Art Lending Library | Walker & Bromwich

Art Lending Library

Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art

20th April – 7th May 2012

A project by Market Gallery and Walker & Bromwich Located in the Mitchell library.

Art Lending Library was an ambitious new commission by Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich which took the form of an experimental library and public procession. Conceived and curated by Market Gallery it provides the unique opportunity for the people of Glasgow to borrow works of art and enjoy them within their homes, work places and community centres.

It brings together for the first time over 60 works by a diverse range of artists working across the broad spectrum of formats available within contemporary visual arts practice. The project has been made possible through the generosity of participating artists in gifting their works to the people of Glasgow for the duration of the festival.

Housed appropriately within the 100 year old Mitchell Library, one of the largest lending libraries in Europe, the Art Lending Library follows the model of a public lending library which members of the public can join free of charge.

The project stands to in resistance to the tide of narrowing access to the arts and education by creating an egalitarian space where art can be borrowed and enjoyed by all sectors of society.

Artists include Penkiln Burn, Graham Fagan, Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan, Mark Vernon, Ellie Harrison, Katie Cuddon, Henna Rikka Halonen, Oliver Braid, Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva, Mark McGowan, Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope, James McLardy, Stephen Hurrel, Alec Finlay, Laura Eldret, Calum Stirling, Andrew Burton, Laura Aldridge, David Sherry, Chris Biddlecombe, Stuart Murray, David Faithfull, Yu-Chen Wang, Jonathan Owen, Nick Fox, Andros Semieko, Kate V Robertson, Peter Evans, Beagles and Ramsay, Jemima Brown, Ally Wallace, Dean Hughes, Fernando Arias, Salome Oggenfuss, Roos Dijkhuizen, Kevin Hunt, Clara Ursitti, Tessa Lynch, Helen De Main, Sandy Grant, Jasmina Cibic, Pilvi Takala, Razan Akermay, Rachel Maclean, Pester & Rossi, James Stephen Wright, Romany Dear, Jacqueline Donachie and Roddy Buchanan, Tim Savage, Ciara Phillips, Catrin Jeans, Chris Mackenzie, Ross Frew, Ewan Manson, Rachel Barron, Sarah Laing, John Vella, Tom Nolan, Kate Murphy, Deborah Kelly, Michael Needham, Ashley McCormick.

Designers Sophie Dyer & Sebastian Gorton Kalvik have been commissioned to design a live on line map to show in real time the journeys the artworks take as they spread throughout the city. Art Lending Library will be launched by Parade of Artworks from George Square at 11am on Friday 20th April. All members of the public are invited to attend.

Library cards will be issued from Friday 20th April and borrowing will begin on Monday 23rd April. The online library catalogue will be available from 9th April http://www.artlendinglibrary.org.uk.

The project includes an exciting programme of participatory events mirroring the education programmes already used within libraries. This includes artist-led book groups by David Sherry and James Stephen Wright, talks by curator Patricia Fleming, artist Bill Drummond and artist book publisher HATO Press. Artists Pester and Rossi have also devised a special performance workshop for small children. All events are free of charge and open to everyone.

A resource section will be provided for visitors including a wide variety of artists’ books, sound and video works. Publications have been provided by Good Press, Glasgow International Artists’ Book Fair and participating artists.

Artists Zoe Walker & Neil Bromwich Sophie Dyer & Sebastian Gorton Kalvik

Check out Market Gallery’s GI 2012 project, Art Lending Library on The Culture Show.