I was asked by Noelle McAlinden, curator of The London Street gallery to submit a testimonial on my impressions/experience of the gallery. This is the testimonial below:

Artist’s Testimonial for the London Street Gallery

from artist, Joe Campbell BA

Impressions of London Street

As a City of Culture Individual Artist (and an artist with a 30 year professional history, living and working in the city) I was privileged to have my artwork exhibited at the London Street Gallery in early June 2013. As part of that engagement I formed a number of impressions of the space which I would like to offer in the form of a testimonial.

Cultural Destination

My first impression of the gallery was its location; the space was strategic, ideally situated within the Walled City, close to St. Columb’s Cathedral, and more specifically, within the area now designated as a “Cathedral Quarter”. The gallery was exactly what I would hope to come across if I was a visiting cultural tourist to a city.

In my view, if we are to realise our ambitions for the city as a cultural tourist destination, and compete with other major cultural centres from all across the world, we must view our own efforts from an outside perspective. Positioned as it is, the gallery compliments other, neighbouring galleries, craft workshops and creative industry hubs adding to the experience of any visitor and to the impression of Derry/Londonderry as a “cultural place”. If the aspiration to create a viable, vibrant “cultural quarter” is a real one, then the London Street Gallery is, in my view, an important component of that aspiration.

New Light through Old Windows

On a more personal perspective, this was not my first experience of the space at London Street. In the mid 1980s, I worked in those rooms as a tutor in art and design for Derry Youth & Community Workshop. I also worked as an “artist/visualiser” for the various redevelopments and projects of the Inner City Trust. As I walked back into that space so many years later, the only familiar thing was the view from the windows. I had spent six years (1985-91) mentoring teenagers on a YTP scheme and creating many drawings for the redevelopment of the Inner City - I was in my twenties. Back then, the “troubles” were still a reality and the idea of tourists (in spite of the worthy ambitions of the Inner City Trust) a distant, forlorn hope.

That said - all judgments are comparative. Twenty odd years later, I feel like a man positioned on a high vantage point, more able to assess the wider view. To really appreciate the difference that City of Culture has brought to the city you have to bear contrasting circumstances in mind. The difference between then and now is like that between night and day, and the idea of a gallery, like London Street-in that place, is a kind of justice.

In addition, the Inner City Trust, the gallery’s partner, now has over twenty five years of experience and development which has resulted in a confidence which has been clearly demonstrated through the trust’s decision to gift the London Street space for the duration of City of Culture year. Comparatively, I was able to see at a glance, that City of Culture had made London Street a place who’s “time had come” bringing with it new contexts and possibilities.    

Clear Remit/Curator

My second impression stemmed from the fact that any good venture should have a clear remit. The remit of the London Street Gallery is to provide a valuable platform for local artists. Whereas spaces are merely that – space. The need to animate that space, bring it to life, to make connections and create networks,  that requires a certain persona, someone who will stand within the “eye of the storm” managing a creative epicenter. In my view, such personas are key to the long-term success of any cultural venture and certainly Noelle, as a curator, had those qualities in abundance.  On first meeting, that remit was clearly demonstrated. Noelle’s drive and genuine passion, not just for the gallery, but also for local artists and the arts, was evident from the very first meeting.

Positive Experience

From an artist’s point of view, my experience of the gallery was a wholly positive one. I was immediately made to feel welcome and given the impression that my work was important and respected. From an artist’s perspective this is of great value. Creativity, to thrive, needs nurture and positive encouragement. Not only does it make all the long hours involved in creating fragile work seem worth while, but also, such affirmation spurs the artist on encouraging him or her to repeat the process and be more willing to contribute to an indigenous, creative output which is, in my view, the foundation of any real tourist destination or creative environment.

Artistic Endorsement/Centre for Artists

My third positive experience was meeting other artists who had associated themselves with London Street Gallery and its objectives. Given the fact that it was only a short time since the gallery had opened - I met more local artists in one week than I had in twenty years. They shared the ethos of the space. They were the “space” in a way. The quality of art on show was also wide and varied spanning age groups, genres and styles, reflecting a wide range of contemporary arts practice and painting a more honest picture of current trends, not just contemporary sculpture and conceptual art but also digitally generated artworks, painting, drawing etc.

“The Most Beautiful City in the World”

My final impression of the Gallery (and how it’s could contribute to a wider objective such as the One Plan) is an abstract one, stemming more from my academic background as an art historian and as a student with the Open University.

I remember studying the Renaissance, and in particular how the Florentine Republic of the 15^th and 16^th centuries had developed from a small provincial town into a cultural capital chiefly because the citizens of Florence, as a body, themselves decided that their town was going to emulate the beauty of ancient Greece and become “The most beautiful city in the world- Bella Firenze”. Like the inhabitants of the ancient classical world, the citizens of Florence were to have beauty surrounding them in their daily lives.

Once they had established that clear goal, that vision, they set about doing it and doing it for a long time. Florence, with all of its beautiful architecture and art did not happen overnight. It grew gradually, stone by stone, artwork by artwork. Each new building, each new statue, each new street was created with the “vision” in mind. Quality was foremost.

And, it wasn't just the Medici family who contributed. Ordinary citizens contributed in the form of a “florin for the city” through their confraternities, they - the citizens themselves, commissioned local artists with their own trust monies created from small regular contributions to create a new artwork at the foot of their street or to paint a new fresco or altarpiece for their church.

Over decades, the city began to blossom. Some of those local Florentine artists, names such as: Giotto; Fra Angelico; Brunelleschi; Donatello; Botticelli; Michelangelo and Leonardo–are now regarded as giants of the artistic world, centuries after they lived and centuries after the Florentines began their task. And, oddly enough, the fact that they all came from small provincial towns would also point to the conclusion that we may not need to “buy in” global stars of the art world to realise our vision we may just need to harness local talent to the objective of making the city a "cultural centre."

For the very same reasons that artists were key to the creation of “Bella Firenze (Beautiful Florence) local artists are key to the long-term development of Derry/Londonderry, as a cultural destination-and galleries with a local focus such as London Street are key to the achievement of the immediate aims and objectives of the city as a cultural centre and for the realisation of more, long-term visions.

Patronage/ Support/ Livelihood

In order for Derry to realise its ambitions as a cultural destination it is, in my view, vital that artists should be more valued. They should be hired by architects, schools, community groups, statutory bodies, government (local, regional and national). Their work should be exhibited in other like-minded cities. There should be posts created by government to give artists a “Monday to Friday” wage. Communities, in particular, should commission artists to create new works for their streets with respect given to their training, academic background and expertise (not just hired in to create other non artistic people’s notions of art). Certainly artists can work to “a brief” but good artists should be allowed to create without stifling constraint or preconceived ideas imposed by others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the London Street Gallery is ideally situated at the heart of the walled city and within the city’s “Catherdal Quarter”. It compliments and adds to the value of  Derry/Londonderry as a cultural destination. It compliments other neighbouring arts and craft centres and it provides a valuable platform for the nurture and development of indigenous talent. London Street is a space for local artists with the potential to form a creative pool that could be utilised for the beautification of the city and the realisation of more long-term, strategic area plans. For my part, and for the reasons outlined above, I would fully support and endorse the extension of the London Street Gallery beyond City of Culture year and for many years to come.