But What If We Tried? Touchstones displays as many works of art as possible
Date published: 05 March 2019
Photo: John Cooke
The exhibit has attempted to cram as much as possible into Touchstones’ three galleries
As many pieces of Rochdale Council’s art collection as possible has gone on display at the Touchstones gallery.
Aptly titled ‘But What If We Tried?’, the exhibit by Leeds artist Harry Meadley, which opened on Saturday (2 March) has attempted to cram as much as possible into Touchstones’ three galleries.
Intrigued by the fact visitors often ask why Rochdale doesn’t show more of the 1,600-strong works in the Borough’s fine art collection, Meadley set the challenge of attempting to display as much of the collection as possible in a single exhibition, using every inch of wall space.
Mark Doyle, Art Gallery Curator & Collections Manager at Touchstones Rochdale, said: “The nature of collecting art in the public’s name and the decades, if not centuries-worth, of artworks that are already in the possession of local authorities, galleries and museums throughout the UK is a subject of perpetual debate.
“By asking us to remove everything from storage, Harry has kick-started a process that perhaps all public collections should be asked to go through; facing the successes and failures of historic collecting policies, of conservation and the sheer volume of work versus the challenges of finite gallery space and financial resources."
He continued: “Rochdale owns many works which could be considered priceless, whether they are by big-name artists or exemplify a particular artistic or cultural movement, with others now considered less valuable by a variety of measures. But, could that change as time brings new periods of evaluation?
“Whether we succeed in displaying every, single artwork in Rochdale’s collection remains to be seen, yet the process and the resultant discussions here and, hopefully, elsewhere means we’re grateful to Harry for the challenge.”
The final display will also include a multi-part documentary filmed by Meadley featuring the Touchstones staff as they endeavour to realise this arduous task. The final part will be released on the last day of the exhibition, 1 June.
Speaking about the mammoth exhibition, local artist John Cooke said: “It’s a fantastic exhibition with works by Constable, Lowry, Whistler, Hogarth and Epstein. A brilliant concept that really is well worth a visit.”
Whilst Rochdale is laying everything out for all to see, at the other end of the spectrum, Hertfordshire County Council took the controversial decision in 2017 to sell or give away hundreds of pieces of art from its collection, which began as a post-war initiative in 1949 to obtain artworks for schools to borrow from the council.
Public institutions are warned under the Museums Association’s ethics code not to consider their art collections as 'financially negotiable assets'.
They are not allowed to dispose of works for financial reasons, 'except where it will significantly improve the long-term public benefit derived from the remaining collection'.
Hertfordshire County Council has said that due to the number of artworks and the lack of resources to manage it properly, the collection posed a ‘significant liability which could result in the works remaining in storage where conditions are not ideal and conservation needs are not addressed’.
152 paintings will be offered for sale at Cheffins Fine Art Auctioneers in Cambridge later this month, with a further 1,074 being offered later this year.
Hertfordshire is retaining just 167 works of art.
Explaining the decision to dispose of much of the art collection, Terry Douris, Cabinet Member for Education, Libraries and Localism at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “It is the sensible thing to do. With 60 per cent of the art collection languishing in storage and not available to the public, the county council believes that the approach it is taking to the art collection balances its fiduciary duty to its council tax payers to use the full resources available to it to best advantage, whilst aiming to achieve much improved access and display of the retained collection for the public.”
‘But What If We Tried?’ runs from Saturday 2 March to Saturday 1 June 2019.
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