Members packed into St John's Hall, surely a record for such a meeting, and at close on three hours also a record length.

Much of the energy and excitement engendered stemmed from two main sources.

Reactions to the opening exhibitions held in the refurbished Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, Penzance, and the concerns of members of the Newlyn Society of Artists in relation to their future chances of exhibiting in Newlyn Art Gallery.

In his annual report, director of the galleries James Green, spoke on how momentous the year had been, stressing the fact that the majority of visitors had been delighted by the developments and that both buildings were beginning to attract the national acclaim they deserve.

Only recently The Exchange was awarded an RIBA Town & Country Design Award and has been shortlisted for the FX intenational design aards, being decided later this month.

The architects of both schemes have been invited to submit both buildings for late consideration in the Civic Trust's forthcoming national awards.

As he said: "If ever there was a time to pause for a moment and celebrate the collective achievements of artists, the galleries' new and former staffing teams, the council of management, members and other supporters, funding partners, architects and contractors, then this is it."

However, aware that not everyone agreed with this, he spoke on the gallery's work with ProjectBase, the charity established primarily as an art commissioning organisation, stressing the point that it does not manage the programming at the galleries.

He also spoke about the launch of the redeveloped galleries that exceeded expectations and attracted more than 19,000 visitors in just 10 weeks, and, of course, about Newlyn Art Gallery's commitment to supporting regional artists, not just those who are members of the Newlyn Society of Artists.

"In this financial year we will commission or show the work of 113 artists, 97 of whom are based in the region, the overwhelming majority of them in Penwith.

"In addition, we expect to provide 270 days of employment for artists to assist in the installation and handling of art works for exhibitions, and a further 72 days of employment for artists linked to our education programme."

In his report on the financial year, treasurer Jame Hodgson stated that it had been a very difficult one, largely because of the fact that during the redevelopment Newlyn Art Gallery had been closed, that funding had not increased in line with expenditure.

As a result there had been a loss on the revaluation of the gallery's art collection. While assurances have been received from the Arts Council that the gallery will receive the necessary funding, the Council of Management had decided not to finalise the financial statements until either written confirmation of the necessary funding is received or the filing accounts deadline of January 31, 2008, approaches.

At the election of new members to the Council of Management, as a direct result of an incorrect statement which had appeared previously in The Cornishman, two prospective members, Francsis Howie and Suze White, had withdrawn.

The point was raised whether this made the election acceptable.or if it should be held again.

Following considerable debate, it was decided that it should stand with the result that the following were elected. Sharmila Cogger, Charles Hancock and Simon Turney.

In an illustrated talk, Mariam Sharp, head of visual arts and literature for the Arts Council England, South West, then outlined her organisation's strategy for Cornwall.

This was followed by a proposal presented by Simon Turney and seconded by Bernard Evans, which stated: "This AGM has no confidence in ProjectBase." As expected, the pros and cons regarding this were many, and often heated, with the proposal eventually being defeated.

A long, lively meeting, in which much that needed saying was said.

While recognising the fact that "there is still a lot of work to be done", it will have cleared the air and helped pave the way towards a successful future, and a shorter, sweeter AGM in 2008, for Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, Penzance.

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN 

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