Reviving Inverness Old Town

MATT BAKER and SUSAN CHRISTIE update Northings on the final phase of the Inverness Old Town Art (IOTA) project
 

It is impossible to define that very succinctly, but it comes down to keeping the channels open and keeping the karma of the project right, if I can use that analogy. It is an enabling function, but with the creative brief to the fore, and working with the artists is central to it.

NORTHINGS: The Three Virtues in Church Street has been the most visible and permanent result so far – were you happy with the way it turned out?

MB: I am delighted with how it’s settling in to the space, and people’s reactions to it. I think it did what I wanted, although I tend to set the bar impossibly high, and there are always things that you would do differently, but given the inevitable compromises that you have to make in that kind of public environment, I think it came out very well, and held on to the germ of the concept. There was a bit of initial controversy, but that settled down and never really took on legs, which was good.

In my practice I try to do things differently for differently spaces, and that piece grew genuinely from research into the place and working in Inverness, and that very much shaped it. I didn’t really impose a personal aesthetic on the situation, and I am pleased with that aspect of it.
 

N: Matt, are you involved in making any further permanent works as an artist for this project?

MB: No, not directly. I do see the lead artist role as part of my artistic practice, but not in terms of making another work. I actually struggle to make a second work in the same place.

N: Okay, let’s look at the main developments coming up in the next phase, including plans to move a little out of the old town to the Crown Street Wall.

SC: That is an interesting one, although I would have to say it is probably a ripple project rather than a core one. The blank wall was to be re-clad with stone, which would have been okay, but we saw a chance to do something a little more imaginative. It was a part of the overall project that the SAC weren’t so keen on, and haven’t supported, so we have had to work within the spend that would been made anyway.

We have put out a call for ideas, and we have had a huge reaction from all kinds of people, from members of the community to practicing artists and also various organisations, and not only in Scotland. We have around 70 suggestions, and are looking at that now with a view to making a decision by the end of November.

N: And the Victorian Market Project is also ongoing for the final phase?
 

SC: The major idea there is to design three new entrances for the Market, and also do some work in the interior. Gordon Robin Brown, a Nairn-based artist, is involved in that, and we also have a group of three artists, Nicola Atkinson, Karen Vaughan and Hanna Tuulikki, who work together under the name BW Cart, working on that project. The reception has been great from the traders – they can see the vision for it and the benefits from it.
 

We are aware that there are visual issues around the Market, and the artists are in dialogue with the traders about how to move forward on it. It is very individual at the moment, and we don’t want to lose that, so they are not looking at at standardising it all, but rather at some way of harmonising it a bit more.

MB: Yes, and also of letting it be appreciated for what it is. Its eclecticism is part of its charm, and we don’t want to impose a corporate look on it. :

N: And that brings us to the other big project that IOTA is undertaking, the façade of the Ramada Hotel.

SC: Ramada have a refurbishment plan in place, and the plan is to integrate artwork within that refurbishment, both in Church Street and on the Riverside façade. We put out a call internationally back in February-March, and had a phenomenal response, which was very exciting. We got that down to about twelve contenders, then interviewed them over a couple of days, and selected a final short list of three – Hsiao-Chi Tsai & Kimiya Yoshikawa, Alex Frost and Usman Haque.
 

They have all come back to us with detailed proposals, and we are in the process of liaising with various people, including the senior management of the Ramada group. We left it pretty open for the artists to come up with their own ideas rather than being prescriptive. We feel that this is a project that will have a huge impact on the look and feel of the area.

MB: We briefed the steering group and the hotel on the short-listed proposals in November, and we hope to announce a decision very shortly. We had hoped that both this project and the Victorian Market might happen in the Spring, but realistically the Ramada may be Autumn.

I think if we can pull it off as we visualise it, it will be another huge feather in Inverness’s cap as a major player on the international cultural stage. That reputation is growing bit by bit, not just through IOTA but through a number of initiatives, and we feel that this one is a significant element. It’s not going to be The Angel of the North, perhaps, but it will be very significant. It will be amazing if we can pull it off, so watch this space …

© Kenny Mathieson, 2008

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