Watercolor

Thornton is a well-kept secret above an occasional snow line; with a vibrant creative community scattered amongst the steps leading to the moors n’ reservoirs that quench the city of its thirst. There is an illusion of distance from Bradford and a mutual unbidden separation as if the hills are reserved for the fairy folk and the valley for us lowly toothless trolls. On its southern outskirts stands South Square Gallery; a courtyard of stonemasons’ cottages that houses several gallery spaces, a sculpture garden, vegetarian cafe and artist studios. I’ve never been to South Square until last week. Strange; I wonder why there are so many invisible thresholds of unknowing we have to cross before we discover magical places like this gallery; or the Peace Museum; or the Tree- House Cafe. What consuming devil makes it easier for us to waste time and money in a leviathan supermarket we’ve never been in before with its sterile plastic horrors scattered across acres of aisles than enter this friendly, human & truly magnificent grass routes arts space. Is it fear of the unknown? Are we so comfortable now in our anonymity and in our loneliness that we would rather perpetuate it by limping like zombies across concrete retail parks? Get on the 607 at Sunbridge Road and it’s a straight line for twenty minutes. Step off at the stop just before the New Inn Pub and its ten yards up the road on your left; you could walk it if you were in the mood. I met Patricia Calver and David Knowles who explained the history of the Gallery, that it was a grassroots exhibition space committed to providing a professional and supportive resource for artists and emerging curators. Patricia was particularly keen to impress that the gallery was unique in the amount of creative control and responsibility it fostered in emerging curators. It seems that unlike some larger galleries every curator on an internship will plan and execute their own show providing invaluable experience and a creative outlet

to develop skills at a vital point in their professional development. As a test bed for new ideas, the gallery hosts an ever evolving dialogue between artists and their audience. It’s refreshing to find a gallery so innovative and adventurous. I remember on my only other visit to the gallery I discovered behind the door of a six inch box made by artist Heide Harding, lay a real human mouth whispering tales through a small hole in the wall. Apparently a performer had waited there all day in a cupboard concealed behind a wall for the moment I would open up the box. The Square also incorporates a print workshop, studios for a number of artists, a community space, a print studio, a fine art framer who’s put wood around Hockneys and Hirsts, a craft shop and a vegetarian cafe. It’s been on the go since 1985 and retains a youthful energy. A contemporary gallery space with a holistic approach to education. In fact I was very impressed by the combination of contemporary art gallery and friendly community education workshop space. The centre is providing a real service for raising attainment and engagement through the creative arts for its local schools, its interns, and the community and if you take my advice and get on the 607 it’ll learn you too. This month the gallery becomes a project space for work in progress by the next generation of artists. MA students of Bradford School of Art and Media, in collaboration with South Square Gallery, pause to take stock of their work in progress. Demonstrating the rich diversity of their cultural sources and imaginative interpretation there will be experimental video, collaborative painting, digital print, textile and sculptural ceramics on display. The Gallery is open from 11:30 - 3pm Tuesday - Saturday & 12 - 3pm Sunday. http://www.southsquarecentre.co.uk

Douglas Thompson

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