The Art Studio

The Art Studio 1986–2012

This page is in tribute to all the artists, staff, and volunteers who participated in the struggles and achievements of The Art Studio over the years. A special mention goes to Lucy Milton, Ailsa Martin, John Millard, and Chris Sell.

The Art Studio, Exhibitions:

Giant Fish & Jumbos: The Winter Gardens, Sunderland, and Washington Arts Centre: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/giant-fish-jumbos/?cat=84

Creating a New World at The Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Sunderland: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/creating-a-new-world-the-art-studio/?cat=84

book, a commission for the Year of Visual Arts UK: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/book/?cat=84

The Art Studio was made up of a composite of rich characters from all walks of life, many of whom had little or no experience of the world of academia or mainstream art. “When you entered the studio, it made you wonder how long it had been in existence; there were people in there who seemed to have been making their home in it or a second home out of it. With carpets laid out on the cement floor, family photos were hung up next to the artwork. Everyone associated with the place had been affected by life and had a story to tell about themselves—some more monumental than others—and there were a few who would stage-manage their experiences for everyone else to see as impromptu theatre. Daily life there was mostly channelled into art.”

Les Chisnell, inside his studio. Les was chosen along with Robin Emmerson, another Studio artist for solo exhibitions at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art (NCCA) (see below)

Derek Hill was the Art Studio’s founder and artistic lead from 1986 until 2012. The project began as a pilot project under the administration of Lucy Milton, Director and Founder of Artist’s Agency (now Helix Arts), with government regeneration finance from the Regional Health Authority. Hill was appointed on a one-year contract to develop the project with support from the sculptor, Chris Sell, to engage with people arriving in the community from Cherry Knowle Psychiatric Hospital. (Humble Beginnings:

A Tribute to Bob Allison): http://www.derekhill.co.uk/news-press-exhibitions/the-art-studio-sunderland/

The ethos of the Art Studio evolved from humble beginnings when Hill, assisted by Sell, initiated a city-wide programme of workshops they run in drop-in centres and hospital units while in search of a studio base. A year later, premises were found on Norfolk St., where invitees were encouraged to make artwork alongside the two professional artists. In 1987, the project opened its inaugural exhibition of art at the Winter Gardens, organised and supported by the Tyne and Wear Museum Service and the City of Sunderland. The project expanded to larger premises on Sans St. in 1988 before relocating to a 15,000-square-foot red brick facility on Hind St. in the city centre in 1990. (Cover image) when The Art Studio finally became established.

Norfolk Street Art Project, 1986–1988

As the Art Studio’s membership and sponsorship swelled, its reputation also grew among the media and the local community. The City Council had sponsored the premises on Sans St and Hind St at a peppercorn rent, and the large open areas inside were converted into individual and communal spaces for people to work in. This enabled individuals to forge their identities as artists while fulfilling a need for a sense of belonging and fellowship, evoking a freshness of spirit that fed into the overall fabric of the project as a whole, forming a mosaic of human experiences.

Although the project was primarily established to provide facilities for people who had been in long-term psychiatric care, the ethos ensured the studio was artist-led, independent, and focused on its development as an environment for creative and artistic practice. Its open-door approach embraced the vulnerable, unemployed, and other minorities. The project’s achievements and profile in the community eventually became critically acclaimed and recognised in the region and nationally as a unique attempt to address the issues surrounding both mental health and representational practices through visual fine art practice.

In the space of a few years, The Art Studio had become an extraordinary forum for the discussion and development of good artistic practice outside of the usually restrictive regimes of the art establishment. Here was where the artists decided what art was, and their work set them apart because of the astonishing commitment that was invested in it far and wide.

Sans St Studio circa 1988–1991, before becoming the Art Studio

 

the Art Studio, Hind Street

More information:

In 1990, Hill applied for and received a grant from the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation to establish the post of a development worker. The post covered fundraising and an outreach education role, which proved successful in its delivery. The post was maintained through substantial grants from the J.P. Getty Jr. Charitable Trust and the Barings Trust until it later became a permanent revenue fixture.  The Art Studio’s work with people with mental health issues was trailblazing and inspirational. From 1991 until 2010, before it moved to its current premises, the studio was situated in Hind St., Sunderland’s city centre. It had three floors and 30 individual and shared studios, as well as ceramics and printmaking facilities and a digital imaging suite. There was also a large, spacious gallery on the ground floor for regular exhibitions of studio artists’ work and for networking with universities and other professional visual arts organisations. At that time, it became an internationally acclaimed resource for the production of art by people who had not followed traditional academic routes.

Hill arrived in Sunderland as a postgraduate of the Royal College of Art, London, and, after having undertaken his first one-man show at the Imperial War Museum, London with his show ‘Victory and Defeat’; an 18-month Fellowship at the Artescape Trust, Lincoln; a 12-month artist in residence post at Bishop Grosse-Teste University, Lincoln; a residency at Walton School in Peterborough; and a variety of visiting lecturer posts in colleges and universities throughout the UK,

Chris Sell (Right)

The Studio was instrumental in employing over 20 professional artists on a part-time and full-time basis; placements were established for Fine Art BA Honours and Postgraduate students as part of their course development. It offered mentoring, research, and development to Fine Art PhD students and placements for international artists on study grants. It hosted exhibitions of BA honours and postgraduate students’ degree work as well as exhibitions of arts and crafts professionals.

Its success was recognised by the City of Sunderland, which provided an industrial unit at a peppercorn rent to be used for the studio’s continued development and daily practice until 1988, when it progressed to accommodate its band of artists in a 3-story, 15,000-square-foot edifice in the city centre in 1991, where it remained until 2010. During this time, Hill sought ring-fenced funding to establish a post for a sculptor from 1 day per week to full-time and for a development worker to fundraise and increase the studio’s visibility in the region and nationwide and realise its potential for existing and future ‘artists’. Funding for the installation of a self-contained Printmaking and ceramics facility followed, as did a fully equipped digital imaging suite.

A new programme of research and development was established at the studio, aimed at encouraging personal and group development and helping people realize their individual potential. Personal funding packages based on individual needs were financed to enable people to visit exhibitions and places of interest throughout the UK. Hill would continue his practice alongside people daily and set about organising a series of exhibitions of the studio’s work at numerous formal and informal venues, including Giant Fish and Jumbos at Sunderland Museum and The Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle. Later, a major retrospective of the Studios’ work was held at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Sunderland (now the Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art). Further collaborative exhibitions would follow, including shows in London, Oxford, and Glasgow, and a symposium in Warsaw and Gdansk. The Art Studio’s success was further emphasised when it was featured in a major international art expo tour sponsored by IBM Computers.The exhibition “12“ featured all 12 major U.S. cities.

During his time with the Art Studio, Hill organised an exchange programme between the Studio and The Centre for Developmental Art in Glasgow, which was inspired to create a studio facility for their members based upon the Art Studio model and his guidance and example helped in the initiation of three similar organisations in North and South Tyneside and Newcastle on Tyne. Through his work with the Art Studio, Hill developed a close relationship with its chief partners, the Sunderland Health Authority (Teaching Primary Care Trusts), the City of Sunderland Social Services (and later, Durham and Newcastle Health Authorities and Social Services, and various voluntary agencies), to fulfil and deliver on service-level contract agreements (IPA’s) and informal drop-in service for other user artists.

As well as developing his own practice alongside people daily. With his encouragement, over 30 individuals went on to complete undergraduate and higher degrees in universities and colleges throughout the UK. He established a work placement programme at the studio for Ph.D., MA, and BA students of fine arts as part of their college studies. Hill’s practice today is as non-institutional and robust as it was when he set up the studio. Hill would achieve recognition for demonstrating the value of art and artists working directly with people in the public arena, outside of mainstream art practice. The Studio was instrumental in developing the North and South Tyneside Art Studios and inspiring the development of an art studio in Project Ability, Glasgow.

A special mention goes to artists Chris Sell, a sculptor; Catherine Warwick, a ceramicist; David Gross, a sculptor who established connections in Warsaw and Gdansk; and Ian Hall, a digital artist. Nicky Wynne was the Art Studio’s first development worker, followed by Andrea King, Gillian Firth, and Ruth Petrie. There are many professional artists, membership artists, and administrative workers to whom the Art Studio is indebted and pays tribute; everyone played their part over the years in helping the Studio achieve its success.

* In its first 20 years, The Art Studio received sponsorship, in-kind support, revenue, and capital funding from several major grant-giving foundations, including;

  • The Baring Foundation
  • The John Paul Getty Jr. Charitable Foundation
  • The Tyne and Wear Foundation
  • The Tyne and Wear Development Corporation
  • The Foundation for Sport and the Arts
  • Arts Council England
  • Scottish Arts Council
  • Nissan UK
  • Smiths Electrical Vehicles, UK
  • https://photos.app.goo.gl/KqHBQERw1bU2XwtH6

A special mention goes to Lucy Milton, Ailsa Martin, John Millard, and Chris Sell.