David Watt, recently appointed as Glasgow Sculpture Studios first ever Director, reflects on the past and future challenges the organisation has encountered in attempting to support sculptural practice.
Next year, Glasgow Sculpture Studios (GSS) will be 20 years old. As the organisation looks back and reflects upon two decades of support for artists, it is also considering the future, and is currently in the midst of significant redevelopment of its role, current premises and facilities.
The biggest hurdle for the organisation has always been premises a good location, visible within the community, accessible to the public, sufficiently large to meet demand and technical specification and affordable. At times not all of this has been achievable, and accessibility has been the most expendable factor. In its short life, GSS has thrived in three different locations: a redundant cigarette factory, then a decaying industrial estate, and now in a central location in Glasgows Merchant City. Glasgow City Council is aiming to provide an infrastructure of facilities to serve Glasgows artists. This centres upon redeveloping two key buildings the North Block of King Street and the Briggait Fish Market on Clydeside, which are a mere 500 yards apart, creating two almost conjoined hubs of artistic practice of national and international significance while playing a significant part in the citys regeneration. This vibrant creative cluster is now widely recognised as critical for the support of artistic production, critical debate and dissemination of the broadest contemporary artistic practice in Scotland.
GSS currently supports a high profile group of artists 100 regular users (40 studio holders and 60 facilities users), and runs a programme of exhibitions and projects which attract significant audiences and sustains and develops the professional careers of artists while demystifying the process of making art. The Sculpture Studios act as a resource and forum for artists living locally and working globally by providing technical resources within an infrastructure which supports their efforts to deliver their works to worldwide audiences. This role as bridge between artists and the community is fundamental to the next stage of GSS development. In communicating the intellectual and ideological basis from which art is originated, GSS intends to evolve and develop its support infrastructure for artists and the public alike, making it a vital stopping off point for all who wish to understand, participate in and embrace contemporary artistic practice.
With this in mind, GSS has begun to test current demand amongst artists and the public, for varying types of support, in terms of spaces, technical provision and expertise. This process of implementing and evaluating pilot projects is an attempt to future proof artists needs from the building redevelopment, so that it continues to provide a secure home for artists and engage more proactively with the broadest audience. n
David Watt is Director of Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
t: 0141 553 1128; e: info@glasgowsculpturestudios.org
