Black Dogs artists collective take residence
Green Sand Foundry has been proving popular as a temporary creative space for a broadcaster and a group of artists, each bringing hundreds of new faces into the area.
Artists collective Black Dogs have been squatting [we invited them in – Ed] at Green Sand Foundry since March, keeping a gorgeous, light and airy space in active use whilst we’re waiting for a new tenancy to begin.
‘Bleat’ asked James Hill, a real life Black Dog, what they’ve been up to at Green Sand Foundry.
Black Dogs and Friends have been able to use the space as an art 'lab' to experiment and play around with ideas and techniques in a way that wouldn’t normally happen anywhere in Leeds. The time & the space to talk, think, accumulate objects and equipment, expertise and ideas, has meant that we have moved, over the course of the three months, from simple discussion groups to a whole range of things. We have shown films, listened on line to lectures by French philosophers, produced sound installations, created a library… The size of the space has meant that artists have been able to recreate sound installations with magnets and 15 metres of wire, to show their own films on screens 14 foot wide... This kind of experimental space has never been available in Leeds before.
You mentioned your ‘Friends’ and we noted the upper case F. Tell us more…
We never intended for our events to have huge audiences and, in fact, not having the pressure of needing huge audiences has allowed us to be a lot more free and creative. Over the course of various events we have brought around one hundred people down to Holbeck Urban Village who have never been before and they keep coming back!
These have included students from Leeds who were encouraged to explore and find out about the history of the area and practitioners and policy makers involved in placemaking. We have also been able to invite and host artists and groups of artists from Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham…
From Manchester?! Seriously?
Yep.
The residency at Green Sand Foundry ends soon but we know you’d like to remain our Artists in Residence. Why’s that?
It’s a great location. Not quite in the city centre, but not too far away from it and with a fascinating social history. The foundry itself is a fantastic and practical space and pubs nearby are a great place to resort to after (and sometimes during, and sometimes before) our events. We have been successful in securing a bursary which allows us to create a programme of events by visiting artists from across the country.
We’ve called our residency the Black Lab and through it we have created new friends and new working relationships. Out of it will come new work, exciting new ideas and events which will contribute to our developing work, and to the cultural life of the city. We very much hope that some of those events will be able to happen in south Leeds and for us to continue to engage with the area's past, present and future.
Is it true that next for Black Dogs is an exhibition at Tate Modern?
Incredibly, the answer is yes! We are honoured to have been selected for ‘No Soul for Sale, a festival of independents’. Showing from 14-16 May, the exhibition is a celebration of Tate Modern’s 10th birthday. We are one of jut 50 international independent art collectives to be invited by visionary curators Maurizio Cattelan, Cecilia Alemani and Massimiliano Gioni to create a project for the Turbine Hall.
Black Dogs and the talented bunch at PSL are the only artists from Leeds to have been selected and, interestingly, both have been given invaluable support from developers who have given over their empty spaces for artists.
If you’re in London from 14-16 May, I hope you’ll come and support us.