of the commonest ways of demonstrating your worth to potential investors at the outset of one's professional artistic career, the danger is that in the long-term it may be perpetuating the poorness of artists.
Having the benefit of ten years to look back on, I'm now starting to consider how my involvement with g39 has benefited me personally, and perhaps where that I might start to reclaim that unpaid time as my own. What other industry could I enter comparatively untrained and learn all the skills I now have, entirely on the job? Ten years ago I didn't own a computer and was a complete novice; now the majority of my freelance work outside of g39 uses the skills and experience gained through my time at g39.
I could offer a whole host of different words of encouragement for an artist or group embarking on such a project, but I recognise that no two artist-run spaces operate in the same way or have precisely the same aspirations, so a piece of advise that might work well for one space may be disastrous for another. One piece of fairly universal common sense: I often advise groups not to be overly ambitious or overstretch themselves at the outset of a project, then grow to realise their ambitions as they gain experience. Secondly, from my own experience I found it quite useful not to be too mindful (or even respectful) of one's comparators. I would hate to think of someone starting up an artist-run space with the specific intention of being like g39!
np – ‘If You Build it, They will Come’ is a great title for this show it makes me think of the artist as this strange nomadic breed that seek the opportunity of space, or a sort of, (if your artists will forgive me) a 50’s sci-fi horror weed that grows exponentially. It could be a warning or a more likely, a call to others to start their own similar spaces for inhabitation.
cb – An artist I recently met, Alexandria Clarke spotted this title in a Kevin Costner baseball ghost caper 'Field of Dreams'. While wandering in his cornfield Costner is bothered by a voice insisting, "if you build it they will come", referring to a baseball diamond. Creepy." It must be subconscious though I don’t remember seeing the film.
np – And finally, Happy Birthday.
G39, Mill Lane, Cardiff, CF10 1FH – www.g39.org
