The Emperor's New Clothes?

The last 15 months or so have been among the most disturbing and destructive in the history of the Arts Council of Wales (ACW), and arguably, for Arts in Wales as a whole. Nevertheless, the latest furore on the Welsh gallery scene shows no sign of easing the tension.

Of £50,000 funding given to the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff by the ACW, Wales’ popular luvvie haunt has elected to spend £12,000 on… empty walls. Created by artist Simon Pope, the public are invited into the bare room to “recall, from memory, a walk through a gallery space.”

While I appreciate the value this sentiment may hold within the artistic world, the fact remains, that £12,000 of our minimal public arts budget has been spent on, literally, nothing. So, where has this hefty sum dissipated to? Apparently, on propaganda for the display, and the invigilators who have been put in place to monitor your viewing experience.

I can’t help but find this slightly ignominious. Leaving aside the huge number of Welsh artists unable to find adequate gallery space to showcase their work (the next Sir Kyffin will certainly not materialise from the echoing walls of ‘Gallery Space Recall’), all too many towns and local councils have recently been turned down for considerably smaller amounts of funding towards their own local festivals and displays. Aberystwyth Town Council’s application for a £2000 grant toward their annual Punch & Judy arts festival was among those refused. This festival attracts hundreds of tourists and regularly enables visitors and locals alike to celebrate the fun and visual pleasure of art in their midst, as well as giving many children their first taste of live theatre.

If future art is due to rely on bare walls and recollection, it seems even more important to me that we encourage funding that will give people something to remember.