Should art exhibitions be free to the general public? In an idealistic World… yes, they should be free. But journalist, Jonathan Jones, believes that tough financial times in Britain have put a strain on our cultural establishments. Is it time for us to stop treating these institutions like the NHS?
Last summer, I took a spontaneous trip to the Turner Contemporary gallery. It looked like an impressive glass ship stranded upon the shore.
At the time, the gallery was showcasing an exhibition titled: We Will Walk – Art and Resistance in the American South. It was free entry. All I had to do was fill out my details on my phone.
The curator, Hannah Collins, had carefully compiled together music, photographs and art belonging to 1950s/1960s Southern America. According to Turner Contemporary, all the artists featured in the exhibition “lived through the Civil Rights struggle and its aftermath, often in conditions of poverty“.
The artwork was thousands of miles away from home. For many, this was even their first time in Europe. The distance didn’t diminish their power. In fact, their stories of courage and determination filled the once empty space.
Brightly coloured quilts decorated the walls in a part of the exhibition titled: Gee’s Bend. They were created using scrap fabric material, such as denim and football tops.
Behind the beauty of the quilts, there exists a deeply disturbing past link to slavery. I learnt that Gee’s Bend is actually a small community in rural Alabama. The residents there were obstructed from voting once the right to vote was granted in the 1960s.
The exhibition also included works that were in direct dialogue with the resistance of the Civil Rights protests. Installations included footage of political activist Angela Davis.
All the images were in black and white. It felt like they belonged to a distant part of American history… but then I remembered that these images were taken only 60 years ago or so. There was an overwhelming realisation that this part of history wasn’t thatlong ago. The people in these images may even still be alive today.
We live in a society where systematic racism still exists. It is an issue that minorities still face every single day.
A month prior to my visit, the people of Margate marched the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Learning about Black history is so important. It is through education that we realise our privileges. For me, the exhibition was such an eye-opening experience. I left knowing so much more than I did before.
So, in contrary to Jonathan Jones, I believe that our cultural institutions should be free. The knowledge that they provide should accessible for everyone. As Smith emphasises, “artworks are tools for lifelong self-education”. Access shouldn’t be limited to only those who can afford it.
However, I would still urge you all to donate what you can during your visits. Keep an eye-out for donation boxes as you walk around the exhibitions… and make sure that you carry extra change.
CREATIVE CONVERSATION 