30 BRIEF ENCOUNTERS


For Hospitalfield director Lucy Byatt,


this moment in the London spotlight was about many things: first and foremost, it’s about amplifying what Hospitalfield was set up to deliver, when the house’s originator, artist Patrick Allan Fraser, left instructions on his death in 1902 for it to be used an art school and residency, giving artists time to develop their practice in a tranquil setting. For Byatt, these residencies are a precious resource for artists at various points in their careers – most artists needing to juggle day jobs and families around their creative endeavours, with the latter usually taking a back seat. Says Byatt: ‘Te residency becomes very important as punctuating their lives for moments of production, working things out. In these times, it is very difficult to achieve the support for those kinds of


programmes. We’re not asking artists to perform or be engaged with audiences. It’s a vital aspect of our cultural lives to support practices at every level, so the work percolates through and eventually finds its way to our audiences. It’s really important to invest in residencies.’


Another important outcome of this Chelsea Show Garden is that the garden itself will return north, to Ladyloan Primary School, very close to Hospitalfield


Prior to joining Hospitalfield in 2012, Byatt


directed Bristol’s now renowned Spike Island artist studio complex (2002-2008), devising and delivering a £2.25m capital development project that placed a major exhibition space at its centre, which then became the focus. She says: “Everyone became interested in the gallery, after which the residencies and research became less important… Whereas I wonder whether tucking a residency programme behind a magnificent garden is a way of dodging that. We’re creating something that works for our visitors and our audiences and means we are a public organisation through something that is very creative and with enormous common interest.’ Tat common interest includes weaving


the community into the programme, with events encouraging creativity, outreach to


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