Embracing art across the UK

It started with the news that the Titian exhibition, which united all six of his poesie paintings, commissioned in 1551 by Prince Philip Spain, would not be travelling to Scotland. I was completely gutted. I had been looking forward to this exhibition since I first heard of the plans hatching, while I still worked at the National Gallery in London. The very idea of bringing these huge masterpieces of myth together seemed magical to me. An idea that somehow turned back time, reconstructed a historical moment, and recognised paintings as objects with lives of their own (over the centuries they travel, are put in different frames, owned by different people, and end up in different museums across the world). To have these paintings brought together once more, we would be able to see them as a series, to see them as Philip II of Spain saw them. I think I might have been mildly obsessed with the idea. I certainly saw myself as personally attached to two of these paintings, Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon, which are co-owned by the National Gallery in London and the National Galleries of Scotland. When I moved to Edinburgh from London, I didn’t have a job and only knew about four people. So, I spent time in the Galleries, and seeing these paintings in their Scottish setting made me feel like I was reunited with old friends.

The circumstances of its cancellation were understandable. The pandemic had disrupted the schedule completely (the show was supposed to go to London, Edinburgh, Spain and Boston – it still will go to the latter two locations). Even if the pandemic had been contained, the lack of festivals in Edinburgh in the summer meant the usual glut of tourists would not be in circulation, so presumably there would not be enough people paying to see these artworks and buying overpriced cakes in the shops to offset the huge costs of putting on exhibitions like this one. Travel for pleasure became a thing of the past and we were forced, by necessity, to embrace what the local could offer.

For years, uncertainty about funding has changed the way galleries operate, pushing them further down a path of supposed self-sufficiency. This is survival by embracing corporate opportunities such as venue hire, event experiences, cafes, shops, big-name exhibitions that can sell more pricey tickets (and on the more sinister side, outsourcing huge swathes of security staff and cutting specialist teams). The gallery-as-business was hit hard by the pandemic: by taking away the consumers, the model no longer worked. What is going to emerge from the wreckage of the pandemic and Brexit remains to be seen, but what’s for sure is our urgent need to recognise that art isn’t just about blockbuster exhibitions, much though we love them. Not all galleries will, or have ever, been able to afford to put on those shows. We must safeguard these places. We have to acknowledge the role of the local, the small-scale, the community-driven in art, and its capacity to provide inspiration.

To state the obvious, not everyone’s local is the same, which is why two articles that appeared in the Guardian and the Scotsman towards the end of last year made me angry (I’ve been stewing on this a while). Firstly, the Guardian’s review of the year featured the top 10 in the visual arts and literally everything, except one show in Oxford, one virtual tour, and one podcast, EVERYTHING was in London. I am not London-bashing here. I love London and its galleries, but as art writing, this is lazy. It’s likely that the writer lives in London, and wasn’t able to travel as much to explore other places in the UK, but I wish they’d acknowledged that, or simply call the article “The Top 10 Art Exhibitions in London”. Or maybe – crazy idea – the paper could have commissioned writers around the country to talk about what art was happening in their towns and cities? Yes, 9 million people live in London, but there are a further 58 million people in the rest of the UK. I could have just googled “big exhibitions London” and the same results would have come up. The article held no real reference to the pandemic, to the flourishing of artwork at home and online that it has engendered, to the incredible innovation by recent art graduates as they reinvented their degree shows, or to the turmoil it had thrown galleries around the country into.

The same lack of imagination was played out again in the Scotsman article picking highlights in visual art for 2021. Literally all suggestions bar one were in Edinburgh. As an art blogger based here, that’s a great list for me, but what about the rest of Scotland? For a start, everyone knows that Glasgow is the hub of exciting contemporary artistic development in Scotland. Beyond the central belt – what about Dundee’s thriving scene, or the two arts organisations in Scotland, Deveron Projects in Huntley, Aberdeenshire, and Inverness’ Eden Court, whose civic role in their local communities during the pandemic has earned them a place on the shortlist of a £100,000 prize from the Calouste Gulbenkian foundation?

I’m sorry to say it, but it’s likely that international travel will be off the menu for much of this year. But hopefully, just maybe, we’ll be able to visit places beyond our own homes. I’m therefore going to finish this post (this rant, sorry) with a highly personalised list of where and what I would like to visit once it is safe to do so, and with a personal commitment to push my writing, and not solely rely on reviewing big shows and exhibitions in capital cities. Art critics need to take a leaf out of the Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK’s book and start to celebrate diversity in a joyful way.

If you’d like to explore what’s out there, I’d recommend looking at the Art Fund map, an interactive tool that highlights interesting places you can see art across the UK. The National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland look after some brilliant art collections, sculpture trails and new contemporary art commissions in the UK too. Instagram can be a great way of finding out about art that is happening near you and online. If the pandemic has proven anything, it is that the local, the everyday, can still provide inspiration and wonder. Of course, we still want to see blockbusters, but there’s so much more out there to explore and to value.

My list: much is in Scotland and near-ish my parents’ house in Sussex, because I’m realistic that I might not be able to get to do a full UK tour this year. I’ll update as the year evolves.

Prospect Cottage, Dungeness

Those of you who follow me on Instagram know I’ve been reading Funny Weather by Olivia Laing, and I’m planning to post a review of that here soon. In this collection of essays, the one that shines through is ‘Sparks through stubble’, originally written as an introduction to a new edition of Derek Jarman’s Modern Nature. Laing’s talk of his special home, a fisherman’s hut on Dungeness beach where he ‘set about conjuring an unlikely oasis’, has bumped Prospect Cottage right to the top of my list for as soon as I can get there.

Deveron Projects, Huntly

Mentioned above and shortlisted for the Calouste Gulbenkian prize, I have known about Deveron Projects for a while, but when I started reading properly about it yesterday, I couldn’t stop. An innovative, place-driven project that uses a 50/50 principle to balance art/community, global/local, experimental/traditional in its ethos, it’s right up my street. I can’t wait to visit, and I hope to meet the inspiring people who run it. Until then, they are hosting a series of online talks/chats on Friday lunchtimes which I’m hoping to tune into, next week’s guest is Amanda Catto talking about Creative Scotland’s visual arts strategy.

Charleston

Ah Charleston. I have been meaning to go for years and then when it had to go into survival mode during the pandemic, I worried I would never get to see inside. Thankfully, the campaign to #ReopenCharleston was successful, and a further discovery of erotic drawings by Duncan Grant, gifted to the institution, has ensured it will continue to tell the incredible stories of the lives, loves and the art of the Bloomsbury Group in Sussex for a long time to come.

Newhailes House and Gardens

This is a Palladian Mansion looked after by the National Trust for Scotland, situated down the road from Edinburgh, in Musselburgh. Apparently it has amazing rococo interiors including 18th-century trompe l’oeil decoration. The house is undergoing some restoration and hopefully will open in the spring. Book me up for a guided tour please!

Joan Eardley 100, Various venues

The work of Joan Eardley has been a revelation to me since moving to Scotland, and on 18 May 2021 it will be 100 years since her birth. This year several organisations are collaborating to form a series of retrospectives of her work, in a project led by Scottish Women and the Arts Research Network. There will be shows at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, Paisley Museum, Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries, a Heritage Trail on Arran, an exhibition at the National Galleries in Edinburgh along with more not yet announced. Follow #Eardley100 on social media for updates.

The BALTIC, Gateshead

I am ashamed to say I’ve never been to Gateshead or Newcastle. I can’t quite believe I’m confessing to that. I have no excuse, especially since moving to Edinburgh, it’s not a long train journey. The BALTIC has long been on my list of galleries to visit, so when I can, I’m booking a trip. We all know Newcastle is famous for its nightlife too, so I might try and hold out for when the pubs are open again, for this one.

Artes Mundi, Cardiff

The Artes Mundi prize is probably going online this year, but if there’s a chance to see it in person, I would love to take it. The prize was on Will Gompertz’s list of 2021 art to hope for (the list also featured places in Scotland and Northern Ireland. We ❤ the Beeb). Previous winners include Theaster Gates and Teresa Margolles, and this year’s winner will be announced on 11 February.

Towner Gallery, Eastbourne

The Towner got my attention recently because of its commitment to anti-racism action and pledges following up on statements made in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer. I like that they’re following up with action, not just words stopping at words. It makes me respect them as an institution and want to go there and support their work in Eastbourne.

CAMPLE LINE, Thornhill

Located in the countryside close to Lockerbie, CAMPLE LINE is an independent arts organisation for contemporary art and film. I’ve been waiting for restrictions to ease so I can see Sara Barker’s Undo the Knot exhibition, which looks like it hovers between sculpture and painting in a very satisfying way. Also, I’ve never really been to south west Scotland and I’d like to remedy that soon.

Dalmeny House

Cycling out to South Queensferry has been one of my favourite ways to alleviate the cabin fever of lockdown. Dalmeny Estate is on the way out there, and their art collection is usually open to visitors in the summer months. I have heard great things, fingers crossed they will open up again this year.

What’s on your list? What should I write about? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment, click the contact page or you can DM me on Instagram or Twitter.