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| Preston Street Union | Ghosted | 2018 Photo: Tony Whitehead |
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On 24 May 2018, Spacex officially announced its closure. The only dedicated contemporary visual art organisation in Exeter, it had been struggling since 2015, when Arts Council England ceased funding it regularly. At this point the organisation left its long-time home at 45 Preston Street and continued to operate with a reduced staff on a project-by-project basis. But, by March 2018, it was all over. An internationally recognised, ‘strategically important’ (to quote ACE) arts organisation, that had been part of the Exeter cultural scene for over 40 years, was no more.
I won’t pretend that Spacex was a perfect arts organisation; it wasn't.
It often struggled to inspire (or even be noticed by) many residents of the surrounding urban and rural areas. But, as an artist and art lover, it was
one of the main reasons I came to live in this city 15 years ago. Spacex's closure follows the loss of the city's the art college in 2007, which relocated to Plymouth 50 miles away,
removing a vital source of audiences for and makers of contemporary art. And, in a further blow, the leasing of the Preston
Street building to new tenants has resulted in around 12 artists losing their workspaces
(the upper two floors were given over to studios).
Spacex brought the work of many internationally important artists to
the South West and contributed to the careers of many emerging artists and
curators. It also had a highly regarded education and outreach programme that introduced
art to many people in the wider Devon community. I volunteered there as a
student, worked with them to run a writing programme, and occasionally contributed
to their press and marketing work. I also had a studio space above the gallery for
around nine years.
The most important legacy for me, apart from all the great art I experienced,
was the chance to be part of Preston Street Union, an affiliation of artists that
grew out of a residency in 2015 by Birmingham-based artist Trevor Pitt. Trevor’s
residency, which came at the very end of Spacex’s occupation of their Preston
Street premises, explored collaboration as a strategy
for artists ‘making things and making things happen’. About one third of the artists involved in the
original project have continued to meet and organise public-facing events, as
well as offering support and learning opportunities to each other.
Our latest project, Galleries R Us, made for Art Week Exeter 2018,was a response to the diminishing arts infrastructure in Exeter, specifically the loss of institutions dedicated to the teaching, production and presentation of contemporary art. The official announcement of the organisation’s closure came in the middle of two days where we assembled and disassembled an itinerant, makeshift gallery on the streets of Exeter. Our final iteration of the gallery - Ghosted - was made at 45 Preston Street as a farewell.
