Some of you may be aware that I've been setting up a new project at Shine Business Centre, a conferencing hub and social enterprise in Leeds. This is a brand new venture for me, not only in terms of the space, but in the style and audience too. What I've always found Leeds to be very good at is creating a space for artists to work together and embark on new and creative projects across the city. Particularly since the recession, there's been an upsurge in non-traditional spaces through the Art in Unusual Spaces scheme, and this is growing all the time.
However, as exciting as these things are, there appears to be a distinct lack of buyers for artwork, which could help to support artists to continue their practice. Leeds always seems to have fallen behind in these stakes compared to other cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London and I believe it's not through lack of talent but because of the way that we are connected to other sectors. The idea of getting involved with Shine was to promote new art to the business community without compromising artistic integrity.
The first event, which opened at the end of July, was a huge success, and sold over £2000 worth of work in a single night. Interest is continuing to grow in the space and we'll be stocking artist-produced prints and cards soon.
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