There has been much speculation about plans for a new contemporary art centre and performance space in Nottingham's fastest growing cultural quarter, The Lace Market.
Expanding upon the successful conversion of the old factory buildings on Stoney Street, which have in recent years become a base for art and design students at New College, the new art centre looks set to become a suitable near-neighbour to organisations such as Preset Studios (home of Dance4) as well as The Broadway cinema and media centre. With this in mind, many people are asking, do we really need more arty spaces in the city centre, especially when it will take away one of the last green areas in the city landscape?
Nottingham has a long standing reputation of excellence when it comes to visual and live art. Nottingham Trent University has, in the past, spawned great artists such as Mat Collishaw and David Batchelor. In recent years, they have been forging the way with its (now sadly missed) Contemporary Art BA.
The city is home to the Now and You Are Here festivals, as well as two major galleries: Angel Row and Bonington. Both venues are respected nationally and internationally, the former presenting a high profile programme of exhibitions including artists such as Christian Marclay and Jessica Voorsanger (Air Guitar). The latter also provides the essential role of fostering new 'home grown' talent in the form of the Forward Thinking Fellows: Sam Rose, Annette Foster and Kerryn Wise.
Soon, Nottingham will host the British Art Show 6, an internationally acclaimed touring exhibition, which has previously saluted the work of Tracey Emin, Liam Gillick and Michael Landy. I have also heard of plans to host a comprehensive fringe to accompany the main exhibition which will take place in venues throughout the city.
This central space will provide a hub for contemporary art in the city. It is, in some respects, a pity some spaces will close, but if the City Council and Arts Council England are to back the project fully (and financially) it is necessary that some sacrifices have to be made.
If one takes a look around the country there are galleries being erected left right and centre, each of them being hailed as the answer to presenting art in 'the provinces'. (I really hate that term.) Some might argue that there isn't always enough local interest in the arts to merit such high-falutin' lottery grants. In some respects this is true. For example, The New Art Gallery in Walsall has not had the attendance it hoped for and is still lumbered with a permanent collection (the Garman Ryan Collection) as a hangover from the organisations' days residing in a local library. The collection itself is a great one, but the Jacob Epstein heads sit uneasily with the bin-bags cast in lead by Gavin Turk. Nottingham already has an adequate space for historical art works, in the form of The Castle Museum and Art Gallery. This will not be amalgamated into the new building, but provide a more traditional alternative.
The gallery in Walsall is, however, an iconic one. Designed by award winning Caruso St John, the gallery is laid out intelligently. The Nottingham venue on Garners Hill is also being designed by this cutting edge architectural practice. It will take the form of a 'slice' into the cliffs opposite the Weekday Cross. It's encouraging to hear that the plans are to be complementary to the surroundings.
Peter St John says 'We have sought to reinforce the buildings on the cliff. The proposal uses the full extent of the site with one major floor at the level of High Pavement and the other at the level of the old railway viaduct. By developing the site horizontally, the line of the cliff is reinforced and the main, low slung body of the building provides a foreground for the higher buildings at High Pavement and beyond.'
£13m is indeed a lot of money, but I sincerely believe it will be worth it. Plans for this art centre are a long time coming, whispers were heard about it as long ago as 1995. I think if Nottingham wants to hold its head up and present its 'legendary style' to the world, then it has to take its cultural venues seriously. It is a little bit like keeping up with the Jones's, who in this instance might take the form of the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, the 'new, improved' Usher Gallery in Lincoln and perhaps S1 Artspace in Sheffield. There are also plans afoot to create an art centre in Derby called 'Quad'.
Building in the Lace Market is set to start in summer 2006, with the centre opening its doors to an expected half a million visitors a year from early 2008. The organisation will employ around 200 staff. All things considered, a bonus for the city.
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