Leaving Bermondsey
The relocation started yesterday – London’s largest creative centre, nearly 400 artists, artisans and small creative businesses to be relocated in a month. Spent the day talking to everyone in the canteen. Amazed by how nice everyone is, how brave, how philosophical, and I am starting to get angry on everyone’s behalf.
Why is the art industry so insecure? I can think of no other, where politicians boast, the value is clear, leaving aside for now that it is the greatest thing we humans actually do! and there is so little infrastructure to support the endeavour.
Indulged in everyone’s favourite sport of developer-bashing but then I start wondering about the sum value of London property developers’ support for art over the past decades. Do quick sums on the tube this morning – in our three years here I reckon the landlord has contributed around £1.2million to directly supporting artists. Don’t get me wrong, this is a building no one wanted sitting empty at the height of a recession, and they did far better out of the deal than that. I too wish I lived in a world where even property developers supported art for art’s sake, but we don’t, and it is hard to ignore these kinds of numbers. How many names are inscribed on institution walls for far less?
If you add up figures like these around London for the past few decades the contribution becomes staggering. But why are artists in the greatest city in the world so dependent on developers, on sub-standard buildings awaiting the real value that will come to them when they turn into glossy homes and over-glazed commercial units nobody actually wants.
Which leads neatly into a bit of government-bashing. Surely this is what city planning is for!? Planning a city. Independent article last week:Mayor to investigate as artists fear being driven out of London by rising costs of studio space.
‘Ms Mirza plans a wide-ranging study.’ Well whoop de bloody do. Iwona Blazwick – a long-standing champion of artists’ studios requested this report when she became chair of the London Cultural Strategy Group years ago.
Boris, I’ll write your report:
Artists contribute enormously to London and the UK economy.
Art is the greatest civilising force we have.
Artists need space.
The GLA and local councils have publicly owned properties.
It is further in your power to ensure a small space in every new development.
Make it so.
Next, all Londoners are in for it. Go out and buy some bloody art. Support and become involved in the culture of your time. Forget the big names and the big galleries, support someone interesting and new. You can spend a fortune on a new sofa – I have seen you do it. Keep the old one and buy some art instead. If you don’t have much money I suggest the smaller galleries: Limoncello; The Sunday Painter; Herald Street; Supplement. If you have a bit more go to Maureen Paley; MOT; Carl Freedman. Get up and do something.
Make the city you want to live in.