Estate Agent for the Arts?

Guest post by @GideonSeymour Director of Fabric in Bradford

Being invited to write a guest blog for Culture Vultures is a singular honour but when it comes in response to a tweet about empty shops it might be regarded as something of a challenge to make it interesting! What is left to write when Dan Thompson (@artistsmakers) has pretty much said it all? Poet Audre Lorde said: “There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.” So, with this in mind, I’d like to tell you about the history of Fabric’s ‘adventures in property’ here in Bradford.

Our first foray into using empty spaces for the arts was meant to be brief and goes back to when Bradford was made the first UNESCO City of Film. As part of the official launch we were asked to create a temporary cinema in an empty shop in Bradford’s Centenary Square. A meeting was set up with the owners of the Centenary Building to see whether they’d consider letting us ‘borrow’ one of their empty shops for the weekend. This seemed like too good an opportunity to miss and so we pitched a proposal for a longer ‘tenancy’ with the idea that we might use the space to showcase a few local artists. They said yes and two and half years later its still running, having shown the work of more than 300 artists and organisations to more than 10,000 visitors.

Emboldened by, and some might say carried away with, our success the next project was altogether more ambitious. Using the ‘meanwhile’ approach developed by the Development Trusts Association we set about trying to transform Bradford’s biggest challenge – the site of the proposed Westfield Bradford. Having been “tipped the wink” by a supportive Council officer at a local regeneration conference that a representative of Westfield would be speaking I was first to put up my hand and ask him whether they might be up for a conversation about making use of some of the 7 acre site.

They initially said yes but we didn’t hear from them for a while then, on Saturday October 31st, the ‘Art Attack’ happened. A person or persons unknown, later referred to as Spartacus, acting in the dead of night added various works of art added to the hoardings surrounding the site including poems, a graffiti wall and the first use of the epithet “Wastefield”, beautifully articulated in the correct font and colour to match the original “Westfield”. The following Tuesday Westfield rang and a meeting quickly followed at which we agreed the plans to create a three acre green space to Fabric’s designs, hastily drawn up in pencil and coloured pens. Taking only six months to develop and funded jointly by Bradford Council, Yorkshire Forward and Westfield, the BUG was opened by the Lord Mayor in June 2010.

Bradford is blessed with some beautiful historic buildings though many of them are difficult to use and empty. The former Virgin Megastore or Zavvi at 1 Tyrrel Street was one that often caught my eye as I passed through the pedestrian area, an eyesore with broken windows and a grimy grey shutter. Having an expert in property development on Fabric’s Board proved valuable and through her contacts I was introduced to the commercial property agent responsible for the unit and pitched our idea: to create a shop that would sell the work of Bradford artists and makers.

Approaching estate agents, who make their living on commercial property deals, would seem to be a fool’s errand but, to his credit, he agreed to pass on our proposal. When the answer came back that they were prepared to consider it we set about convincing the Council that this was a good idea. It turned out that the Councillor responsible had had a similar idea and so, in November 2011, we got the news that the Council had given us a capital grant to do the place up. After negotiations with the owners we received the keys in late February 2012 and just four weeks later opened ‘Hand Made in Bradford’ to the public.

We are not alone in making temporary use of empty buildings for the arts and so were pleased when another arts organisation approached us about working with them to find users for a large office block just outside Bradford city centre that they’d been offered. Working in partnership we found space for a dance company, theatre makers, community arts projects, a youth project and various artists and makers looking for studio space. However, as is the nature of these things, no sooner had we moved these people in then we received news that the building had been sold!

Needing to find somewhere quickly it was useful to have a friendly local commercial property agent to pick up the phone to and plead for help. Two months later we have just agreed a lease on seven more empty shops right in the city centre, initially to re-house the existing users and then to provide a home for a waiting list of 20 or so artists seeking studio space. Located next to the Westfield Bradford site these shops will also provide a home for other projects and arts organisations, as well as ensuring that never again does Bradford appear in the top-ten league table for empty shops!

What all these projects have in common is that they provide a space for artists to make, develop, showcase and sell their work and to meet other artists. They are low cost, often volunteer-led and help sustain an arts scene that, despite our tendency to talk ourselves down, is the envy of others. The artists, and their audiences, patrons and customers are the important ones but we know we play an important part in creating the environment in which we hope they can flourish. I was recently described by a local Councillor as a sort of “estate agent for the arts”! I’m not sure I like the comparison but I know what she means.

You may wish to read more about Gideon’s (and other Bradfordians) views on the Fabric Culture Blog.

We’re always keen to hear from people who’d like to have a conversation here with our readers about Bradford matters. Here are some recent posts. Do get in contact if you’d be interested