Latest Artweeks News
Pioneering Festival (Origins of Artweeks)
(By Karen David, Oxford Times, May 2007)
Back in the early 1980s newly graduating artists had a hard time gaining recognition and although Oxford had a flourishing arts community, it was nothing like it is now and there were far less artists to meet with, share resources and exchange ideas. It was quite common for artists in Oxford to become isolated and either move out of the city altogether or struggle on their own.
Things were already starting to happen that indicated the potential public support for artists in the community as Helen Ganly, one of the founders of Artweeks remembers.
“In 1976 we discovered that a group of artists working towards a common goal could achieve success and as a result of our efforts the Oxford Printmakers Co-operative was started with a grant from the Arts Council. The funding was based on us the artists finding the premises and negotiating the lease. We were mostly women, some with children, and we did the work we needed to make the premises ready ourselves, which entailed digging out the floor and laying concrete. We installed the first Rochat press, taught courses for the general public and split the earnings to take only half ourselves, and invested the other half back into the Printmakers Co-operative. Not long after we managed to get some funding from Southern Arts and the sense of achievement we gained from all that work was tremendous”.
In 1981 Andrew Walton and Andy Swapp wrote to 24 Oxford artists inviting them to an informal meeting at the Museum of Modern Art to put forward the idea of a regular gathering of professional artists with a variety of topics to debate, from bulk buying of materials and critical discussion of work to organising exhibitions and helping each other find teaching jobs through networking.
Artists responded positively and the MOMA meetings developed. New artists came in and by 1982 members of the Oxford Printmakers Co-operative were heavily involved, alongside sculptors, who were also forming their own special interest group.
The lack of exhibition space was a constant source of frustration. Piers Benn returned from a visit to America and described the ‘open studios’ he had visited there, whereby artists opened up their studios to the general public for a fixed period of time such as a week. This seemed like a great solution for Oxford as a way of getting people into contact with artists without them having to invest in costly gallery space. ARTWEEK, which we now know as Oxfordshire Artweeks, was born.
The Oxford Visual Artists Week in May 1983 was promoted by MOMA and 194 artists were entered in the Guide. The principal of non-selection attracted hundreds of artists during the next few years and the one week duration was extended to two.
In his discussion document on the Visual Arts prepared for the Arts Council in 1991, Sandy Nairne pinpointed the Oxfordshire ‘Artweeks’ as an artist run initiative which had led the way for other artist run festivals throughout England.
Although they had started ‘Artweek’ the Oxford Artists Group (OAG) itself remained selective. By September 1983 the group decided on a constitution and soon after a central committee was formed with John Trigg as the Chairman. A membership committee was formed at the same time.
It was agreed that OAG meetings would take place on the first Friday of every momth. Prospective members work passed before a selection committee and applicants were accepted or rejected.
During the ensuing years the OAG worked hard to help its members. Networking helped with getting jobs in colleges and schools, and during the next few years there were artists exchange visits to Germany, France, Holland and Poland, all organised by the artists themselves with some funding from the City Council.
Serious lack of gallery space led to imaginative use of parks and woodland where large scale sculptures and paintings on hoardings were erected and the general public were encouraged to participate. The Chiltern Sculpture trail was founded in 1990 and in 1999 Diana Bell founded Magdalen Road studios, the first artist-run studios in Oxford.
In the nineties, however, Artweeks ran into difficulties. The festival had grown so large it was attracting European funding yet it was still being underwritten by many of the original artists. The artists for various reasons were keen to pass on the underwriting responsibilities to arts enterprises or public bodies, but couldn’t find anyone to take it on. After many deliberations the festival was declared no longer financially viable and would have folded completely if it weren’t for the immediate action of a small group led by artist Lady Mary Moser.
Now in 2007 it has grown from strength to strength. It is run by the artists and around one thousand of them are taking part this year. It has funding again from the City Council and a wide range of public and commercial enterprises and the membership continues to initiate innovative schemes.
Artweeks is immensely valuable to artists and offers a great opportunity to the public to see artists and talk to them about their work,
explains Helen Ganly. It never fails to amaze me how diverse artists are and the ways in which they work, some in large studios others from the kitchen table or spare room.
Inviting people in makes art accessible, something which is essential if the arts community is to thrive, but Artweeks also lowers the barrier for the artists themselves, as they don’t have the burden of gallery fees and the most fledgling of artists can display their work under the Artweeks banner. This really encourages the ‘have a go’ mentality and can give up and coming artists a vital footing on the first ladders of their career.
Helen Ganly also agrees that Artweeks reduces the chance of artists in the county suffering from the kind of isolation they did in the 1970s. Although artists are competing for members of the public to view and buy their work, the festival thrives on its sense of community. The formula works because it encourages artists to work together to stage exhibitions, and this can be seen with the many groups that are taking part and in some cases whole villages. There’s also a sense that Artweeks and the artists go together as many Artweeks artists would find it difficult to get the public’s attention without Artweeks, the festival wouldn’t survive without the enthusiasm, hard work and verve that comes from everyone that takes part.