The Empty Gallery is a collaborative project between Claque and a local community or group to create a mobile 'interactive theatre-art exhibitions' that reflect the lives, thoughts and ideas of the community who create it. The creators could be the community within a city, town, village, street, an organisation or 'interest group'. Each exhibition will vary in content, size, scale and running time depending on the theme, community and location in which it appears; this could be anything from two weeks in an empty shop or village hall, a day in a school or gazebo to five minutes at a bus stop or railway station.
The Empty Gallery is so named because we don't know initially what items will go in there, they don’t exist yet; they have to be found, made and produced by the community. As with Claque's Community Plays, we start with a blank page. The artefacts of the Empty Gallery will emerge through research, soundings and workshops. The content of the gallery will also be added to and changed by its visitors, who will be invited to express their responses in a variety of ways such as adding to unfinished pieces or giving unnamed works a title.
The Empty Gallery is so named because we don't know initially what items will go in there, they don’t exist yet; they have to be found, made and produced by the community. As with Claque's Community Plays, we start with a blank page. The artefacts of the Empty Gallery will emerge through research, soundings and workshops. The content of the gallery will also be added to and changed by its visitors, who will be invited to express their responses in a variety of ways such as adding to unfinished pieces or giving unnamed works a title.
Building an Exhibit
The process is managed by the Curators, a volunteer community steering group. They involve the wider community to research, find subjects and themes. The curators in collaboration with Claque and professional designers think about how best to present them. Essentially the ideas come from the community and initially no idea is discarded. Ideas can be simple or complex, realistic or wild, possible and seemingly impossible. In time, the shape and content of the Empty Gallery will emerge. With a large number of people contributing not every idea will be able to be used, but may be saved for a later date, two ideas may amalgamate, one idea may inform or inspire others, they will all, however tell us what the group collectively want, hope and expect of the Gallery.
The Brief for Exhibits
The final content of the gallery is decided by the Curators, but they are strongly influenced by the 'wisdom of the group' and the 'collective knowledge, experience, thoughts and idea of the community it's about. The gallery at it's best is an expressions from the broadest representation of the community.It's not about consensus but a plethora of sometimes conflicting ideas, attitudes, beliefs and tastes. Aspirations include:
- Exhibitions honestly represent all the voices in the community and does not seek consensus over diversity
- It puts strong value on an exhibit that allows the visitor to interact, which includes, the ability to comment on, alter, add to, play with, become a part of, be reflected in and so forth.
- As well as the above the exhibit should attempt to inform, reveal, inspire, provoke and educe new ideas, and challenge old, preconceived, stereotype habitual thinking.
- Encouraging empathy
The Curators
For Claque: Jon Oram, Lucy Edkin
For Create: Gill Bladen, Veronica Dorset, Paul Fulton, Linda Gaved, Alison McKenzie, Candy Prodrick, Dave Prodrick, Jan Wright.
For City of London: Dino Jacovides, Laura Ratling, Kirsty Newman, Lucy Edkin
For Rusthall Community Arts: Rebecca Maher, Lucy Edkin, Paul Fisher, Beryl Woodall
For Create: Gill Bladen, Veronica Dorset, Paul Fulton, Linda Gaved, Alison McKenzie, Candy Prodrick, Dave Prodrick, Jan Wright.
For City of London: Dino Jacovides, Laura Ratling, Kirsty Newman, Lucy Edkin
For Rusthall Community Arts: Rebecca Maher, Lucy Edkin, Paul Fisher, Beryl Woodall
