Belgravia Gallery S U R R E Y H I L L S A R T T H A T M A K E S A H O U S E A H O M E HM KING CHARLES III CHARLIE MACKESY DAMIEN HIRST SIR PETER BLAKE NELSON MANDELA HEATHER DUNCAN JAN COUTTS BETTINA SEITZ IAN THOMSON HENRI MATISSE www.belgraviagallery.com
Two Halves of a Whole Art events are often split into two categories – those that teach us how to create and those that show us the creations of others. The Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington seeks to blur the lines for a more dynamic experience. We talk to Abigail Thomas, Visual Arts Curator (pink) and Gregory Emfietzis, Creative Learning Manager (blue), to find out what makes this unique space tick istockphoto.com/ Punnarong hat exhibitions and events do you have planned for the coming months? We will have Gaia by Luke Jerram and Art Retreats in August too – it’s going to be a crazy summer. There is so much happening in and around Gaia. It’s more than just an exhibition. Yes Gaia is something I wanted to programme for a long time. We expect over a thousand people a day will be coming to see it. I can’t wait for Gaia, and the thousands of new audiences that will be able to attend with the free tickets we are giving away. How do you make the Landmark Arts Centre engaging for visitors? I’ve always liked complementing our exhibitions with live events or demonstrations. Since being at the Landmark, I have found that visual arts audiences are rarely spectators, they are passionate ‘thinkers and doers’. They are the type of person who will get more enjoyment from a deeper level of understanding. I believe audiences flourish when the arts scene is accessible and exciting. For example, at a recent art fair we chose to document the event, not with photographs, but with incredible drawings by a local artist. The line drawings communicate more than a photograph, and our visitors loved the surprise of finding themselves depicted in artwork which they could buy. Yes and if someone is interested in an artwork, we can enrich their experience by showing them more of the process and the practical. We offer demonstrations, trial classes and even year round courses. What do you love most about your roles? One of the reasons I love being the visual arts curator here is that we aren’t just a gallery – creative learning keeps the building vibrant all year round. It’s true. Somehow we manage to squeeze more and more in every year. The summer used to be a quiet time for us, but this summer is the busiest ever. I have loved working at the Landmark for a long time, but I think I am more excited about the work we are beginning now than I have been about anything we have done so far. You recently got a new Director, Harper Ray, how is his influence changing things? Harper is always looking for ways to engage and develop artists. He has shown us how the bigger picture relies on that. It’s a more collaborative and supportive way to look at the arts. That is true. Also, our departments – arts curation and creative learning – were always quite separate, and our audiences were considered separate too, but now we have been given the freedom to blur the boundaries between the two. By working together, we view art less as an endpoint in the creative process, and in doing so we make the arts scene more sustainable. If your business was printing books, then to be sustainable you might plant trees and teach reading. For us, growing both artists and audiences improves the sustainability of our work. One could see the number of exhibitions we stage and think that the visual arts programme is why we have arts audiences, but they are not the driving force, they are the proof. Well attended exhibitions are evidence that the area is full of passionate and informed people. I agree, creative learning may not seem in the same league as professional art exhibitions, but learning about art helps to grow an appetite for it, and so our art classes develop an authentic cultural landscape. It’s not enough to put on an exciting exhibition – a love of art needs to be nurtured year-round in the community. What are your art classes like? The classes at the Landmark are taught by exceptionally talented tutors who are all working artists. When sourcing tutors, we look for the same qualities as we do for exhibiting artists – we both value excellence and look for original voices. We want to fill the building with artists that have the capacity to delight and inspire. But the classes are also all about bringing people together. Art is how we contextualise the world and express ourselves. We sometimes talk about creating a ‘culture of creativity’, in which we give opportunities for everyone to be creative. Yes, they are all about sharing a love of the arts and a wish to communicate that joy to others. My arts practice can often feel like meditation, there is no pressure of an endpoint, and there is no exam. There is just the joy of personal artistic endeavour. I know our tutors also feel like this; they are not simply giving instruction, they are passing on their passion. For more information about upcoming exhibitions and classes at The Landmark Arts Centre visit landmarkartscentre.org 51 priceless-magazines.com
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