Making Visual Arts Visible 2

GEORGINA COBURN has been out and about meeting the visual artists and organisations throughout the Highlands and Islands to prepare a report for HI~Arts. In this second article, Georgina considers more key issues ahead of the final report and associated conference later in 2006.

DURING MY interviews with artists and visual arts workers, many have commented on next year’s Highland Year of Culture and speculated about how visible visual art will be as part of that celebration.

The fact that Highland 2007 is not a commissioning body would seem to leave the “inclusion” of artists in the hands of community groups alone.

Private galleries and individual artist involvement has not been encouraged, a flawed approach in a region that has so few public exhibition spaces.

There continues to be confusion about the inclusion of Islands as part of Highland 2007 and about the interpretation of culture which is extremely broad and not necessarily arts focused.

There have been murmurings about staging visual arts fringe events in 2007, an affirmation from artists that we’re here, proactive and creating! It seems that in some areas this may be the only way to celebrate and acknowledge the presence of visual arts in the Highlands and Islands in 2007, and to raise awareness about one of the region’s greatest assets.

Seeing work in artist’s studios I have a renewed faith in what art can do

Personally I hope that there will be artworks created to comment on Highland 2007, encouraging public debate about cultural provision and identity and collaboration between artists and artists groups such as the emerging studio trail networks. If artist-led, this has the potential to be the most positive form of cultural legacy from the year long event.

As artist-led networks such as An Talla Solas, Elemental Arts, Veer North, Art on the Map, Visual Arts Sutherland, Skye and Lochalsh Arts & Crafts Association and Highland Open Studios gain strength, awareness about the level of artistic activity throughout the region will no doubt be raised.

The emergence of Public Art projects such as “Imagining the Centre” in Inverness, the Uist Sculpture Trail and Shetland’s new museum public art scheme which includes fixtures and fittings within the building are excellent examples of engaging communities with visual art at local level. This is extremely significant in an area such as the Highlands and Islands that does not have a clearly defined tradition of visual art.

Throughout these interviews I have seen multiple examples of individual and group practice engaged with the dynamic of creating an expectation about art as an integral part of life in the Highlands and Islands. As the confidence of those engaged with the visual arts grows, so too will the demand for infrastructure to support that practice in a way that encourages diversity, professional development and excellence.

It is my sincere hope that this expectation be extended publicly to include opportunities for practitioners to meet and to exchange ideas and expertise annually, starting with a regional gathering planned by HI~Arts in November.

This is also an opportunity for us all to take stock of what is currently being achieved, debate the issues you have raised, celebrate good practise and begin to really see what art is capable of communicating. With such brilliant and visionary work being created by Highlands and Islands artists and arts workers, we need an approach to development and creating infrastructure to match.

The way that artists access information and communicate with others working in the sector is one of the greatest challenges to artists working in rural isolation.

Isolation is also one of our greatest strengths in terms of creativity, individuality and energy. It is a dynamic force within the Highlands and Islands, shaping perception and allowing artists to focus fully on the essential nature of their solitary practice.

Contact with peers was rated by many as being extremely important to art practice during interviews, as was the need for selection which is an accepted part of professional art practice. Access to Open Shows and working spaces that encouraged more recreational work alongside professional work are also important for personal and professional development across the spectrum.

The opening this month of the new Lime Tree Gallery in Fort William with its first exhibition of Goya and the work of local artists is an example of the blurred line between public and private space working brilliantly to address a need for direct local access to art. Our unique geography demands unique solutions.

As the interview process winds down and I form my final report on the current state of the visual arts in the Highlands and Islands I feel that the cup is definitely half full.

Seeing work in artist’s studios I have a renewed faith in what art can do. There is nothing more vital, powerful, beautiful or thought provoking. It is an expression of vision and change that I hope our region can embrace as an integral part of its future.

Georgina Coburn can be contacted at georginacoburn@tiscali.co.uk  

© Georgina Coburn, 2006