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PALP
A Brief History
PALP members: Susan Bleakley, Gillian Cooper, Tessa Garland, Amanda Lorens, Marion Taylor, Rory McDermott , Lucy Willow and associate member Fergus Murray Penwith
Artist-Led Projects (PALP) is a collective of inspired and insightful
artists who want to see community action as arts-led, not
economy- or politics-led, in an area of the country historically famous
for its art but in decline in relation to recent movements in the
art world. PALP’s manifesto focuses on workspace issues and support
structures for visual artists in Penwith, but also expresses a wish
to link with other artists and collectives in the UK and Europe who
might find new ways of working together in different spaces and places
to reach new audiences. Despite
the presence of a major art school in Falmouth, there is a peculiar,
obstinate denial of contemporary art, particularly site specific and
non-commercial by local and younger emerging artists in Penwith, Cornwall.
The peninsula is home to a significant slice of Modernist experimentation
and yet in more recent years, with the weight of the tourist pound,
much of this work has become economy led. Often such work avoids explicitly
transgressive and experimental forms and ideas of the contemporary
visual arts. It is from within this debate and the debate around workspace
and exhibition space that PALP was formed. The
Penwith Housing Trust commissioned a study into these very issues
in 1998. Fergus Murray the founding member of PALP, was commissioned
by the Trust to produce a feasibility study. Through this he identified
a group of like minded artists all sharing the same problems and seeking
their solutions outside of the region. A series of meeting ensued
over the next year and a small development grant from South West Arts
was secured in order to establish a database and continue to investigate
the possibilities and sustainability of artist led groups. Shed,
August 2000, was the first site specific show instigated by PALP as
a direct response to its investigations. It was held in a number of
outbuildings on a farm located on the outskirts of Penzance, PALP
members inhabited these spaces and infected them with their work and
imagination. The show was a great success, with over 350 people attending
the opening night. PALPitations,
February 2001 was held in the Ex British Telephone Exchange building
in central Penzance, just prior to redevelopment. The building spanning
well over 5500sq ft still contains echoes of it’s industrial life.
Intimately linked with ideas of communication, comprehension and exchange
the artists responded to the space. The artists showing in PALPitations
were five PALP artists and four invited artists (Louise Short, Carolyn
Black- Bristol based, Nick Harpley, Carole Dodds- Cornish based).
PALPitations was open for one weekend only and attracted over 800
people. Both
events still engage lively discussion in the local community with
an expectation being generated for future PALP events. This reaction
confirmed what we already knew, that there is an active and growing
audience, interested in the contemporary visual arts. It is an audience
that has up to know been poorly served in this area, and like the
members of PALP have had to travel to Bristol, London etc to fulfil
their needs. We know that we can start to address these issues and
through our work encourage other artists and similar groups to continue
with this exciting and much needed challenge. Current Projects PALP web-site Exhibition research and development in Albania Research and development for exchange exhibition with artist-led Plastica Gallery, Bologna, Italy and Lille, France. Training in collaboration with PVA in digital imaging and video editing. Research and development of touring commissions programme, 'Coal, Salt and Tin' in collaboration with two UK artist-led initiatives for 2002 Development of three year programme, researching through practice and exhibition the rural and coastal location of Penwith and exploring the potential of temporary exhibition venues. Commencing with a series of projects including residencies, commissions, workshops and collaborations at the rural site of Tremenheere, leading to a festival in August 2002. Followed by coastal projects in 2003, and the establishment of a satellite project venue in 2004. Education Social
inclusion is high on the priority list for all the members of PALP,
as like most artists they have to sustain their professional practice
through other economic means. It is though, through no coincidence
that the majority of the group members has adopted to work in someway
for the betterment of the local community either through the generation
of revenue for the regeneration of deprived areas or through education
and out reach work with schools and community groups. It
is because of this that PALP has made a commitment to education within
their manifesto. All the exhibiting artists have professional teaching
qualifications or extensive experience of running workshops. We will
create through our existing network of contacts a series of educational
events aimed directly at the local community giving them the opportunity
to engage directly with living working artists helping in the demystification
the arts. Therefor encouraging social inclusion rather than exclusion
and creating a richer platform for the future.
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