Eastside Projects is an

artist-run space An artist-run space or artist-run centre (Canada) is a gallery or other facility operated or directed by artists, frequently circumventing the structures of public art centers, museums, or commercial galleries and allowing for a more experimental ...

in the

Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment ...

area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is a free public space that is imagined and organised by artists, and includes galleries and

studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...

. It commissions and presents experimental contemporary art exhibitions and proposes ways in which art may be useful to society. It is organised by Simon Bloor, Tom Bloor, Céline Condorelli, Ruth Claxton, James Langdon, and Gavin Wade, who first conceived and now runs the space. The gallery has a programme for high-profile exhibitions and events. Group exhibitions have featured artists and organisations such as

Art & Language Art & Language is a conceptual artists' collaboration that has undergone many changes since it was created in the late 1960s. The group was founded by artists who shared a common desire to combine intellectual ideas and concerns with the creati ...

Mel Bochner Mel Bochner (born 1940) is an American conceptual artist. Bochner received his BFA in 1962 and honorary Doctor of Fine Arts in 2005 from the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in New York City. Life Bochner was born in Pittsb ...

and

Grizedale Arts Grizedale Arts is a contemporary arts residency and commissioning agency sited in Grizedale Forest in the central Lake District in rural Northern England. It conducts cultural projects locally, nationally and internationally from its bases at La ...

, while past solo shows include

Liam Gillick Liam Gillick (born 1964, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) is a British artist who lives and works in New York City.

Shezad Dawood Shezad Dawood (born 1974) is an artist born and based in London. Shezad Dawood works across the disciplines of painting, film, neon, sculpture, performance, virtual reality and other digital media to ask key questions of narrative, history and emb ...

Carey Young Carey Young (born 1970) is a visual artist whose work is often inspired by law, politics and economics. The tools, language and architectures of these fields act as material for her videos, text works, performances and photographs, often develo ...

William Pope.L Pope.L (also known as William Pope.L, born 1955 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American visual artist best known for his work in performance art, and interventionist public art. However, he has also produced art in painting, photography and theater ...

, and

Dan Graham Daniel Graham (March 31, 1942 – February 19, 2022) was an American visual artist, writer, and curator in the writer-artist tradition. In addition to his visual works, he published a large array of critical and speculative writing that spanned ...

. Since the space opened in 2008, it has made a substantial contribution to Birmingham and its burgeoning reputation as a centre for contemporary art; through Extra Special People, the We Are Eastside Consortium, and other partnerships, it has successfully supported the developing ecology of artists, projects, and independent culture in the surrounding area in order to enrich the life of the city and region.

Background

The gallery opened on 26 September 2008 with its inaugural exhibition, "This is the Gallery and the Gallery is Many Things". Since its launch, the exhibition programme has featured a series of exhibitions that use the mode of a medium to explore it from within: Sculpture Show" (2009), "Abstract Cabinet Show" (2009), "Curtain Show" (2010), "Book Show" (2010), "Narrative Show" (2011), and "Painting Show" (20112012). Led by Gavin Wade, the space is run and staffed entirely by practicing artists and designers who combine careers within the UK and international art worlds with working for Eastside Projects. They, and the artists who work with them, are drawn to the unique environment that has been created in an old industrial space on Heath Mill Lane. From the quirky wooden office (which is also an artwork entitled "Pleasure Island" by Heather and Ivan Morison), to newly installed walls borrowed from the Vienna Secession, to regularly changing temporary display structures which re-use and re-work previous exhibits, Eastside Projects challenges what an art gallery can be, and has transformed over time into an evolving space which wears its history and influences on its sleeve. In 2011, Eastside Projects was accepted into

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

's National Portfolio, securing funding for a further three years from 2012. The gallery has also received additional funding from a Paul Hamlyn Breakthrough Award and works in partnership with

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 and gai ...

who support the gallery through project funding and the use of equipment or facilities. Eastside Projects is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

company limited by guarantee. Extra Special People - Flyer

Long-term works

Eastside Projects is a new model for a gallery, where space and programme are intertwined; it is a complex evolving programme of works and events, starting from radical historical positions. Work may remain and be responded to, and the gallery itself is an artwork. The artist-run space has established itself as being good for the public eye as well as tourists visiting the area. There are a number of long-term works located within the gallery, which formed elements of previous exhibitions. "Local Myths", a totemic sculpture by Jennifer Tee has been a permanent fixture in the gallery since 2010. The handle of the door to the street is a work entitled "Wilkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome. C'mon in." by Matthew Harrison. The gallery office is a structure, "Pleasure Island", originally designed by Heather and Ivan Morison for the Welsh Pavilion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 2007.

Extra Special People

Extra Special People (ESP)Extra Special People – Home page
/ref> is the associate membership scheme at Eastside Projects. ESP supports the development of work, ideas, connections and careers and programmes a huge range of events for artists, writers, curators and those with a more general interest in contemporary art. ESP organises regular salon events which can take the form of talks, discussions, screenings and social events which are free to members and open to the public for a pay-on-the-door price. There are exclusive bursaries and opportunities available to members and ESP also offer practical workshops, practice-led group, as well as 1-2-1 advice, discussions, support and mentoring surgeries.

References

External links

Eastside Projects website
{{Coord, 52.47662, N, 1.88218, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Art galleries established in 2008 Art museums and galleries in Birmingham, West Midlands Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands 2008 establishments in England