11.09.06 kulturnatib

Art spaces

I have been in discussions with a friend a few times about art spaces, or its earlier provenance, art galleries. The first question he asked is, are there many galleries here? No, there are not. And, more to the point, there are none that are real galleries, in a sense of having curators, a curated exhibit program – usually on an annual basis, based on the longer term thrusts of the gallery, and a proper organization for handling or ensuring the protection of the interests of artists, much less the interests of collectors and, if they are ever recognized as having any interests at all to protect, the public.

Galleries, or what stands for galleries here are simply spaces where the most basic amenities are provided – even then, often they have to be begged for, art works are thrown together, willy-nilly and, where the public and collectors must find their own way through the maze or haze of ascertaining artistic value, cultural significance, and then, for collectors, commensurate monetary value.

This is a pity seeing the number of practicing artists and art organizations here plus this city's attempts – often expressed, dead-pan seriously, as a certainty – at being world-class. There simply is no question of being world class when culture and the arts are mere afterthoughts in the minds and plans of city authorities, both in government and the private sector and the artists or cultural workers languish in neglect, stagnation or, worse, exploited situations.

With our art collective, we tried our hand at running an alternative space; alternative that is to the existing commercial spaces – that even then were and are far from the ideal practice for such spaces. We were fired up by the idea, and for a while, the practice of a space that featured innovative exhibits, had a program of art education with artists talks, art discussions, workshops, etc.

In the end, however, we decided on giving up the space, though we continue as a collective, continue to practice our art with a decidedly collective, collaborative bent that now, more than before, explores public space as alternative venue.

From that experience, we affirmed that a collective, collaborative approach can be a good, even necessary, countervailing balance to the present heavily commercial art space model. At the same time, we also realized that the business model of matching cost with revenues is as equally necessary with revenues not necessarily always equated with sales. There are revenue opportunities from grants, exchanges and the like.

Yet our most important learning experience is that while our collective approach was successful in providing the vision for our space it did not translate to operational efficiency and efficacy. There has to be one person to take care of the day to day management of all aspects of the business, even if its premises are from a not-for-profit perspective.

Still this does not preclude a for-profit perspective. This is what our friend is trying to explore. It has been done elsewhere. Can it be done here? That is the question we are helping him try to answer.

While we pride ourselves in being wild-eyed, contemporary experimentalists, it is here where we agree that the only way to go is to be clear-eyed realists. Still, dreams are part of reality, and it is a dream we share that a real professional contemporary space that helps the city mature culturally is a necessity, for us, perhaps our friend and, definitely, our collective future.