Boost for Northern Ireland
Joining the Plus Tate network will help galleries grow their profile but funding cuts are holding back progress. By Gareth Harris
Curators at three contemporary art galleries in Northern Ireland say that joining the Plus Tate network, which was launched in 2010 to share collections and expertise, will help extend their international reach and build links with venues.
The initiative, announced in late March, connects the Golden Thread Gallery and the MAC, both in Belfast, and the Centre for Contemporary Art Derry-Londonderry (CCA) with 31 UK visual arts organisations.
It comes two years after the launch of the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture festival in 2013, which attracted around 330,400 visitors and generated £15.5m, according to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI).
“We hope [Plus Tate] will boost not just our profile, but also that of contemporary Northern Irish art,” says Peter Richards, the creative director of Golden Thread.
Another Tate project, the Turner prize exhibition, was a key event during the Derry-Londonderry festival and attracted 52,696 visitors to the Ebrington Square gallery site. But the venue was closed, prompting an online petition initiated by the non-profit Void Art Gallery that was signed by 1,597 supporters.
The Ilex Urban Regeneration Company has converted the site into a hub for commercial and creative businesses.
“A number of venues closed in the wake of City of Culture, but there are still two spaces funded by ACNI [Void and CCA],” says Sara Greavu, the curator of public programmes at CCA Derry-Londonderry. “Other venues are also opening like the Social Studios and Gallery.”
Void, whose ACNI funding for 2015-16 rose by £60,000 to £202,768, opened an exhibition space at the City Factory in April 2014. The council plans to turn it into a permanent arts hub.
ACNI and Derry City Council set up the Derry Legacy Fund to capitalise on 2013’s cultural boom, with £900,000 available over three years for cultural bodies. “The money was probably insufficient given all the organisations applying to the same fund,” says Greavu.
Most sector professionals say that cuts in state subsidies have undermined visual arts provision. The budget for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has been reduced by 10% in 2015-16 to £90m. It funds the ACNI, which subsequently had an 11.2% funding cut (£1.4m).
Arts council grants for CCA Derry-Londonderry and Golden Thread remain unchanged at £112,000 and £180,019 respectively.
This will boost the region’s international profile, says Richards. Last year, Golden Thread exhibited works by six contemporary Northern Irish artists, including Mary Morgan, at the Scope art fair in New York. But he adds: “There is a catch-22 situation in relation to funding and sponsorship – without core funding for staff there is neither the time nor the expertise to garner sponsorship to fill the deficit in state funding.”
And Hugh Mulholland, a curator at the MAC says: “Every arts organisation is working under the strain of less public funding but that has not prevented the MAC from seeking other funding sources. Trusts and foundations are becoming part of the landscape.”
He says that the MAC, which saw a 5% cut in ACNI funding this year to £950,000, has successfully secured sponsorship: its 2013 Andy Warhol exhibition, part of the Tate’s Artist Rooms initiative, was backed by Ulster Bank and Absolut Vodka.
Meanwhile, two important projects are in the pipeline: first, Belfast City Council is funding the Belfast Visual Arts Forum, which provides professional development opportunities. Second, in its five-year Ambition for the Arts strategy, ACNI revealed plans for a contemporary art gallery at an undisclosed location.
However, Mulholland says: “There is a stronger case for supporting existing organisations.”
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is holding an exhibition of sculptural forms and glass paintings by Venice-based siblings, Laura de Santillana and Alessandro Diaz de Santillana, in its 18th century chapel (2 May-6 September).
The pair are descendants of the Venini glass dynasty, established by Paolo Venini on Murano island in 1921. Laura produces slab-like forms (pictured) that she refers to as glass books, while Alessandro’s inspiration is water and his works have a strong painterly quality.
The initiative, announced in late March, connects the Golden Thread Gallery and the MAC, both in Belfast, and the Centre for Contemporary Art Derry-Londonderry (CCA) with 31 UK visual arts organisations.
It comes two years after the launch of the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture festival in 2013, which attracted around 330,400 visitors and generated £15.5m, according to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI).
“We hope [Plus Tate] will boost not just our profile, but also that of contemporary Northern Irish art,” says Peter Richards, the creative director of Golden Thread.
Another Tate project, the Turner prize exhibition, was a key event during the Derry-Londonderry festival and attracted 52,696 visitors to the Ebrington Square gallery site. But the venue was closed, prompting an online petition initiated by the non-profit Void Art Gallery that was signed by 1,597 supporters.
The Ilex Urban Regeneration Company has converted the site into a hub for commercial and creative businesses.
“A number of venues closed in the wake of City of Culture, but there are still two spaces funded by ACNI [Void and CCA],” says Sara Greavu, the curator of public programmes at CCA Derry-Londonderry. “Other venues are also opening like the Social Studios and Gallery.”
Void, whose ACNI funding for 2015-16 rose by £60,000 to £202,768, opened an exhibition space at the City Factory in April 2014. The council plans to turn it into a permanent arts hub.
ACNI and Derry City Council set up the Derry Legacy Fund to capitalise on 2013’s cultural boom, with £900,000 available over three years for cultural bodies. “The money was probably insufficient given all the organisations applying to the same fund,” says Greavu.
Most sector professionals say that cuts in state subsidies have undermined visual arts provision. The budget for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has been reduced by 10% in 2015-16 to £90m. It funds the ACNI, which subsequently had an 11.2% funding cut (£1.4m).
Arts council grants for CCA Derry-Londonderry and Golden Thread remain unchanged at £112,000 and £180,019 respectively.
This will boost the region’s international profile, says Richards. Last year, Golden Thread exhibited works by six contemporary Northern Irish artists, including Mary Morgan, at the Scope art fair in New York. But he adds: “There is a catch-22 situation in relation to funding and sponsorship – without core funding for staff there is neither the time nor the expertise to garner sponsorship to fill the deficit in state funding.”
And Hugh Mulholland, a curator at the MAC says: “Every arts organisation is working under the strain of less public funding but that has not prevented the MAC from seeking other funding sources. Trusts and foundations are becoming part of the landscape.”
He says that the MAC, which saw a 5% cut in ACNI funding this year to £950,000, has successfully secured sponsorship: its 2013 Andy Warhol exhibition, part of the Tate’s Artist Rooms initiative, was backed by Ulster Bank and Absolut Vodka.
Meanwhile, two important projects are in the pipeline: first, Belfast City Council is funding the Belfast Visual Arts Forum, which provides professional development opportunities. Second, in its five-year Ambition for the Arts strategy, ACNI revealed plans for a contemporary art gallery at an undisclosed location.
However, Mulholland says: “There is a stronger case for supporting existing organisations.”
Venetian splendour
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is holding an exhibition of sculptural forms and glass paintings by Venice-based siblings, Laura de Santillana and Alessandro Diaz de Santillana, in its 18th century chapel (2 May-6 September).
The pair are descendants of the Venini glass dynasty, established by Paolo Venini on Murano island in 1921. Laura produces slab-like forms (pictured) that she refers to as glass books, while Alessandro’s inspiration is water and his works have a strong painterly quality.