Visual Art
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SO MUCH TALENT UNDER ONE ROOF WILL LEAD TO GREAT COLLABORATIONS Hitlist THE BEST EXHIBITIONS *
Project Ability at Trongate 103
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✽✽ John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins – Taking Liberties Trongate 103 project opens with a bang, as counter-culturalist, John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins’ fine work takes centre stage. A scowly William Burroughs; a smiling Alexander Trocchi in front of a ‘Fuck Communism!’ poster; a euphoric Allen Ginsberg outside the Royal Albert Hall; The Beatles in their prime and the lovely Marianne Faithfull are just some of the familiar faces caught by Hoppy in this retrospective. See review, page 88. Street Level, Trongate 103, Glasgow, until Sat 7 Nov. ✽✽ Klaus Weber: Bee Paintings Weber’s innovative art project develops bio- aesthetic experiments to question the co-evolution of humans and bees, to fascinating effect. See review, page 88. Transmission Gallery, Glasgow Until Sat 3 Oct. ✽✽ Henry Coombes: The Bedfords This 20-minute moving picture tells the tale of English painter Edwin Landseer’s commission to paint a family portrait of the Bedfords in the Scottish Highlands. See review page 88. Sorcha Dallas Gallery, Glasgow, until Fri 9 Oct. ✽✽ Cerith Wyn Evans with Throbbing Gristle: A=P=P=A=R=I=T=I=O=N Last chance to see this extraordinary collaboration between sculptor Evans and these pioneering musicians. Tramway, Glasgow, until Sun 27 Sep. ✽✽ The Creative World of Alan Davie This exhibition tracing Davie’s artistic trajectory from art student to sponge-like spiritual seeker has rightly enjoyed a strong following since it set its stall – with very good reason. Don’t miss it. Dovecot, Edinburgh, until Sat 26 Sep. 24 Sep–8 Oct 2009 THE LIST 87
Picture perfect As Trongate 103 opens its doors to a bright new future, Anna Millar takes a look behind the scenes
Billy Connolly once surmised that the great thing about Glasgow was that ‘if there’s a nuclear attack it’ll look exactly the same afterwards’. The Big Yin has a point. But while its character remains, some of Glasgow’s cultural hubs have certainly enjoyed a change of face in recent years. Case in point: Trongate 103, the latest creation to rise from the ashes. Transformed from the ground level up, this Edwardian warehouse in the heart of Glasgow’s Merchant City, once home to the city’s rag trade, is now a hub for some of the city’s most influential gallery spaces.
A work in progress for almost three years, a peek behind the scenes shows the sheer scale – and energy – of the project. Housed over six storeys, the new space creates a home for Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, Glasgow Media Access Centre, Glasgow Print Studio, Glasgow Independent Studios, Street Level Photo Works, The Russian Cultural Centre and the Transmission Gallery. Boasting two floors of exhibition spaces and four floors of galleries, workshops, artists’ studios and production spaces, the emphasis here is on collaboration and growth.
Gallery director Malcolm Dickson’s Street Level Photo Works is showcasing the photographs of John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins as part of the opening, a fitting celebration of counter-culturalism and visual art’s capacity for capturing the moment. ‘The great thing about the Trongate project is that it recognises the importance of the city’s independent visual art sector,’ says Dickson. ‘Its aim is to provide
a secure base for the development of the visual arts.’
Dickson hopes having so much talent under one roof will encourage collaborations between artists and communities: ‘Everybody has their own space; there’s no hierarchy. Everyone just likes the same thing: art. That can, you hope, create a very exciting window for ideas and collaborations. Besides that, there are lots of bridges being built between here and other communities in the city: that’s important.’
The extraordinary array of differently sized and lit studios, workspaces and production facilities (all selected by the artists themselves) affords 200 artists the scope to work in the building at any one time; while literally thousands of participants of all and any abilities can use the public access facilities. The space will also play a key role in some of the city’s festivals, namely the Merchant City Festival, which kicks off this fortnight. Better still, being light on pretension, the space is designed to encourage us, the punters, to go, wander and simply enjoy the range on view.
Artist Donald Urquhart, who has created four public art works for the space, believes the creation of Trongate 103, in its new guise, is just the beginning. ‘The transformation here is astonishing. On the trajectory where we’ve got to [in the art world] it’s extraordinary but it’s still just below where we should be. We should be looking at where we’re going next. Hopefully this building can only contribute to that.’
www.trongate103.com