GLASGOW 2014 VISUAL ART HIGHLIGHTS
STATE OF THE ART Rachael Cloughton speaks to Max Slaven at the David Dale Gallery, which is preparing to showcase artist-led activity from across the Commonwealth
‘I nternational Artist Initiated’ (IAI) is a collaborative art project organised by David Dale Gallery in Glasgow with contributions from six other artist-led organisations from Commonwealth territories. Together they will transform the east end of Glasgow into a vibrant hub of exhibitions, performances and public art during the Commonwealth Games.
While ambitious in its scale – both in the amount of participants and the distances they have worked across, IAI chimes comfortably with the David Dale Gallery’s international outlook. In the past year the space has hosted Swiss artist Claudia Comte’s i rst UK solo show and established an off-site residency programme with Artistes en Residence in Clermont Ferrand. ‘We’ve increasingly become interested in the diversity and multiplicity of artist run activity internationally,’ explains Max Slaven, one of the gallery’s directors. ‘The idea [for IAI] was to bring together a diverse group of people working in similar i elds and see what the possibilities for discourse and collaboration were. The opportunity of the Commonwealth Games seemed an ideal situation to attempt this.’
Artist-led initiatives in Barbados, Canada, Cyprus, India, Nigeria and New Zealand are all scheduled to exhibit work as part of the programme. ‘We tried to select groups who were international in their focus, outstanding within their geographical i eld, and tried to ensure that there was a diversity in practices and approaches across the groups,’ says Slaven. The initial research stage posed the greatest difi culties for the committee: ‘We had the problem of i nding a point from which to start
26 THE LIST 10 Jul–21 Aug 2014
and then primarily relying on the web presence of organisations, which varies widely,’ Slaven explains. However, beyond this point Slaven feels the organisation of the work actually benei ted from the huge distances the groups worked across: ‘there has been a certain separation between us and the artists – though I think this has been important in allowing each organisation to maintain its curatorial voice.’
The IAI programme is as diverse as you would expect from a project that encompasses so many different people, places and cultures. There will be a multi-channel i lm installation by Video Art Network Lagos, daily performances by RM, an artist-run space from Auckland, New Zealand and public art paintings and posters by Barbados based Fresh Milk Art. Canadian arts publication Fillip will host a debate focused around current and past institutional practices, while Cyprus Dossier are scheduled to present a multidisciplinary group show exploring Cypriot identity. Clark House Initiative will bring an exploration of radical protest languages to Glasgow’s east end, taking shape through texts, sculpture and printmaking. Glasgow’s art scene is synonymous with successful artist-led activity, but for Slaven this project stresses that such activity can (and does) l ourish anywhere: ‘I think in every cultural context there are the individuals with the intention and self-determination to create situations for art to exist and be seen…Certain conditions aid this and make it more prevalent, though it does really exist everywhere in some capacity.’
International Artist Initiated, David Dale Gallery and various locations across Glasgow’s east end, Sat 19 Jul–Sun 3 Aug.
TRIPLE JUMP
Several of Glasgow’s galleries have been inspired by the
Commonwealth Games. Here are three shows we recommend
IN COMMON
Various locations across Glasgow, Sat 19 Jul–Sun 3 Aug
Glaswegian design studio Recoat have invited artists from Commonwealth countries to paint large-scale murals
(picture, below) on five sites in Glasgow.
‘We selected artists that we had
followed for some time and had seen their work at other mural festivals,’
explains Amy Whiten, managing director of Recoat. The majority of the work will be figurative and inspired by the local
community.
BELOW ANOTHER SKY Glasgow Print Studio, Fri 18 Jul–15
Aug
Ten Scottish artists and ten artists from Commonwealth countries participated in residencies organised by the Scottish Print Network between 2013 and 2014.
Artists from Scotland visited Antigua, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Malawi and New Zealand while artists from Australia, Canada, India and Pakistan participated in residencies across
Scotland. Below Another Sky presents the outcomes, capturing the diversity
of the Commonwealth’s influences through an eclectic group show.
ALL SIDED GAMES
Off-site projects commissioned by
the Collective Gallery
Since October 2013 the Collective Gallery has produced a programme of off-site commissions in venues
built for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986, and in venues to be used for the Glasgow Games this year. For the next All Sided Games commission in August, artist
Dennis McNulty will work in and around
the MOD’s Barry Buddon Training Centre, the venue for this year’s Commonwealth Games’ Shooting Events. McNulty’s works often take hybrid forms, on this occasion he will be working with groups and individuals from the neighbouring towns of Barry
and Carnoustie.
(Rachael Cloughton)