/ the town is the venue
Deveron Arts is a contemporary arts organisation based in Huntly, a market town in the north east of Scotland with a population of 4,500. We work here with the history, context and identity of the town.
Deveron Arts has no gallery - instead the town is the venue - acting as studio, gallery and stage for artists of all disciplines invited from around the world to live and work here. For this we use found spaces throughout the town and its surrounding areas: supermarkets, churches, garages etc. to name just a few.
Engaging with local people and the community through topics of both local and global concern, Deveron Arts works through a 50/50 approach. This brings together artistic and social relationships in a global network that extends throughout and beyond the geographic boundaries of Huntly.
Deveron Arts places local issues within the context of global perspectives, and inversely, situates national and international topics within Huntly. Since 1995 we have focused on collaborative, socially engaged practices, bridging disciplines and sectors and exploring the relationship between artists and community. This is done through our 50/50 approach where the relationships between local/global, artist/community, hospitality/criticality frame our work.
The township of Huntly operates as research site, studio, gallery and stage for the artists who come to live amongst the town residents, normally for a period of three months.
Each artist in residence offers an engaged and process-based project unique to Huntly, working with topical issues that affect both this location and the wider world, through a range of social, economic and political perspectives. The projects address specific groups of the community yet also resonate beyond our geographic boundaries.
An example of our work and the motto the town as the venue can be found in the Town Collection.
Come and visit us at our base in the Brander Building in the town square.
Claudia presents at Out There conference, Tramway, Glasgow. September 2010. Please click here to view.
What is town it the venue?
It's a methodology for arts development in rural contexts developed by Deveron Arts.
How did Deveron Arts begin?
Three like-minded people felt that there was too little going on in Huntly. So they started inviting artists to investigate topics of interest with them.
What kind of artists do we work with?
We work with artists with a socially engaged / collaborative practice, or artists that want to work in a socially engaged manner.
Where do our artists come from and how do we find them?
The artists we work with come from everywhere: from Huntly, from further afield in Scotland, and from all over the world.
What kind of topics do we explore?
We explore socio-economic, environmental and heritage issues that are both of local and universal interest.
How do people participate?
People participate through interest in the topic. No people, no art.
Why don't we have a gallery?
Using existing venues is a flexible, sustainable and cost-effective approach that allows us to make art happen where people are.
Where do Deveron Arts events take place?
In existing places that fit with the context of the project, like garages, greenhouses, shops or simply the streets.
What's this talk of hospitality?
Hospitality is important to us! The current programme investigates hospitality through the themes of travel, food and language.
What are Deveron Arts' key strategies?
The four equally important project layers are people, context, processes and results. They all need to be balanced throughout the process of project development.
What is ARTocracy?
ARTocracy is a handbook describing the conceptual framework of the town is the venue. It's not about creating utopia, but it helps to imagine how society could function if it was structured by art, through the example of the small-town context.
What does the 50/50 approach mean?
50 per cent community/locality and 50 per cent artistic criticality/globality is our paradigm that needs to be met through a variety of ways of working.
Do you like walking?
Walking as a facilitator for conversation, thinking and producing ideas interests us. We walk all the time. For more information visite our Walking Institute page.
What is a Shadow Curator?
A bit like the Shadow Minister in British parliament, Shadow Curator is a critical source of check and balance, based on constructive and challenging dialogue.
Is it difficult to programme in rural areas?
Yes and no. There is often less critical mass making up the arts audience. Non-art events and spaces are where people meet. That provides us with a challenge.
