Thornton is a well-kept secret above an occasional snow
line; with a vibrant creative community scattered amongst
the steps leading to the moors n’ reservoirs that quench
the city of its thirst. There is an illusion of distance from
Bradford and a mutual unbidden separation as if the hills
are reserved for the fairy folk and the valley for us lowly
toothless trolls. On its southern outskirts stands South
Square Gallery; a courtyard of stonemasons’ cottages
that houses several gallery spaces, a sculpture garden,
vegetarian cafe and artist studios.
I’ve never been to South Square until last week. Strange;
I wonder why there are so many invisible thresholds of
unknowing we have to cross before we discover magical
places like this gallery; or the Peace Museum; or the Tree-
House Cafe. What consuming devil makes it easier for
us to waste time and money in a leviathan supermarket
we’ve never been in before with its sterile plastic horrors
scattered across acres of aisles than enter this friendly,
human & truly magnificent grass routes arts space. Is it
fear of the unknown? Are we so comfortable now in our
anonymity and in our loneliness that we would rather
perpetuate it by limping like zombies across concrete
retail parks?
Get on the 607 at Sunbridge Road and it’s a straight line
for twenty minutes. Step off at the stop just before the
New Inn Pub and its ten yards up the road on your left;
you could walk it if you were in the mood.
I met Patricia Calver and David Knowles who explained
the history of the Gallery, that it was a grassroots
exhibition space committed to providing a professional
and supportive resource for artists and emerging
curators. Patricia was particularly keen to impress that
the gallery was unique in the amount of creative control
and responsibility it fostered in emerging curators. It
seems that unlike some larger galleries every curator
on an internship will plan and execute their own show
providing invaluable experience and a creative outlet
to develop skills at a vital point in their professional
development.
As a test bed for new ideas, the gallery hosts an ever
evolving dialogue between artists and their audience. It’s
refreshing to find a gallery so innovative and adventurous.
I remember on my only other visit to the gallery I
discovered behind the door of a six inch box made by artist
Heide Harding, lay a real human mouth whispering tales
through a small hole in the wall. Apparently a performer
had waited there all day in a cupboard concealed behind
a wall for the moment I would open up the box.
The Square also incorporates a print workshop,
studios for a number of artists, a community space,
a print studio, a fine art framer who’s put wood
around Hockneys and Hirsts, a craft shop and a
vegetarian cafe. It’s been on the go since 1985 and
retains a youthful energy. A contemporary gallery
space with a holistic approach to education. In
fact I was very impressed by the combination of
contemporary art gallery and friendly community
education workshop space. The centre is providing a
real service for raising attainment and engagement
through the creative arts for its local schools,
its interns, and the community and if you take my
advice and get on the 607 it’ll learn you too.
This month the gallery becomes a project space for work
in progress by the next generation of artists. MA students
of Bradford School of Art and Media, in collaboration with
South Square Gallery, pause to take stock of their work
in progress. Demonstrating the rich diversity of their
cultural sources and imaginative interpretation there will
be experimental video, collaborative painting, digital
print, textile and sculptural ceramics on display.
The Gallery is open from 11:30 - 3pm Tuesday - Saturday
& 12 - 3pm Sunday.
Douglas Thompson
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