Gosford as Gallery

Kibble Park was selected for the recent Click Here event by KoPAS to amplify awareness of the topography that defines Gosford Town, and the hidden flows that naturally and emotionally effect our sense of place.

[I am using Gosford ‘Town’ rather than ‘City’ as I think it better reflects the reality – not aspirations. A city is such because it has an identity derived from its constituent activities rather than because of a governmental designation and being a jurisdiction of governance.
A place also can be defined by what it is not, in comparison to other places. Here is a list of City attributes. How does Gosford score?
Central research library, museum, town hall, contemporary art centre, botanic gardens, moving image theatre, central park, university, artists studio quarter, quality newspaper.]

The proponents of various town planning strategies for Gosford, and who talk of ‘precincts’, seem unaware that the town is an integrated whole, with movement corridors and appropriate sites for functions geographically indicated.

Gosford Town itself is ONE precinct encompassed by Rumbalara Reserve, Presidents Hill and the Waterfront – and in any case, is too small to be dissected further.

The Click Here project assumes the Gosford ‘hollow’ as its locus operandi, in old art-speak, its Gallery. So it is interesting to hear of the work by Urs Fischer who dug a ‘Gosford’ shaped hollow within a gallery.



Extract from the New York Times:
“At Gavin Brown, Urs Fischer takes a jackhammer to Chelsea its self.
By Jerry Saltz
Urs Fischer has reduced Gavin Brown's Enterprise to a hole in the ground, and it is one of the most splendid things to have happened in a New York gallery in a while. Experientially rich, buzzing with energy and entropy, crammed with chaos and contradiction, and topped off with the saga of subversion that is central both to the history of the empty-gallery-as-a-work-of-art but also to the Gavin Brown experience itself, this work is brimming with meaning and mojo. It was also a Herculean project.
A 38-foot-by-30-foot crater, eight feet deep, extends almost to the walls of the gallery, surrounded by a fourteen-inch ledge of concrete floor. A sign at the door cautions, THE INSTALLATION IS PHYSICALLY DANGEROUS AND INHERENTLY INVOLVES THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH; intrepid viewers can, all the same, inch their way around the hole. Fischer's pit is titled You, and it took ten days to build, costing around $250,000 of Brown's money. (Heaven only knows what his landlord thought of it.) The gallery's ground-level garage doors facilitated the jackhammering and removal of the concrete floor and the use of a backhoe to excavate tons of dirt and debris, after which a crew closed off the space with immaculate white walls. There's also a cramped antechamber, superfluous but well executed: A smaller reproduction of the main gallery, down to the air ducts and electrical outlets, it’s sort of a mini-Me You. Ducking through its pint-size entrance is like going though a door in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You have to crouch as you enter and watch where you step in preparation for the more precarious and thrilling main event beyond.

Art spaces and places

Reflecting the extensive and successful lobbying by FOPAP (Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct), background to the CSPF (Cultural Spaces and Places Framework) report presented to Council for approval focussed on a Performing Arts Centre. Those from other professional art disciplines should take some temporary comfort from the recommendations made by the consultants that any progressing of a performing Arts Centre should be part of an integrated plan including all elements of an Art and Culture Precinct.

The following report (edited) was presented to Council on the 2nd of October, 2007.

“(IR 3873107)
Directorate: Community Services and Organisation Development
Business Unit: Arts & Culture

The key finding from this stage one report is that there is broad community appeal for the development of a performing arts facility as part of a wider cultural precinct, warranting further investigation and consideration by Gosford City Council (ie. moving to stage two of the project).

Should Gosford City Council agree with this finding and proceed to stage two it is recommended that the brief for stage two (key objectives, scope of works and tasks) be revised. The rationale/reasoning for this recommendation is as follows:

• The stage two scope of works (brief) focuses on developing a business case / feasibility study for a performing arts facility in isolation. Whilst it is an important element, stage one findings identify that a performing arts facility and cultural precinct are interrelated and integral to each others development, sustainability and success.
They are not mutually exclusive and as such should not be planned in isolation from one another.

• As such the stage two scope of works should be broadened to be a holistic business case which includes all elements of the proposed cultural precinct. A suggested revised scope would include (subject to Gosford City Council agreement):

- A refined schedule of uses for all activities/elements in the cultural precinct;
- Identification and recommendations on the optimum site;
- The development of a masterplan including design layout/concept plans;
- Indicative capital costs for all elements of the masterplan, including a performing arts complex;
- Potential capital funding mix and the identification of private developer partners (joint venture arrangements);
- The optimum model for governance and management of the precinct and key
facilities.
- A business case for the public elements of the precinct – ie. those components of the precinct such as the performing arts complex owned by Gosford City Council (similar to the existing stage two scope of works).

The key object of the revised stage two scope of works would be for Gosford City Council to understand the total net costs (capital and recurrent) to Gosford City Council to deliver a masterplanned cultural precinct to:

• Achieve Gosford’s cultural objectives;
• Position Gosford as a regional capital offering a diversity of activities to a growing population; and
• Support Gosford’s wider economic and social objectives, in particular the revitalisation of the CBD.

RECOMMENDATION

(A ) That a revised scope of works in the brief for Stage 2, as outlined in the consultant report, be endorsed by Council and finalised with the Project Reference Group.

(B) That Council accept the KPMG consultancy ‘Cultural Spaces & Places Framework – Stage 1 findings’ report and proceed with Stage 2 of the project.

(C) That the revised scope of works in the brief for Stage 2 be fully integrated with any planning associated with the Gosford City Centre Plan, Waterfront Strategy, Gosford Pool, Civic Precinct and other elements considered for the establishment of a regional city and incorporate any changes critical to the seamless coordination of those projects.

(D) That Stage 2 of the Cultural Spaces & Places Framework be integrated though the management committee implementing the Gosford City Centre Plan and that the Sunset Committee be retained to provide further input as required.

(E) That Council approach State and Federal Governments to seek funding for the projects.”

The recommendation was passed with the deletion of “as required” in (D).

Artists and others with an interest in Contemporary Art in Gosford and the region are invited to a discussion about these and other issues concerning practitioners in the area, on Saturday afternoon, the 1st of December.
To manage the location, it would be appreciated if you could indicate your interest in joining the conversation via the Back Page email (see links on this site).

More information will be posted when our invited guests confirm.

Ripples in the pond

Some ripples in the pond regarding communications between Council and art stakeholders.

Minutes from Gosford Council meeting 30th October.

The following motion adopted:
NM.18 REVIEW OF THE CAROLINE BAY ARTS PRECINCT ADVISORY
COMMITTEE (IR 3934299)

Councillor: Trevor Drake

BACKGROUND

One of the major outcomes from the Visioning 2025 Project is the recognition of the role Arts and Culture has in creating a sense of place and soul for a City.

The Community placed the focus on Arts and Culture as a high priority and this is reflected in the recent support in the Cultural Places and Spaces review for the creation of a Performing Arts Centre.

At the Meeting of the Caroline Bay Arts Precinct Advisory Committee on 19 September the
Committee recognised the important role Arts and Culture will play in the revitalisation of the City Centre and hence the future role of the Advisory Committee in this strategy.

MOTION

A. Gosford City Council to have the Community Services and Organisational Development
Directorate prepare a report on the role and functions of the Art Gallery and Caroline Bay
Arts Precinct Advisory Committee taking into account in the historical function, present
functions and future functions.

B. Whether the Committee remains, disband or reforms into another advisory committee to
assist Gosford City Council in the future cultural development of Gosford City.

C. Gosford City Council to develop terms of reference for any Committee it recommends as a consequence of the review.

The motion was foreshadowed in a previous post on the Back Page but the language of the “Background” is interesting, as is the reference to the Cultural Places and Spaces review. Notable is the use of “Art Gallery and Caroline Bay Art Precinct Advisory Committee,” rather than the old "Gosford Regional Gallery Advisory Committee", which probably indicates a potential role that reflects the changing art and culture geography of Gosford.

And of particular interest is “the support in the Cultural Places and Spaces review for the creation of a Performing Arts Centre” as this is not the remit of the Advisory Committee.
In fact a motion adopting the Cultural Places and Spaces Framework Stage 1 Findings, was accepted at the October 2 Council meeting which made it clear that plans for a Performing Arts Centre should be part of an integrated Art Precinct masterplan incorporating other sectors of the Art matrix.

More on the Cultural Places and Spaces Framework is in the pipeline for Back Page.

Stretegic development space 2

Update, and response to Jillian’s comment in the previous post.

The visit was a field trip by Kim Spinks in order to be shown around the Central Coast to assess the arts and culture situation.
At least that is what I could glean from her comments at an afternoon tea she had with the Regional Gallery Advisory Committee. Her intention is to write an internal report.
It seems that she spent most of her time with local government people (Wyong and Gosford Council employees) as well as holding some meetings with groups organized by Christine Bramble (Wyong Council). Contemporary art groups were not amongst those included.
The report will not be public, but will be available to local government staff.
Her take home message was that a Central Coast arts strategy will not come from ArtsNSW, but that they would support a unified, and politically backed, strategy if one could be developed in the region.
The impression I had was that ArtsNSW preferred to deal with local government as the representatives of the community. It will be interesting to see how the Councils move forward, if they do, given that they have no communicative structure with contemporary art groups at this time.

As it was, so it will be.
In contemporary art it is “D.I.Y. or Die”, as a New York group recently put it.
(Remembering the positive aspects of autonomy in this statement)

These are just my personal observations of the meeting.

The next official “Arts Futures” event will be feedback to stakeholder groups meeting, on the 6th of August, by the consultants employed to carry out the “Cultural Spaces and Places Framework” report.

Neil Berecry-Brown

places of denial and desire.

The electricity is back on at the Back Page!!!

Tomorrow is International Bloomsday and seven artists will be at-large in Gosford on a psychogeographic dérive.
At a time when Debord's ideas about the Society of the Spectacle are under review, it will be interesting to see what eventuates; and what places of denial and desire are encountered.


"I wouldn't start from here"

"and the wilderness is paradise enow"

Spaces and Places

As some of you will know, Gosford Council is in the process of preparing a report for a “Cultural Spaces and Places Framework”.

Gordon Matta-Clark

Here at the Back Page we continue to push for resources to support Contemporary Art, an obvious need to all familiar with the local situation.
We consider that Council must take up the challenge of providing material encouragement for this sometimes problematic area of cultural practice, not only for what it means to be part of an historic enterprise of cultural enrichment, but also in terms of developing a vision for regional identity.
We have an opportunity to create a unique contemporary art milieu here, but it cannot be done well except in partnership with those who have the resources to match what is available in other cities and regions; this is not only in terms of “spaces and places”, but also in personnel and policy.


If you have any issues in regard to “Spaces and Places”; any opinions, suggestions, views, lists of priorities, etc., you are welcome to email them to the Back Page and I will make sure they are included in the process that will produce the report to Council.

Please email to reach me by the end of the 23rd of April.

Election and Beyond

Congratulations to the successful candidates in the state election.
We in the arts community look forward to working with you to advance circumstances for a vitalised contemporary art milieu on the Central Coast.

Particular thanks to grant McBride for articulating his vision for this agenda prior to the 24th and to Marie Andrews for her committed response to needs in this area in the past. As the member for Gosford I am sure she will be central to achieving the communities objectives as the “City” plan is negotiated.

Integration of art (and the opportunities for new perspectives that it offers) into the spaces places and processes of the town, needs to be understood as fundamental. Art will not achieve its potential if it is considered a peripheral life-style accoutrement or part of the entertainment industry.

Finding a place for art in the city.
Some traditional approaches:

Stranded villa to be demolished
A Chinese court has ordered that a villa left isolated in the middle of a man-made 30ft pit be bulldozed within three days.
Re-blogged from ANANOVA

»Under Heaven« (9m Tree with treehouse on 45 m high Stedelijk museum) by Leonard van Munster.
Re-blogged from VVORK