n ENGAGEMENT
A key requirement of hosting the Turner has centred on triggering interest among those who may not typically be drawn to contemporary arts. As a novel engagement tool, a Travelling Gallery arts exhibition
bus drove around Scotland, visiting communities from Bishopbriggs to the Highlands, to try and galvanise new audiences. An outreach programme also began
in June, with a pop-up branded Turner tent appearing at the Merchant City festival in Glasgow; for younger peo- ple a doll’s house was used to show-
case the work of one of the nominated artists, Assemble. Glasgow creative agency Tangent, which also designed the branding for the World Gymnas- tics Championships in the city, created the branding for the event. During the exhibition, which runs
until January, a weekly programme of events has been running along-
side; a Thursday night series of talks featuring different speakers has been sponsored by Outset Scotland, a contemporary art fund. Adult workshops run on Saturdays
looking at some of the techniques used by the shorlisted artists, while free family drop-in sessions are on Sunday mornings.
The Travelling Gallery has been visiting communities across Scotland to spread the
word about the Turner Prize
cant opportunity,” she explains. “It was the four partners who immedi- ately sat round the table together and considered it a really positive thing to bring to the city.”
STRATEGICALLY, a decision was also made that the Tramway would be the only Scottish venue to apply and although two other galleries later heard that the Pollokshields centre had been chosen, the approach had already been agreed. Munro says also that the city had a strong sense of a “journey”, having been chosen as the host of the Commonwealth Games and an associated cultural pro- gramme that was going to happen alongside it. And of course there was the city itself, the home of Glasgow School of Art, which has produced five winners and 30 per cent of nominees since 2006. Te third fac- tor, she explains, was the quality of the Tramway’s artistic programme. “We work with this quality of art-
ist all the time and we’ve got a really strong reputation of engaging with our audiences.” In terms of what the bid had to
“FROM THE TATE THERE WAS NO SENSE THAT THEY WERE EXPECTING PEOPLE TO GO BEYOND. BUT I KNOW THAT’S A VERY DIFFERENT MODEL TO A LOT OF THE SPORTING EVENTS.”
demonstrate, it had to be able to de- liver on the cost of staging the event, have a set amount of exhibition space and a proven track record in hosting major artistic programmes, all of which the Tramway had. But with just two or three pages of actual form-filling, it was, Munro says, “bureaucratically-lite”. “It wasn’t a horrific tender docu- ment; the first phase was to submit
an outline vision of what we would do and show we had the capacity to deliver it in terms of skills and knowledge and expertise.” Tat was followed up with site
visits by a team of three from the Tate in London, who flew up and checked in for a night at Glasgow’s exclusive Blythswood Hotel – paid for by themselves. “From the Tate there was no sense
that they were expecting people to go beyond. But I know that’s a very different model to a lot of the sport- ing events. “I think a lot of what we try and
do is to be really authentic; there was no sense that we were bidding to be something other than what we’re really passionate about.”
n LAUNCH
Around 1,000 guests were invited to the opening night on September 30. The event was coordinated by Glasgow Life and Glasgow Artswith the audio-visual and lighting done in-house by Tramway technicians. The menu was designed by the Tramway’s café, ran by facilities management firm Cordia, who brought in distinctive Scottish suppliers such as Taste of Arran. Canapés were prepared in a specially brought-in kitchen and served in the foyer, where guests were able to meet suppliers and indulge in ‘food theatre’. Following a tour of the exhibi-
tion space, the main T1 auditorium turned into a ‘club night’ with Glasgow DJs Optimo booked to play until 11pm. The prize night itself will be
What:Turner Prize 2015 Where:Tramway, Glasgow When:7 December, 2015
on December 7 with an antici- pated 300 guests; the evening will feature Scottish tapas and will be ‘cutlery free’ to minimise back- ground noise for the Channel 4 live broadcast.
EVENTSBASE | WINTER 2015 | 9
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