“Without art, nothing really exists”.
I blinked, taken aback by such a bold statement. Sat across from me was Amy Simpkins, a current fine art student at the university. I asked her to explain.
“It’s in everything”, she replied, “in signs, you see it in posters, you see it even in a menu…you see it in buildings…you see it in everything around you”.
That’s very true, I thought. A huge part of human life revolves around creativity. Every house, every tool, every car, every park, every street has been designed, drawn out, considered, curated to an extent. One could argue that creativity makes up the very fabric of society.
Fellow art student, Misty Woodhouse, described the emotional benefits of making art. “It's how I express myself”, she stated, placing her paintbrush down, “it's kind of therapy for me…art is just one of the best mediums in the entire world for emotion”.
So creativity can be used for many things; it can design, build and curate the world around us, as well as become a mode of expression. It is the intrinsically human act of making.
However, access to art can be harder for some people. Pastel artist Fiona Carvell remarked that many “can't afford to pay high prices to get in to see artwork and exhibitions”, but “that shouldn't mean that they don't have that opportunity. Everybody should have the opportunity to do it”.
In a society divided by class with a cost-of-living crisis, some people “don’t have space to think” about art.
President of the Institute of East Anglican artists Jane Hodgson held a similar opinion. In a society divided by class with a cost-of-living crisis, some people “don’t have space to think” about art. It is not a priority for some.
Therefore, how can we make art more accessible in modern society? With its emotional power and ability to question, it is such an important resource which should be accessed by all.
...they give the public access to some of the world’s most influential artists, free of charge.
Newcastle University’s Hatton Gallery could be one solution to this problem, as it is a free, accessible space which shows a wide variety of art to the public. With vast, meandering rooms of abstracts, portraits, sculpture and landscapes, this space has a wide range of artists from all over the world, with new collections every couple months. The space even includes a piece of Kurt Schwitter’s famous 'Merz Barn', a huge, three-dimensional collage built into the wall of the gallery itself. Thus, it is clear just how powerful free art galleries can be; they give the public access to some of the world’s most influential artists, free of charge.
Jane Hodgson further described free galleries as “crucial for thinking. Especially as funding has been slashed in schools for art and also the curriculum has got more and more narrow“. Often in schools, children are, “galloped through cubism in three weeks… they did every single major art thing super fast without thinking about what they liked. So galleries would be a space to wander around and think about your own sensibilities”.
...free art galleries like Hatton give the public the opportunity to bridge the gap in education, without having to pay a single penny.
Therefore, with art being side-lined in school curriculum, free art galleries like Hatton give the public the opportunity to bridge the gap in education, without having to pay a single penny. Children and adults are encouraged to create, think for themselves, question, and be open to new perspectives.
Carvell continued, stating that we “are so used to everything moving and everything being very short, instant gratification, bites of things, that maybe we've forgotten sometimes to stop and really be still and contemplate things properly in depth. And the space of an art gallery gives you that opportunity to be still, to really think about what's in front of you, to absorb colour, shape, and meaning, stories in your own way, rather than being told what to think and what to do all the time. It gives you personal interpretation as well, and that's very, very freeing, I think.”
However, alongside free art galleries, fine art student Cara Barwick declared we could do even more: “I've seen lots of art projects that are exhibited in parks, in train stations, in tube stations in London or just in squares and places like that. I think that's a really important way to make art accessible to the wider public.”
...as well as opening more free galleries like Hatton, perhaps we should bring more art to the people in public spaces.
This may solve another problem. Whilst spaces like the Hatton Gallery are free, some people simply don’t have time to visit due to the business and anxieties of everyday life. For many, it is not a top priority. Therefore, as well as opening more free galleries like Hatton, perhaps we should bring more art to the people in public spaces. We can walk past it on our way to work, discuss it on the school run, admire it on the way to the shops.
In being asked about the significance of art in public spaces, fine art student Misty Woodhouse replied, “anything that makes you question stuff in life is very powerful and I think that art is definitely one of those things. It opens people's horizons a little bit and makes people think more”.
Therefore, in terms of addressing accessibility in the arts, the Hatton Gallery is a welcomed first step. When asked if the government should invest more in free art galleries, each of the fine art students responded with a “Yes. 100 percent. No questions asked”.