On-site/Off-site: Thomas Bewick and contemporary art at National Trust Cherryburn.
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Arts and Cultures
Abstract
This Impact and Engagement project seeks to address two key issues:
- the long-term legacy of, and access to, temporary site-specific art commissions
- the potential of digital space for audience development within the heritage sector.
Working with the National Trust's historic property and collection at Cherryburn, the birthplace of Thomas Bewick, and our new partner, The Bewick Society, this project seeks to address the issues of legacy, access and audience development through two strands of work. Firstly, two artworks created as part of the MCAHE project by Marcus Coates and Mark Fairington in 2018-19 will be revisited to create digitally accessible versions. This looks to demonstrate the potential of digital forms of contemporary art and dissemination which, in turn, has the capacity to generate new audiences and make commissioned artworks more accessible. Secondly, we will work with the Bewick Society to create a new digital-first artwork that follows the intentions of the original MCAHE artists' commission brief for Cherryburn. This born-digital work seeks to demonstrate an alternative commissioning and dissemination approach, which again might appeal to and help to develop different audiences. The experiences of this project will be shared at a project symposium designed to stimulate discussion and debate within the wider contemporary art, digital, heritage and museum communities around the value and future development of digital platforms for the preservation, representation and creation of site-specific art practice. The symposium will be delivered in partnership with the sector support organisation Arts&Heritage.
Why is this needed?
There has been a significant increase in the number of artworks being commissioned for heritage sites, and the the sites commissioning work have become increasingly varied - from country houses to historic waterways. Major schemes have emerged, such as the National Trust's 'Trust New Art' programme which between 2009-2019 commissioned over 300 artists for 150 of its properties. Despite this, until recently there was very little research on the practice of commissioning contemporary art for heritage or on its impact for artists, heritage sites and audiences. The AHRC funded Mapping Contemporary Art in Heritage (MCAHE) project (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/mcahe/) addressed this gap. MCAHE (2017-2020) was an interdisciplinary, practice-led research project that examined the role, scope and practice of commissioning contemporary art within heritage properties in the UK. The project brought together the knowledge and experience of academics, artists, heritage professionals, volunteers and visitors. Focused on a series of practice-led case studies which involved the creation of six new artworks for four heritage properties in the North East, key findings of the research included that contemporary art commissions could attract new audiences, provide important opportunities for artists to expand their practice, and can play an important role in public understanding of history. That said, it became clear that temporary site-specific art commissions tend to be poorly documented and have limited legacy. This is important for heritage organisations because commissioning contemporary art can be a resource intensive process, in terms of time and money, and yet its impact can be shortlived. It also has access implications in that only those who can physically visit the heritage site can engage with the artwork. These issues are particularly pertinent for heritage sites that might have limited opening hours or limited space.
What are the benefits?
By enhancing impact and dissemination this project will:
- impact commissioning practices to consider legacy, accessibility & digital
- further expand artists' practice
- develop new audiences and enhance access
- create better return on investment for those commissioning contemporary art.
- the long-term legacy of, and access to, temporary site-specific art commissions
- the potential of digital space for audience development within the heritage sector.
Working with the National Trust's historic property and collection at Cherryburn, the birthplace of Thomas Bewick, and our new partner, The Bewick Society, this project seeks to address the issues of legacy, access and audience development through two strands of work. Firstly, two artworks created as part of the MCAHE project by Marcus Coates and Mark Fairington in 2018-19 will be revisited to create digitally accessible versions. This looks to demonstrate the potential of digital forms of contemporary art and dissemination which, in turn, has the capacity to generate new audiences and make commissioned artworks more accessible. Secondly, we will work with the Bewick Society to create a new digital-first artwork that follows the intentions of the original MCAHE artists' commission brief for Cherryburn. This born-digital work seeks to demonstrate an alternative commissioning and dissemination approach, which again might appeal to and help to develop different audiences. The experiences of this project will be shared at a project symposium designed to stimulate discussion and debate within the wider contemporary art, digital, heritage and museum communities around the value and future development of digital platforms for the preservation, representation and creation of site-specific art practice. The symposium will be delivered in partnership with the sector support organisation Arts&Heritage.
Why is this needed?
There has been a significant increase in the number of artworks being commissioned for heritage sites, and the the sites commissioning work have become increasingly varied - from country houses to historic waterways. Major schemes have emerged, such as the National Trust's 'Trust New Art' programme which between 2009-2019 commissioned over 300 artists for 150 of its properties. Despite this, until recently there was very little research on the practice of commissioning contemporary art for heritage or on its impact for artists, heritage sites and audiences. The AHRC funded Mapping Contemporary Art in Heritage (MCAHE) project (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/mcahe/) addressed this gap. MCAHE (2017-2020) was an interdisciplinary, practice-led research project that examined the role, scope and practice of commissioning contemporary art within heritage properties in the UK. The project brought together the knowledge and experience of academics, artists, heritage professionals, volunteers and visitors. Focused on a series of practice-led case studies which involved the creation of six new artworks for four heritage properties in the North East, key findings of the research included that contemporary art commissions could attract new audiences, provide important opportunities for artists to expand their practice, and can play an important role in public understanding of history. That said, it became clear that temporary site-specific art commissions tend to be poorly documented and have limited legacy. This is important for heritage organisations because commissioning contemporary art can be a resource intensive process, in terms of time and money, and yet its impact can be shortlived. It also has access implications in that only those who can physically visit the heritage site can engage with the artwork. These issues are particularly pertinent for heritage sites that might have limited opening hours or limited space.
What are the benefits?
By enhancing impact and dissemination this project will:
- impact commissioning practices to consider legacy, accessibility & digital
- further expand artists' practice
- develop new audiences and enhance access
- create better return on investment for those commissioning contemporary art.
