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What is Slugtown?
Slugtown is an artist-run gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne. We started in 2017, in a house in Heaton; turning our front room into a gallery space and hosting solo exhibitions by early–career artists, workshops and community engagement events. At that location we hosted 11 on-site exhibitions, and 2 off-site exhibitions.
Our aims are to continue developing our exhibition programme, and to provide artists with the tools and support to realise ambitious solo exhibitions.
We have always been self-sustainable, with a proud DIY ethos. We are champions of self-responsibility, self-initiation and finding a satisfaction in creating, and will bring these ideas forward in a series of workshops and events.
After the success we had working from our home, we wanted to continue the project and secure its long-term future. We moved away from Heaton in 2018, became a Community Interest Company, and began the search for a new location.
In spring/summer 2020 we will move into a disused retail unit in Shieldfield, Newcastle on a long-term lease!
Our goal is for Slugtown to continue to support art and artists, and to help grow to the cultural offering of the North East, and provide a responsive and valuable resource for the community of Shieldfield.
To help us achieve this, we need your support!
What do we plan to do?
In spring/summer 2020, we will move into our new premises in Shieldfield, Newcastle.
We are delighted to have received Arts Council England funding to support our exhibition and workshop programme. We are firm believers in paying artists, and funds will be put towards artists’fees, materials, and travel.
In Heaton, Slugtown was a welcoming and informal space – encouraging visitors who might not normally engage with art. We held tours for residents, hosted street BBQs, and spent time talking with visitors. In our new location we will continue this ethos, making art accessible and communal.
The gallery will be a creative civic space, hosting regular input sessions centred around a monthly communal meal, resulting in the publishing of a Public Handbook. The Handbook will be an ever–changing manifesto, representing the thoughts of what the gallery should be in response to the community. It will be accessible on our website, and physically in the gallery.
Arts Council funding will also be used to support an expanded FREE workshop programme.
Exhibiting artists will all lead public workshops, and Slugtown will host series of workshops as well as our month–long ArtMaker workshop. The ArtMaker workshop teaches new creative skills each week, taking participants through every stage of hosting an exhibition, and culminating in an exhibition in the gallery. These workshops will provide takeaway knowledge, providing a gateway into contemporary art and promoting the benefits of engaging with it.
What do we need?
We are aiming to raise £6000 to cover the essential refurbishment of the unit in Shieldfield. Your contribution will help us to:
- perform a full electrical rewire of the property, including: installing LED strip lights, emergency lighting, a fully compliant fire detection system and power sockets.
- Build an interior stud wall to create a white cube gallery space.
- Hire tools and buy materials to make good the interior concrete floor of the space.
- Buy furniture (stools, chairs, tables) to use for our monthly communal meals, input sessions and workshops
- Buy AV equipment to enable us to support video/sound exhibitions and workshops
By pledging on our Crowdfunder, you will be helping secure the longevity and sustainability of Slugtown. This in turn will hugely benefit artists and the cultural offering of the North East, and the community of Shieldfield.
We’d like to thank all the brilliant artists who have donated work for this Crowdfunder. To see HD images of works, and for more info visit: slugtown.co.uk/fundraiser
Please note that all prices include UK shipping. For outside UK shipping, please contact: contact.slugtown@gmail.com
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