Art at Home

When I was growing up, Saltaire was a slightly archaic former mill village, shabby at the edges, with a population of lovely old ladies and not a whiff of an artist (or a pub) in sight.  Yet over the last 20 years – perhaps with the arrival of one the world’s largest collections of David Hockney’s art at Salts Mill and the conferring of UNESCO world heritage status – it has almost completely transformed.  You’ll still find the old ladies and plenty of cats, but they now rub shoulders with a burgeoning community of independent-minded artists and musicians.  Quite frankly, it’s cool.

And perhaps the best indication of this is the annual Saltaire Arts Trail, which takes place this year from the 28^th to the 30^th May.  The weekend includes a makers’ fair, family activities and (new for this year) a mobile cinema, but the highlight is undoubtedly Open Houses.  Twelve residents open up their Victorian terraces to the public and play host to exhibitions by more than 50 Yorkshire-based artists.  I’ve been in previous years and the real draw is that you get to see a huge range of art and craft on display in real homes, as opposed to gallery settings.  Textile artist Dionne Swift, one of this year’s exhibitors, expands: “Art is for people and their lives – not just for galleries.  This event brings art and people together and illustrates how art can enrich everyday living.”

But really, what on earth makes someone open up their house for thousands of members of the public to tramp through?  I asked one of the home owners Paula Dunn to explain the motivation:

“Well I’m an artist and a house owner so the decision for me was fairly straight forward as it was an opportunity to exhibit my work in my own home and to actually get to meet and talk to people who are interested in my work.  The added bonus for me is that I also get to host other artists which undoubtedly produces a much more interesting and varied exhibition.

We now know that we can expect hundreds of people coming through our door each day and there are times when it feels like they all arrive at once!  It’s not unusual to have people queuing down our garden path to get in to the house.  It is a strange feeling having so many people in your house but it’s also exciting seeing them interact with the artists and responding to the artwork.”

Dionne adds “The home owners of the Saltaire trail are outrageously generous to offer their personal space in this way, I think takes great courage & confidence to open up their homes to the public.

Personally I love the opportunity to chat with visitors of the trail.  It gives me the opportunity to review my work outside of the studio & in a domestic environment (other than my own).  Ultimately this is how my work will be sited, so it gives me a greater understanding of the destination – this aids the development of my work.

For those visitors who also become customers, they benefit from meeting the artist and gaining a greater understanding of the thinking/making processes of their newly acquired artwork.”

But I really want to know what the clean-up operation’s like:  Paula reveals “It takes about a day to restore the house back to its normal self after the arts trail.  This is mainly putting books, ornaments and pictures back rather than actually cleaning up.  It also takes a day to clean and clear our house in preparation for the artwork to be displayed but that might be because we don’t clean up enough…?!”

So beautiful houses, inspiring location and great art.  It has a big, shiny, Culture Vultures recommendation!

For more information on the full programme and timings visit the Saltaire Arts Trail website