Vane98

Louise Wirz

My first contact with ‘Vane98’ was through receiving a small flyer in May inviting me to the Head of Steam pub in Newcastle. The flyer was both a call for ‘all artists working in or connected to Newcastle’ who were keen to participate and perhaps more significantly a call to ‘help build a lasting infrastructure and network for the exchange of ideas and resources’. It was clear from the outset that a group of people were getting together to make something happen (as had been the case with ‘Vane97’ the previous year) and also to question the status quo. The result of these pub meetings involved a mushrooming of momentum of over 100 artists exhibiting and performing in around fifty events in over twenty venues during October. The series of previews and parties (in wonderful venues such as the Assembly Rooms) was so unceasing that I only know of one person who stuck the course and attended every single event.

Being asked to write about ‘Vane98’ in general, about what struck me and what struck those I talked with, immediately brings about a list of questions that no sane person could attempt to answer (or read) in one short article. What was the motivation for those participating (exhibiting artists, artist organisers, funders, venue owners and visitors)? Was it political and/or experimental? Why did Vane happen in the first place – was it about setting the agenda or just getting on with it? Was there really strength in numbers and was there room within this for individual development and gain? How did the broad church approach work in practice? Amongst the wide range of practice and career stages represented was there really a sense of a lack of hierarchy? What about the future – can Vane maintain its openness and flexibility? By its nature, will it become a victim of its own success and – like trying to catch a butterfly with a brick – will the very process of trying to pin Vane down to a definition alter it beyond recognition?

To make sense of what it was that did happen during and through ‘Vane98’, I think it is important to establish why Vane came about in the first place. From talking to William Heard (a co-organiser of ‘Vane97’ and ‘Vane98’), it seems that Vane evolved in 1997 out of a desire that was not being satisfied in the existing infrastructure of exhibition opportunities for artists based in the region. James Bustard (Head of Visual Arts at Northern Arts) views the Vane initiative as important due to the very fact that it is an expression of self-determination, independent of an institution. Why Vane came about in 1997 and not 1996 can in part be answered by the perceived opportunities expected by artists in the region during Visual Arts UK. Both institutions and artists openly acknowledge (1) that the experience of many regional artists of Visual Arts UK was that of ambivalence; on the one hand there was a celebration and profiling of visual art per se and on the other there was a feeling that existing structures did not deliver the exhibition opportunities that were expected for and by regional artists. An example of an expected yet undelivered opportunity was the open that never was, ‘Northern Scene’ in Sunderland, criticism of which spawned ‘On the Corner’, organised by and involving over forty Sunderland artists outside of the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art space (subsequently ‘Connected’ was organised by both artists and the gallery involving over seventy artists in 1997). I am sure that this is not the only example of existing structures letting artists down during 1996 and beyond but on the positive side it is also an example that illustrates the effect of artist-led challenges to institutions which can lead to a mutually beneficial non-‘us-and-them’ collaborative result. One could argue therefore that Vane has its origins in both protest and empowerment.

The north east of England is unlike any other area in the UK in that it does not as yet have the critical mass of regional areas with similar populations such as the central band of Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow) and the north west (Liverpool and Manchester) (2). In our favour, however, the north east has a tradition of action and success in the area of emergent activities meted out when one looks at the Tyne International events, the established networking of artist activity through groups such as the Newcastle Group, Tynedale Artist Network, Shaddon Mills Studios in Carlisle and the growing activities of nationally networked artist-led galleries such as Waygood. The impact of the above activities – and one to which Vane contributes – is that of advocating and profiling the region’s artists as equal partners alongside institutions in the cultural fabric of the region. This focus of Vane as a network of artists provides a real sense of a common voice at a time when major capital projects, funding and delivery mechanisms are dramatically altering the cultural landscape. Whilst Vane provides an outlet for artists to benefit from a promotional package and to show in a group situation in the public domain, which is a worthwhile activity in itself, an area which is perhaps more interesting is the process of engagement undertaken with non-art based organisations in order to facilitate the project’s delivery. It was interesting to discuss with both Jane Caddick and Ned Buick of the Grainger Town Project [urban regeneration body for central Newcastle] why their organisation felt it had such a strong synergy with Vane. Whilst the artists’ profiling of the former use of the buildings’ spaces highlighted their emptiness, the Grainger Town Project was pleased that they had an opportunity to put a focus on Grainger Town’s buildings for future investment and also to profile their Cultural Development Strategy to the buildings’ owners. One can understand Grainger Town’s commitment and enthusiasm to a project such as Vane given that many of the buildings’ owners will continue to be proprietors after the Grainger Town Project ceases to exist in 2003. By engaging with non-arts spaces for exhibition venues, Vane clearly contributes to a cultural advocacy. A tangible example of which can be seen even now – two weeks after the end of ‘Vane98’ – in Project North East’s sanction to use one of their buildings for recording and session activity for a three-month period. This commitment is clearly built on the Vane track record of alternative non-commercial use of disused buildings as a focus for reinvestment. A sharp awareness of the urban environment and the prior use of buildings manifested itself in the art on show in all of the Grainger Town venues. In ‘Remnant’ at 63 Westgate Road, Rupert Clamp and Monika Dutta’s traces of office life created a sense of torpor which made the building’s former use all the more vivid. In practical terms this activity continues to highlight the potential use of the building whilst temporarily adopting a different use. The ‘Talk to Me’ installation in the former boardroom of Central Exchange Buildings had a similar effect. Christopher Yeats and Gordon Dalton’s ambitions for the ‘Strange’ show at Cross House were very much bound up in the provenance of the building. Although the venue was not secured until a very short time before the exhibition opening, the basic precept of ‘Strange’ was that it was planned as a thematic, site-specific show in a former office building. The approach and delivery of such a show is very different from that of a white walled gallery – in a sense the show becomes a work in itself. Taking art out of the gallery setting is a key element of projects like Vane – it allows for a less sealed definition of what is on show. As we have seen with Grainger Town Project’s involvement, I am not sure whether operating outside of an institutional framework means that the project is entirely free of the agendas of gallery spaces that are often linked with funding, but perhaps the definitions of what is and should be on show are less prescriptive.

The execution of Simon Jones and Andrew McDermott’s ‘Tunnel’ project in Orchard Street Tunnel highlights the flexibility of contemporary practice in involving seemingly unconnected parties. Its outdoor and central location meant that viewers of the work, some of whom may have been unaware of Vane as a whole, could just happen across it. The bringing together of project-specific support from Northern Arts, The Grainger Town Project, Newcastle City Council, the Laing Art Gallery, Royal Station Hotel, J T Dove and Robson Brown illustrates the fact that although the overall framework of Vane provided a supportive catalyst for activity, it was very much up to the individuals concerned to draw in support for their own projects. I guess the positive side of this is that the process itself of using the Vane umbrella to lever further support could be seen as both empowering and an act of professional practice. One cannot help wondering, however, that had the majority of artists not given their creativity and time for free, the impact of ‘Vane98’ would not have been so visible. I feel that Vane has made genuine in-roads into bringing artist-led activity further into the centre of the north east’s visual art community, I also feel that much grappling needs to be done in resolving the issue of whether it is appropriate for galleries to be involved more formally in future incarnations of Vane. To sum up, the future of Vane is yet to be worked out. I hope that it retains enough dynamism to continue to reinvent itself and to perhaps draw further on the support that galleries and other organisations can offer. In terms of creative energy, time and commitment I think the majority would agree that the biggest sponsors of the event were and will continue to be the artists themselves.

(1) Portrait of an Artist discussion held by [a-n] THE ARTISTS INFORMATION COMPANY, in collaboration with the School of Research and Critical Studies at Northumbria University, November 1998.
(2) Of note is the strength of exhibition and viewing opportunities in part due to the dynamic mix of artist-led, commercial and public spaces such as: Transmission Gallery, CCA, Compass Gallery, Tramway, Glasgow Print Studio, GOMA, Cyril Gerber Fine Art in Glasgow; Collective Gallery, Stills Gallery, Fruitmarket Gallery, Scottish National Galleries in Edinburgh; Three Month Gallery, Annual Programme, Tate Gallery, Bluecoat, Whitworth, Castlefield and Cornerhouse in Liverpool and Manchester.

Louise Wirz at the time of writing was Head of Exhibitions at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (NGCA), Sunderland. First published in the Vane98 Journal.