Sideshow 2010

Why have one massive arts-fest when you can have two? While the British Art Show has it large at the established galleries, the equally important Sideshow will be demonstrating that the Notts art scene is one of the most important in the country - and, as co-curator Jennie Syson points out, things are going to get very interesting in town…

So what is the relationship between Sideshow and the British Art Show?
Well, to say that they’re unrelated would be wrong, as the original Sideshow came about in 2006 because of the last British Art Show. The Arts Council decided to bring a collection of Nottingham artists together, from some of the really interesting artist groups that were around then, as they were looking for a happening away from the main event, in venues such as libraries and the West End Arcade. As an event it was great, but there were a lot of local artists who felt they didn’t get a look-in. We’re redressing the balance on that this time around. We’ve already had a lot of feedback from the British Art Show team at the Hayward Gallery, and we understand Sideshow was one of the reasons that they chose Nottingham to launch in – and the fact that there was already an appreciative audience in place here.

So is it an approved Fringe event, or a cheeky ride on their coattails?
Sideshow can be described as a fringe to the BAS, but it’s organised by entirely different people. We’re funded locally by the Arts Council, City Council and Igniting Ambitions. It’s about what’s happening in Nottingham already, showing people who will be coming to town to see the BAS what we’re all about. It’s not exclusively local artists, though; we received applications from much further afield, which was a surprise considering that we didn’t advertise too widely.

What changes have been made with the 2010 version of Sideshow?
It’s an entirely new model. This time, we wanted to bring the democracy of the Edinburgh Festival - “if you build it, they will come”, sort of thing. Everyone knows what it is and when it is, and if you want to get involved, here’s the registration form, etc.
There have been commissions selected by a high profile panel, but we haven’t ever said to anyone with the resources “no, you can’t do that”. It’s not just a visual art show, either - there’ll be live events, performances, theatre and bands.

Describe an average day in the life of a Sideshow curator…
It’s a bit manic, to be honest. When Candice (Jacobs) and I originally planned it out, we thought it would be a three-days-a-week job. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been enjoyable, but it’s now 24/7 for the whole team. The job of a coordinator is incredibly varied; with some of the commissions, the artists have a natural ability to take care of themselves, whilst others need more guidance. We’re covering a vast range of artists here, from the very experienced, hugely thought-of and massively important John Newling to very recent graduates who need more advice. The range of things that are going on are overwhelming; we’ve been looking for 150 singers for a public art piece at St Mary’s, hotel rooms for an installation, emails requesting sixty televisions… all very interesting.

Would you say that Sideshow is going to be the Nottingham art scene’s coming-out party?
To an extent, yes. We’re certainly out and proud. The past year has seen a lot of attention on us, due to Nottingham Contemporary opening, and this is our chance to show a lot of people from outside of Nottingham what’s going on here. And there’ll be a lot of parties going on.

It almost seems like we’re at the end of an era here, with the winding-up of Moot and Tether…
Definitely. The average life of an artist-led studio group is 18 months, so Moot and Tether have certainly earned their stripes by being around a lot longer. Tether have reacted to Sideshow like a bull to a red rag – they’re pretty much putting something on every single day. I must stress that Tether aren’t necessarily winding down completely; it’s just the studios which are closing down. Moot really have matured and gone on to do truly amazing things over the past few years, both here and abroad, as well as bringing artists from other cities to Nottingham. In their case, three out of four are still practicing artists in Nottingham – and they’re concentrating on their own individual work now. When you run a gallery for five years, as they did, your art practice can take a bit of a back seat. So yes, it is the end of an era – but also the beginning of a new one.

We all talk about a ‘Nottingham art scene’ - but is there anything being produced here that makes us different from anywhere else? Is such a thing even possible these days?
Well firstly, I think it’s a bit reductive to term it ‘regional art’, because it’s practically saying; ‘if you’re not from London, you’re no good and it’s not worth looking at you’, which unfortunately is still the attitude of a lot of people. Having said that, one fantastic consequence of regional art centres is that it’s getting more like Germany here – where you can go to a city that’s not the capital and discover fantastic contemporary art. Nottingham’s one of the places that’s really coming up, along with perhaps Birmingham and Bristol – independent scenes that feed off London without depending on it. I don’t think you can ever really say there’s a typical style in a certain place, nowadays, but the unique aspect of Nottingham is that it’s very small, but it’s got everything you need within a tiny radius. There are lots of artists and studios in a very small space close to the city centre, so instead of finding yourself walking for 45 minutes to get to a studio on an industrial estate, like you do in other cities, there are some fantastic old industrial buildings in places like Sneinton which are being used.

Everyone’s been banging on about the cuts in funding to the arts – have you already felt the pinch yet?
In Sideshow’s case, not yet. But what I’ve definitely noticed is now that there are fewer staff members at the Arts Council, the lines of communication are a lot slower and there’s less local knowledge and understanding on a grassroots level, which is alarming and bodes ill for the future. Yes, I sincerely worry about what’s going to happen, but the flipside of the coin is that we’ve had it great for a long, long time in terms of funding and I’ll be interested to see how artists function without it, and how people start to understand art as a business – something that can be sustainable without relying on handouts. It’s going to be scary, but it could be interesting. Some of the best art in this country came out in the 80s, which was a terrible time financially. Maybe there’ll be more corporate patronage, but that usually results in monolithic sculptures in courtyards. We’ll see.

What’s the future of Sideshow?
We’ve potentially spoke about it being a bi-annual thing, but who curates it is up in the air; it could be the same people, or, like the British Art Show it might need a new person each time. Nottingham has always had lots of arts festivals, which is great, but maybe all these things ought to come together every two years, because there’s a massive audience for art in Nottingham. We’ll see.

There’s another load of art students piling into Nottingham this month, obviously, so what advice would you give to them?
Go and see as much as possible. Not so long ago, you’d have to wait a couple of weeks to see something good, but pick up a copy of Artnot, Nottingham Visual Arts or LeftLion these days and you’ll realise it’s now impossible to see everything in Nottingham. Go to as many of the talks Nottingham Contemporary are hosting. The profile of some of the people there knocks me for six – it’s like getting a free MA. Go and see what your peers are putting on and put something on yourself – there’s lots of opportunities here. Most of all, learn as much as you can and read as much as you can. There are so many artists and curators here nowadays that you have to arm yourself with knowledge. People round here will automatically know if you know your stuff or not.