| WHAT THE NEWSPAPERS SAY... |
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| Satisfactory
first stage in rewriting the script In the creative world, ideas are like gold dust, as MARY BRENNAN discovers, at a meeting hoping to solve Glasgow's arts problems. On paper, it looked like an invitation to a day of gloom. A list the recent travails and cutbacks that had afflicted the arts in Glasgow, followed by the question "What next?" We — a mix of arts practitioners, producers, promoters and, yes, even some press — had been asked along to Tramway in search of new directions. The hosts were Glasgow's Department of Performing Arts and Venues. In return for limitless tea and coffee they wanted feedback on how the city could, should, respond to the increasingly serious constraints on the arts. To help focus our attention away from the familiar whinges, they had enlisted Nap Associates as facilitators. Armed with a strict timetable and business-like house rules about the "Open Space" process of discussion, Kerry and lan — first names no rank, no occupation for everyone — started the gathering off in search of what concerned us about the arts in Glasgow. Then they nudged us further, into identifying what we'd like to see achieved and what actions we'd take to achieve those goals. The emphasis was to be on losing negativity on discarding expectations and preconceptions in favour of a more unbuttoned, brainstorming openness. But would we really come up with practicable answers? Given the onslaught of financial cutbacks and depressing audience figures wasn't it likely that we'd end up adding to the list of questions? Maybe we'd decide after all, that the light at the end of the tunnel was actually the oncoming train... and that it was time to jump aboard and take our hopes and skills and resources to some other city. In fact, it turned out to be a day of surprising resolution. Of bolshie, determined, and distinctly challenging concepts that didn't stop short at peaks of visionary rhetoric but were, more often than not, tied down to plans of immediate action. Real dates for future meetings were agreed. Folk stood up and said, "I'll organise that — and gave their full names and telephone numbers." I can't honestly remember ever being at a similar forum which, in the end, produced so many concrete possibilities. Time and again, as the same faces have come together, we have rehearsed the usual grievances. Small companies have lamented the lack of administrative support, practitioners have cited the lack of available spaces as a stumbling block to making or shoving new work. The cry has gone up, consistently, for dialogue between artists and funders for awareness of the needs of — and potential contribution from — the city's many communities both geographic and cultural. The old, the young, the people with special needs — all part of the city's fabric yet many of them without a voice in the scheme of arts provision which has, increasingly, been used to market a dynamic image of Glasgow as a regenerated city of culture. In truth, you could sum up all too many of these talking shops in one demanding word: HELP! The breathtaking aspect of this DPAV Open Space Forum was the shift towards action and self-help. After a morning spent raising the all too familiar issues of concern, the afternoon was given over to planning. Different groups thrashed out viable ways of keeping Glasgow in touch with its people, be they artists or audiences, inner city dwellers or folk on the periphery. Each group came up with different recommendations thereafter a vote was taken, by the whole assembly, on which plans offered positive ways forward. Out in front was a scheme whereby empty properties could be made available to artists as workshops, offices, or performance/gallery spaces. The key here, was the bringing together of relevant authorities — police, environmental health, the city's property department and so forth — in order to streamline the formalities and "broker" the tenancy. This use of empty property was seen as good for Glasgow commercially and culturally — unoccupied buildings, especially in central locations create an air of commercial malaise about them. At the same time, these "found spaces" offer marvellous opportunities for practitioners to experiment outwith the protocols of proscenium arches or galleries. A close second was the impassioned cry, led by Liz Gardner of Fablevision, to have an Arts and Communittes Action Plan made a part of local authority policy making so that grass roots activities can be given proper status. Other plans that found favour included a centre for young people — a meeting is envisaged before the end of August to co-ordinate ideas. Meanwhile a meeting exploring a "trades fair", where practitioners can lay out their wares and make contact with promoters, possible sponsors and the like, is scheduled to take place on June 27 at 2pm in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Time and place and details can be confirmed by Lisa of Absa on 0141 204 3864. And if you are part of a small company looking for administrative support, go along to The Tron on Monday at 1pm. "Minimum, finance, maximum action" was a slogan coined by Angus Farquhar of NVA and it seemed to catch the spirit of the day, Little wonder the DPAV representatives looked openly cheered. The Herald 13 June 1997 |
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