Now a week later and I can look back on the Recycl-Age Art exhibition I organised at granton:hub over these past 6 months.
This was a most challenging event to produce, manage and curate on many different fronts. The ever changing COVID situation was increasingly adding pressures to the planning of the event. It became clear that although we could go ahead, we needed to be careful in how we would manage visitors, as well as any other pre-planning that would be taking place to ensure the smooth delivery of the exhibition.
We also had many more submissions from further afield (including Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Argyle), and more than we could possible hang compared to Art in Granton 2016 and 2019. More 3D work had been put forward, some in a proposal stage and difficult to anticipate. The final weeks were dense, with many e-mails trying to coordinate the hand-ins of the work, not easy as granton:hub was (and is) still closed in view of restricted activities. It was difficult to meet with other volunteers, and with having to fit in a kids' workshop and walking tour to pick up rubbish (as part of the Coastal Knowledge funded project). It seems that every weekend was spent having to coordinate yet another piece of the jigsaw.
Fortunately on Wednesday before the opening (Friday 9 July) my plans more or less came together. I spent 2 days solid with Ian Reddie, hanging all the works and using props from the upstairs theatre rehearsal room to create plinths for presenting art objects. I was rather pleased that it was now clear we would be having a diverse show, artists showing imaginative, innovative and thoughtful work, with intricate detail and superb craftsmanship. Prices, with the exception of a few artworks, were rather subdued. It is unclear why as the artistic efforts of producing the work were obvious. I am guessing that maybe artists anticipated that buyers are under pressure too, and therefore sale prices were pitched lower, to still aim for success during these difficult financial times. Or did it reflect on incorporating recycled materials, maybe considered too new to be valued?
The Friday evening formal opening, despite restrictions on the numbers and not open to the general public, still had a celebratory tone thanks to MP Deidre Brock recognising the importance of the story that artists were sharing. As the Shadow SNP Spokesperson for the Environment, she emphasised that we need to take action now, our planet is under threat... plastics, rubbish is everywhere. Ahead of COP26 we are made aware yet gain of what is going on with our planet. And we need to take responsibility. Indeed, the additional unveiling of the newly installed art boards on the Madelvic factory next door to granton:hub was confronted by fly-tipping which had been reported to the council who, to this day, still have not taken action.
The lack of general public attendance on Friday evening was balanced by the continued interest over the three days. We could count on the extra publicity from Granton Castle Friends of the Walled Garden as well as the granton:hub plant sale and Scrapstore Open Day on Sunday. It is clear these are excellent partnerships which we must further nurture. I am estimating we had a footfall of around 200 people, similar to the exhibition in 2019, an excellent performance considering the uncertainty of our plans only a few weeks before.
We were successful in selling work by 8 artists and 1 photographer. This was a good result but we do need to think about the business model for the future which granton:hub will need to review now. Like so many other charities, we are severely hit by COVID and our income has dropped dramatically these past 18 months. Free submission and just 20% commission we charge on work that carries a low price is a tricky income model. Despite working with volunteers, we need to think about the sustainability of our plans but also keep in mind our aim of being inclusive and community based. Noone likes to work for free, including artists, and it makes me think how we can move on with future plans.
The night before the opening I recorded a quick video. Alas, the pressures of managing the event itself did not allow me to shoot more. The video presents all the works and includes a total of 24 artists. Two artists made a small adjustment to their display on the opening day, just one of the challenges of dealing with 3D presentations and coordinating artist input.
For the full exhibition programme check the granton:hub website
Another blog post on my artworks, as well as the collaboration with Ian Reddie will follow.