As part of their initial training Community Reporters in the Wensleydale area of North Yorkshire interviewed each other. Here Margaret Knight talks to Sue Dewhirst about her motivation.
Popular Places Popping Up for Pictures
Sue Dewhurst is a talented artist in Acrylic who moved to Tunstall 5 years ago. She had lived in Wales and managed a gallery so had good contact with local artists and an outlet for her own work.
After the move, away from the network, she decided to hire a village hall to showcase her work. This venture was successful and from this she came up with the idea of getting affordable art into unusual places, including a garden shed during Tunstall’s Open Gardens Day.
The first big event was launched in Leyburn on a miserable February day. The weather did not deter the visitors who all appreciated the unusual venues in The Dales Haven Guest House, The Sandpiper Inn, and Tennants Auction House. Footfall in the town increased and takings were up. Local businesses, particularly cafés, reported that business was “as good as a summer day”.
The project, backed by The Arts Council, gets artists out of their studios. It boosts local business, brings art to a new audience, and, through the associated workshops, gets people to try a variety of media, plus experience the same type of process to exhibit their work that an artist would have to go through. www.thepopupgallery.org includes a blog and Sue is hoping that the iSABEL project will help her develop community reporting skills so that the blog will be more effective. She will also be able to put together her own press releases. Margaret Knight