Outer Spaces has been connecting artists with vacant commercial property to be used as studio spaces since 2021. The initiative was born when founder Shân Edwards witnessed the brutal effect of the pandemic on the socio-economic livelihoods of artists, while simultaneously watching commercial space in Scotland sit empty. Now, the charity collaborates with artists to support them, sustain them, and accelerate their growth, and fosters creative collaboration within communities.
In response to the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF), Outer Spaces will soon open an exhibition of newly commissioned work by visual artists Lauren McLaughlin, Maria Muruaga and Kirsty Russell, both inside and outside of a previously disused building in Aberdeen’s Shiprow. The three socially engaged artists will present IN OUR SPACES, an exhibition of work inspired by workshops with local communities over a sixmonth period. In addition, Outer Spaces will soon exhibit in a for-now-secret Glasgow location, featuring artists Sooun Kim, Greer Pester, and Jamie Fitzpatrick.
Why was Outer Spaces formed?
The pandemic made inequality in the arts visible. Even before Covid there was a dearth of affordable studios for artists. Established providers had fairly static populations and the high cost of housing made the additional costs of renting a studio at market rates prohibitive for many.
We began matching priced-out artists struggling to find a place to make and show their work with the many empty shops and offices becoming available for free. We did it because sources of income had dried up for freelancers, the arts infrastructure had shut down and stayed closed, and artists needed spaces to work and find community.
What changes need to be made in the industry for artist’s studio spaces to become more accessible?
Pay for artists! It can be done and was done brilliantly by Creative Scotland distributing emergency funding for freelancers during the pandemic. It would give artists the choice of where to pay to work, and studio providers not meeting artists’ needs would have to up their game. Money would circulate, studios would benefit and become more sustainable, artists would have more agency over their lives, and the decision making would come from the bottom up.
Making spaces free, like Outer Spaces is doing, or putting enough purchasing power in the hands of artists so they can make their own choices, would be a radical way to address inequality and more studio spaces would become accessible to more artists.
What did you look for when selecting the three artists for the IN OUR SPACES project?
Creative funding from Aberdeen City Council meant we were looking for city-based artists and we created an open call for expressions of interest as a more inclusive way to select them. We wanted to commission new work from three artists where social and community engagement was a central part of their practice. Where we could support their professional development and practice with studio and exhibition space, input from the team and hard cash. We know asking for written submissions disadvantages some artists, so we were not looking for the best writing or those only focused on community benefit.
We were interested in artists who were already working in the social area, and had a developed and engaged practice reflecting the reality of people’s lives and concerns, and their own.
How does their work intertwine and converse?
The starting point was SMHAF 2024’s theme of In/Visible, and all three commissioned artists are working within the complexity of people’s lives. Ill health affects everyone and the work presented in the exhibition is therapeutic and messy.
It’s hand work, and the making is visible. The dusty fingers in Muruaga’s intimate photographs share space with McLaughlin’s shiny cut-outs and Russell’s shorthand notes. Each artist is bringing the relationships with their own communities into the same space and the work is presented both inside and outside the former shop. Working with [street advertising company] BUILDHOLLYWOOD meant we could bring work onto the building’s exterior, and the large display windows fronting the pavement make the exhibition accessible from the street.
What defines a productive community space today, and why is it important?
We are almost five years on from the start of the pandemic lockdowns; meanwhile spaces have grown in importance, providing a wealth of nocost studios and temporary galleries. Our network of artists can have vacant commercial space with basics like power and water, and community. Our spaces offer freedom for artists with no proscribed outcomes, and working in a new context offers the chance to work in new ways.
A good space and a good context will offer artists the chance to self-organise and collaborate, grow their networks and build community, make work, and if they like, open up their spaces to audiences. If we don’t support artists with no-strings space and different opportunities, we risk losing the art.
IN OUR SPACES opens at Outer Spaces, Unit E, Shiprow, Aberdeen, AB11 5BY on 1st and 2nd March, and from 3rd till 16th March by appointment
Find out more about Outer Spaces via their website.
