civil/public service

Plan 9

about: 

Plan 9 was an contemporary art initiative run by artists, curators and writers between 2005 to 2010.

Plan 9 members have included Chris Barr, Kayle Brandon, Rachel Butcher, Rob Chavasse, Nim-Jo Chung, Julian Claxton, Rachel Connelly, Karen Di Franco, Anton Goldenstein, Mark Harris, Toby Huddlestone, Tom Johnson, Ali Jones, John Lawrence, Julie MacCalden, Natasha MacVoy, Sophie Mellor, Anouk Mercier, Sarah Tulloch, Lucie Red and Zoe Williams.

History

Plan 9 was established in 2004 by Sophie Mellor and Julian Claxton, with Toby Huddlestone joining in March 2005. Taking advantage of the redevelopment of Bristol's city centre, Plan 9's first site was in an empty shop unit in Broadmead - the city's shopping precinct. With the support of Bristol City Council, Broadmead Alliance and the estate agents Hartnell, Taylor and Cook, Plan 9 secured the unit for a period of one year, rent free.

Plan 9's programme was formulated to support the careers of emerging artists and curators, with four main exhibitions curated by Plan 9 (Industry & Idleness, Gatsobyter, Generation Games and BRSLAXVAA). An open call was also sent out nationally, which resulted in another five exhibitions/events being curated/organised by artists and curators outside Plan 9.

In 2006, Plan 9 organised 'Wig Wam Bam!' as part of the British Art Show 6 in Bristol. Interested in working within a building already open to the public, Plan 9 formed a partnership with The Red Lodge, an Elizabethan house run the Bristol City Council Museums and Art Galleries as an example of a period home. The Red Lodge is owned (and leased to the city council) by The Bristol Savages, an all male artists' group started in 1904 and modeled along the lines of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They still hold weekly meetings and an annual exhibition in the 'Wig Wam' - and outbuilding in the grounds of The Red Lodge.

Plan 9 invited British Art Show 6 artists Claire Barclay and Marcus Coates, and the president of the Bristol Savages, Geoff Molyneux to form the selection panel for 'Wig Wam Bam!'. Fourteen Bristol based artists were selected on the basis of both proposals for new work in relation to the site and existing work. Claire Barclay and Marcus Coates also attended a series of studio visits with the selected artists, furthering the links between the British Art Show 6 and providing an opportunity for discussion around the proposed work and the site.

At the end of 2006, Plan 9 invited Karen Di Franco to join the core group. In 2007, Plan 9 expanded the group inviting Chris Barr, Kayle Brandon, Nim-Jo Chung, Rachel Connelly, Anton Goldenstein, Julie McCalden, Tom Johnson, Ali Jones, John Lawrence and Sarah Tulloch to join. Taking on a unit at the back of Spike Island - Plan 9 presented one event (All our Worst Work) and two exhibitions (Utstallruum, and, Martin Kippenburger with fries and a shake) curated by Plan 9 members.

In 2008, working with Bristol City Council, Artspace Lifespace and Urban Splash, Plan 9 took on new premises - a former police station in Bristol's city centre, Bridewell Island - creating a gallery, project space and studios. In 2008/09 Plan 9's membership changed around again and comprised of Chris Barr, Rachel Butcher, Rob Chavasse, Nim-Jo Chung, Karen Di Franco, Anton Goldenstein, Mark Harris, Toby Huddlestone, Tom Johnson, Ali Jones, Natasha MacVoy, Sophie Mellor, Anouk Mercier, Lucie Red and Zoe Williams. During 2008 and 2009, Plan 9 ran a programme of exhibitions, events and international residencies initiated by Plan 9 members.

In November 2009, Plan 9 moved out of Bridewell Island and ceased its activities.

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • unincorporated organisation

how is/was it funded ?: 

address: 

The Old Police Station, Bridewell Island
Nelson St
BS1 2LE Bristol 51° 27' 23.8068" N, 2° 35' 32.6112" W
GB

usage: 

previous usage of the site: 

number of studios: 

number of exhibition/project spaces: 

types of studios: 

  • open plan, private

established: 

2005

vacated: 

2010

last known status of the project: 

last known status of the site: 

AirSpace Gallery

about: 

AirSpace Gallery is a collaborative, artist led project in Stoke-on-Trent, providing professional development opportunities, studio and exhibiting space and support for artists. Through a dynamic and evolving programme of exhibitions, events and activities AirSpace Gallery brings critical, high quality contemporary art to the region and provides opportunities for a broad range of artists.

AirSpace Gallery was formed in 2006 by two Staffordshire University fine art undergraduates, David Bethell and Andrew Branscombe. At this point there was no contemporary visual arts provision in Stoke-on-Trent. Since then AirSpace Gallery has remained artist-led and has been programming high quality visual arts activity for and from established and emerging, national and international artists, consisting of exhibitions, residencies and public realm works ,alongside a committed approach to professional artist development.

As an artist-led space, the Gallery's current research interests mirror those of its directors and is particularly concerned with issues surrounding collaboration and partnership working and a relational relevance with its location and the socio-political landscape.

AirSpace has an ongoing series of projects, which are developed through a mixture of open calls and invitation. This makes for an exciting and vibrant mix of exhibitions, residencies, projects, artist development events and public realm works.

AirSpace Gallery has always been and remains committed to Paying Artists.

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • unincorporated organisation

how is/was it funded ?: 

history of the site: 

Built originally as the headquarters of the City's Gas Board in 1874, 4 Broad Street has subsequently, variously, been a bank, a building society,a tax office, a mission of catholic wives suffering domestic abuse and a pensioner's charity.

address: 

AirSpace Gallery
4 Broad street
ST1 4HL Stoke-on-Trent 53° 1' 24.9816" N, 2° 10' 42.2436" W
GB

usage: 

previous usage of the site: 

number of studios: 

number of workshops: 

number of exhibition/project spaces: 

types of studios: 

  • private

types of workshops: 

established: 

2006

last known status of the project: 

last known status of the site: 

David Dale Gallery

Exterior view - David Dale Gallery

about: 

David Dale Gallery and Studios is a non-profit contemporary art space based in the east end of Glasgow.

Established in 2009, David Dale Gallery and Studios promotes pioneering contemporary visual art through the commissioning and year round programming of new work and projects by early career international and UK based artists. Maintaining a commitment to providing opportunities and supporting the development of artists, curators and writers, David Dale Gallery and Studios intend to encourage professional development, education and community participation whilst delivering our core aim of presenting outstanding contemporary visual art. Additionally, the organisation operates an affordable artist studios facility, for the production and development of new work by emerging artists.

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • charity

how is/was it funded ?: 

address: 

David Dale Gallery
161 Broad Street
G40 2QR Glasgow 55° 51' 3.906" N, 4° 13' 18.876" W
GB

total size in sqm/sqft: 

usage: 

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number of exhibition/project spaces: 

types of studios: 

  • private

established: 

2009

last known status of the project: 

last known status of the site: 

Salon Neu

about: 

made the north sea a radical project space
by installing a group show in it (collaboration with Embassy Gallery)
commemorative mousemats now change hands on ebay for £200

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • other

how is/was it funded ?: 

exhibitions, events, workshops: 

Salon Neu

address: 

The North Sea
57° 9' 14.832" N, 2° 22' 22.9764" E
GB

total size in sqm/sqft: 

usage: 

previous usage of the site: 

number of studios: 

number of workshops: 

number of exhibition/project spaces: 

types of studios: 

  • open plan, private

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established: 

2011

last known status of the project: 

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Lewisham Arthouse

about: 

Keeping it real since 1994.
Artist-led, community - based.
Supporting creativity and innovation in visual arts and beyond.

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • charity

how is/was it funded ?: 

history of the site: 

1914 - 1991
Amazing Library
Gift from Andrew Carnegie to people of Deptford
ceases as learning / social space due to Tory Government cuts

1991 - 1993
Amazing rave venue
Maintained by Spiral Tribe
ceases as a music / social space due to Tory Government rave laws

1994 - 2015
Amazing arts centre
Maintained by Lewisham Art House co-operative
providing open-access facilities, community resources, learning, visual art and music programmes

2015 - onwards
Amazing arts centre becomes charity
Doing the same as before, but within / as a charity with a 100 year plan

exhibitions, events, workshops: 

lots

additional information: 

Grade II listed (interior / exterior) Historic trees and gardens to rear

address: 

140 Lewisham Way
SE14 6PD London 51° 28' 18.0336" N, 0° 1' 51.186" W
GB

usage: 

previous usage of the site: 

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number of workshops: 

number of exhibition/project spaces: 

types of studios: 

  • open plan, private

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established: 

1991

last known status of the project: 

last known status of the site: 

Meter Room

about: 

Founded in February 2011, Meter Room is a not-for-profit artist-run organisation located in ‘void’ City Council offices in the centre of Coventry.

Meter Room comprises of a 1400 square feet project space and 7 adjoining low-cost artist studios that are centrally located, secure, and provide 24 hour access.

Meter Room is dedicated to supporting the creation of new experimental work by artists and curators through a series of residencies and projects that respond to its function as a site of art production and dissemination.

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • other

how is/was it funded ?: 

address: 

58-64 Corporation Street
CV11GF Coventry 52° 24' 34.7004" N, 1° 30' 47.2068" W
GB

total size in sqm/sqft: 

usage: 

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types of studios: 

  • private

established: 

2011

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last known status of the site: 

The Old Police Station

The Old Police Station front door and logo, temporarycontemporary

about: 

The Old Police Station is an open-ended curatorial proposal. Started in Feb 2009, the 'do-it-yourself art centre' is an occupational infrastructure, an experimental model both as a architectural support structure but also economically. Sustained by studio rental income, it does not receive core funding. It is a charitable social hub for an emerging location exploring and broadcasting artistic concepts of all kinds, encouraging participation in all media. The project is created by Anthony Gross, from the curatorial partnership temporarycontemporary (www.tempcontemp.co.uk) that ultimately explored the idea of exhibition as Social Club. The 'do-it-yourself' art centre concept is intended by Gross as a nomadic approach that can be applied to different contexts.
The building is occupied by the studio charity reg 1123395 that has been providing artist studios since 2006.

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • charity

how is/was it funded ?: 

address: 

The Old Police Station - Artist studios and exhibition spaces
114 Amersham Vale New Cross
SE14 6LG London 51° 28' 45.8724" N, 0° 1' 55.3152" W
GB

usage: 

previous usage of the site: 

number of studios: 

types of studios: 

  • private

established: 

2009

last known status of the project: 

last known status of the site: 

The Woodmill

Thom O`Nions at Woodmill, Neckinger - from: Heilgemeir, M. (2013), The Nomadic Studio, Stuttgart: Edition Taube (photo: Michael Heilgemeir)

about: 

The Woodmill was initiated by a group of artists and Southwark Council’s Regeneration department, with support from ACAVA, and occupied a series of ex–council buildings, including a 40,000 sqft office block, an industrial hangar space built in 1901, as well as a set of residential flats inhabited by 20 of the 100 studio artists, from 2009 – 2011.

Over the course of 18 months the Woodmill hosted 14 main public exhibitions, 33 events and some 40 project exhibitions created by studio artists. More than 150 artists from 15 countries were invited to realise projects that were seen by over 6,000 visitors.

In October 2012 The Woodmill relocated to nearby Drummond Road, Bermondsey SE16 and re-opened as 'The Woodmill GP'

how is/was it run/structured ?: 

what is/was it's legal status ?: 

  • unincorporated organisation

how is/was it funded ?: 

history of the site: 

"... Previously the site of a large tannery, the (Neckinger) Depot’s infamous ‘sharp stink’ of Bermondsey’s other prolific industry was replaced in the early 20th Century with civic buildings and storage. By 2009, the Woodmill; a 40,000 sq ft tin can with inadequate utility systems and outdated interior design had become economically and environmentally inefficient to its owners. Although generally in sound condition, the Woodmill neither reflected the newly engineered Tooley Street offices of Southwark Council’s aspiration, nor did it belong to the identity of the Borough’s future. In worse condition, the rest of the Depot’s surrounding hangar buildings built in 1901 and previously used as a wheel wrights and bus depot, stood rotting slowly; graveyards for obsolete computer equipment, rusty office fans and mouldy lever arch files..."

from: Naomi Pearce (2010) "A Fast Event, A Slow Event", printed in Art Licks Issue 2

exhibitions, events, workshops: 

'The Woodmill S.A.G.S.', 09.04.2011 – 01.05.2011
'The Present Archive', 18.03.2011 – 27.03.2011
'Perverted Minimalism Nr. 3', 18.03.2011 – 27.03.2011
'Elephants at the Woodmill (Nicolas Party)', 11.02.2011 – 27.02.2011
'Bad History (Neil Clements)', 14.01.2011 – 13.02.2011
'Coherence & Proximity (Mark Fell)', 03.12.2010 – 19.12.2010
'Pale Blue Dot', 03.12.2010 – 19.12.2010
'Bergan Biennale II: The Next Generation', 19.11.2010 – 21.11.2010
'Man in the Dark', 08.10.2010 – 07.11.2010
'Buzz or Howl', 10.09.2010 – 26.09.2010
'Reading a Wave', 23.06.2010 – 25.07.2010
'Lucky Dip', 23.06.2010 – 18.07.2010
'Elena Bajo', 21.04.2010 – 23.05.2010
'The Devil's Necktie', 12.02.2010 – 07.03.2010

for further information see: www.woodmill.org/exhibitions

bibliography: 

Heilgemeir, M. (2013), The Nomadic Studio - Art, Life and the Colonisation of Meanwhile Space, Stuttgart: Edition Taube (ISBN: 978-3-9814518-2-5)

address: 

The Woodmill - Neckinger Depot
Neckinger
SE16 3QN London 51° 29' 47.076" N, 0° 4' 29.8812" W
GB

total size in sqm/sqft: 

usage: 

previous usage of the site: 

number of studios: 

number of workshops: 

number of exhibition/project spaces: 

types of studios: 

  • private

types of workshops: 

established: 

2009

vacated: 

2011

last known status of the project: 

last known status of the site: 

direct follow-up/precursory project(s): 

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