New Gallery Space Opens at 20 Albert Road
Greater Govanhill recently visited 20 Albert Road, a new gallery space established by the curatorial groups A-M-G5, Cento and Ivory Tars.
Photo: © Keith Hunter
By Sam Doak
A boulder is positioned prominently in the middle of 20 Albert Road, Govanhill’s newest art space. The central work in the gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Flaw by Kate Davis, the imposing sculpture lends a sense of permanence to its surroundings. It is easy to forget that this is a new space, albeit one that seems set to become firmly integrated into Govanhill’s already thriving arts scene.
It would be fair to say that 20 Albert Road has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent months. Prior to its repurposing as an arts space, residents will remember the unit painted in striking red and black. The sign above the entrance read ‘Cheap Shop’, though in the many years since the shop’s closure it has become unclear what exactly it sold. Signs of the space’s past still remain, in the more stubborn remnants of paint marking its facade and the stripped back interior, however the energy that has been put into reclaiming it from disuse is palpable.
20 Albert Road is currently a joint venture between the three curatorial groups, A-M-G5, Cento and Ivory Tars. Having interacted socially and collaborated in the past, they came to the realisation that acquiring a shared space would be a viable way for them to pursue their individual projects. With each group set to use the space on a rotating basis, over the course of the next few months the previously vacant site will become host to a variety of exhibitions, talks and discussions.
An element that connects each of these distinct groups and perhaps distinguishes their collaborative venture is their shared interest in the written word and its relationship to visual art. Andrew Mummery, of A-M-G5 focuses on this connection and works with individual artists to publish printed volumes accompanying their exhibited pieces.
“It's a way of extending the exhibition,” says Andrew. “The books have a shelf life that goes beyond the exhibition. I think being able to do a publication with a nice design is another way of addressing the work. It’s another way of looking at how the work can be represented. The idea so far has been to commission a piece of text, not like a normal catalogue... It's another way of commissioning an artwork, of creating a closer reading of the work.”
While A-M-G5 is focused on working with and exhibiting individual artists, Cento is planning to produce exhibitions of a more collaborative nature. These projects are still in a developmental phase as Calum Sutherland of Cento explains:
"We’re working towards a couple of projects, but more focusing on group exhibitions, bringing together different artists, designers –a constellation of different practitioners. We’re still kind of in the laboratory… it's all very new.”
Reflecting on why A-M-G5, Cento and Ivory Tars chose to set up a space in Govanhill, Calum says:
"There’s three groups of us in the space… we live in Pollokshields, Andrew’s in the east end so we thought about splitting the difference. It's a good area, there’s a lot of arts stuff happening. There’s Celine Gallery [a nearby artist-led exhibition space] around the corner on Victoria Road, Queen’s Park Railway Club, and a lot of artists have their studios here. It’s a good place to be based, it's a good community. A lot of artists live here.”
Throughout the conversation, a number of passers-by stop and stare, clearly intrigued by the new space and the monolithic piece currently at the centre of it, which has been a common occurrence according to Andrew:
“In the last three days since this show opened, there’s been people coming out, a lot of curiosity.” Gesturing to Kate Davis’s sculpture he adds: “It's good to open with something like this, to bring people in.”
Calum, who has been helping to renovate the space in recent months, agrees that the reception from the community has been a positive one: “It’s been really nice meeting people who’ve been coming by. There’s been a lot of interest. I think people are mostly enthused to see something happening in this unit because it's been unoccupied for decades as far as we’re aware, twenty years or something. I think people are pleased to see some activity.”
For those interested in learning more about 20 Albert Road, further information can be found at 20albertroad.info. Currently on display at the space is FLAW, a multi medium exhibition by Kate Davis which explores gender and societal roles. Members of the public can experience FLAW by visiting 20 Albert Road at 12-5pm or contacting A-M-G5 for an appointment. The Exhibition is open Wednesday-Sunday and will end on 27 June.