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Perhaps the most significant happening in its history since the day it
first opened its doors way back in October 1895, the importance of the
current developments at Newlyn Art Gallery and at the former Telephone
Exchange in Penzance, was emphasised by the large attendance at its
31st annual general meeting held in St John's Hall, Penzance.In
welcoming everyone, chairman of the gallery's council of management
Charles Hancock expressed his pleasure at being able, after four
frustrating years, to say that the building work was at last in hand
and should be completed by May of next year.
Thanking
the gallery's staff for carrying out their duties so well under such
difficult conditions, he paid special tribute to the gallery's former
director Elizabeth Knowles, now the project director, whose efforts had
ensured that not only Newlyn and Penzance but also the whole of
Cornwall would benefit from the enterprise.
Elizabeth Knowles in
turn gave a detailed report on the capital development which, as she
said: "has been in preparation since 2002 and was based upon two
central motivating factors - the need for larger and more flexible
exhibition spaces, and the need for in-house education and events
space".
Commenting on the funding of the £3.8m project, she paid
tribute to Penwith Council whose "contribution was outstanding, and has
been the key to bringing substantial funding to the area."
She
also paid tribute to the firm which secured the contract, Cowlin
Construction, saying: "They have been a pleasure to work with and we
are very grateful to them for their positive and helpful approach in
the face of difficult conditions at both sites."
Delivering his
first director's report James Green, who took over the directorial
reins from Elizabeth Knowles at the end of the summer and just as the
building work began, commented on the many events mounted by the
gallery despite, as it were, its being homeless - everything from
Dominic Thomas's alternative gallery space, Provisional Newlyn, which
attracted 2,500 people, to Jylll Bradley's exercise in flower power
Rite of Spring at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, visited by more than
1,000 people, to the various artists and events in the gallery's live
art programme TRACT.
The variety, standard and success of these
events, as he pointed out, owed everything to the efforts of exhibition
officer Blair Todd, who "seems to understand artists so well".
Although,
as treasurer James Hodgson announced: "The gallery's finances continued
to be difficult throughout the year", he struck an optimistic note by
adding: "However, for the first time in a number of years the gallery
has broken even."
At the same time he stressed the need for the
gallery, which relies for its finance upon the Arts Council and other
grant funding, to look for other ways of raising funds in the future.
A
further note of optimism was struck with the announcement that
membership had increased during the year. For the first time in a long
while an election was necessary for the five vacancies on the council
of management, the successful candidates being Katie Ashworth, Ted
Atter, Sara Bowler, Jeremy Le Grice and Phil Whiting.
The meeting concluded with matters raised in writing by members.
The
majority of these concerned the future policy of the gallery,
particularly in regard to the promotion of local artists, and the
relationship between Newlyn Art Gallery and the Newlyn Society of
Artists.
In a discussion which ranged from the definition of the
word contemporary when applied to art and artists to the importance of
paint, the problems of parking, and the availability of wall space,
with their pledge that these concerns would be looked into, chairman
Charles Hancock and director James Green, were able to prevent the
meeting from degenerating into a free-for-all, allaying most anxieties
and leaving everyone with the hope, at least, that in future, in the
words of Juliana of Norwich: "All shall be well".
WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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