FEATURE LIST
the Finniestoun crane — it’s beckoning again, an exhibition at the back end of the year — Burns Voice Beyond again, ifit comes off. Oh and there‘s the possibility of doing an extension of everyone‘s idea of pantomime at the Tramway next Christmas. I just hope it all comes off, for Glasgow‘s sake. There’s bound to be a lot of gaga stuff on y‘know, all festivals attract that. but that‘s not what Glasgow's all about. Come next year, if! still don‘t know what's going on, then I‘ll be worried. George Wyllie will be exhibitng throughout Glasgow in l 990.
I Malcolm Dickson, organiser oi Event Space.
Next year we have quite a number of projects which are going to be organised. The main one for 1990 is called Sights and Positions— a series of works throughout Glasgow by mainly local artists. I think the problem with so-called avant garde art and new media in general is the notion that it tends to be elitist and we’re trying to bridge the divides between community education and
fine art. l‘m sceptical in the extreme about Glasgow as City of Culture. I think it tends to centralise assumptions about the meaning of culture. Things have become subsumed under this philanthropic notion of 1990 which is largely a manouevre on behalfofthe City fathers to make, to generalise in the extreme, Glasgow more attractive to tourists. and in a sense culture and art are being used to offset the more depressing aspects of the city — the increasingly difficult social and material conditions under which people live. They're trying to use it to cosmetically conceal the facts. Questions should be asked about what exactly indigenous culture is, and much more support should be given to people in Scotland trying to do something. What is culture if it’s not an attempt to create a self-confidence amongst a people? Sights and Positions will be around town from March.
I Julian Spaldino, director of Glasgow Art Gallery. l'm involved in hundreds of things.
There‘s the McLelIan Galeries where the British Art Show is on, and following it, the Great British Art Show which which I've organised in order to have the great British artists, not just some that are under 35. There will be recent works, some straight from the studios, from them. Then there‘s the Burrell and the Kelvingrovc exhibitions as well. I think the City of Culture is a major achievement, from being one of the most deprived cities of Europe a decade ago to the cultural capital. Glasgow‘s done a great deal by opening up the Burrell — what other city in Britain has something like that? It‘s done a great deal that it hasn't really been given credit for. I think 1990 provides us with a new focus ofattention to establish the arts more securely as being in the centre ofGlasgow life. The McLelIan Art Galleries will reopen on 24 January.
I Nikki Milican, events organiserior the Third Eye Centre.
New Moves is taking the same format as the previous two years. We
open with a residency in January which this year is DV8, but unlike previous years we're not going to premiere a new dance piece then. This came out of a conversation I had with Lloyd (Newson) many months ago about European festivals generally and the pressure that they place on artists. The role of New Moves is to give space to artists and to create a long-term relationship with people like Man Act. Its not glamorous and it won‘t have quite the same sex appeal as producing a major piece of work, but it’s very much part ofwhat we at the Third Eye centre are doing. For DV8 it‘s actually the first stage of a big project to be put on in the Tramway in July to be co—commissioned by various European festivals. I feel slightly let down by 1990 and their relationship with young British work. That’s not to say we won't work with international artists, but I think the balance has to be right. You'll find, particularly in the dance world, that there are people who slip through the net and lack support - people who have in fact been operating for
The List 22 December 1989 — 11 January 1990 7