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“This is not a place built on ‘old money’, it has been built on the blood, sweat and tears of the ordinary working man – and woman! It’s a ‘self-made’ town.”
By Rhona Jack
Dr. Rod Hebden is head of the Swindon Culture Collective and also fronts New Elements that organises the Swindon Festival of Tomorrow, which has more than doubled in visitor numbers over the last couple of years.
Over the last three years, the successful bid for £1.3m Arts Council funding meant that a lot of groundwork for this new City of Culture bid had already been done.
Under the working title “Magic Swindon”, over 160 creatives from all disciplines came together with Swindon Borough Council and local businesses, creating a foundation which is a pre-requisite for the City of Culture bid.
Rod Hebden said: “The real journey began when we looked at the competition for UK Town of Culture, but that has a limit of 70,000 residents, which is roughly the size of South Swindon Parish Council.
“Swindon is clearly too big for that! Then came the opportunity to bid for City of Culture, but there was a really short lead time.”
Rod works very closely with Kate Wyatt who was appointed last September as Swindon Borough Council’s Head of Culture, Heritage, Arts and Special Events (CHASE).
Together they realised that it would be a huge honour and would make a real impact on Swindon if we won City of Culture, so they made it their mission to draft a strong application.
They asked, ‘What’s the story of Swindon?’ and by talking to lots of people this has crystallised into a compelling application.
To have got through the first round is an exceptional achievement already, because many cities have made several attempts and have still not made it to the next stage.
Rod said: “We’re thrilled to get long-listed because it’s a real stamp of approval. It’s like a stake in the ground. Swindon is on the map and we mean business!”
He and Kate have visited and studied Liverpool, which was European Capital of Culture 20 years ago, and you can still see evidence of the difference that investment made. Hull was awarded the title, as was Bradford, and apparently the transformation in how people feel about these places is tangible.
Although the City of Culture carries a guaranteed £10m grant, Bradford succeeded in raising and implementing a budget of £50m! The interesting thing for Rod is that: “As a project it’s scary, it’s huge but we would not be on our own. A member of staff from the BBC is seconded to the winning city’s team plus other staff from key organisations. There is national media attention both in the run up to, and during the year.”
A full budget has to be prepared for the next stage, which means estimating what local businesses would agree to commit, as well as how it will be spent – wisely! This all has to be realistic, authentic and cover the urban and rural aspects of the area.
Rod has confirmed that local businesses are clearly committed to supporting City of Culture if Swindon wins. The key message has been defined as: “Swindon makes stuff. The canals brought materials so we could build for the railways, then we built cars.
“This is not a place built on ‘old money’, it has been built on the blood, sweat and tears of the ordinary working man – and woman! It’s a ‘self-made’ town.”
We all know the Mechanics Institute served railway workers well and created the blueprint for lending libraries, while Milton Road Baths was the blueprint for the NHS, with communal healthcare paid for by weekly subscription. Swindon was simply ahead of its time.
Rod said: “You cannot separate science and industry from arts and culture in Swindon. They go hand in hand and are by the people, for the people. There were no rich benefactors. “Swindon always dreams the future. We were the testing ground for Mondex and iris-activated security access to bank accounts.
“We are at the epicentre of dreaming and shaping the future. The UK Research & Innovation is based here, so Swindon is helping the country think about the future. This is our strength and it’s what makes us authentically Swindon.
“Winning the bid is still a tall order, but even if we don’t win this time, all the conversations with businesses have been incredibly valuable for the amazing ideas that have emerged.
“There is just such a great momentum at the moment, especially with new Arts Council funded projects getting underway as well. Maybe we can get some of these bigger ideas going in the meantime?
“Then, if necessary, we will be even better positioned to win the next time we apply!”
A new centre for art in Swindon
NEWS: New STUDIO BRUT Opens @ Arclite, Peatmoor, Swindon on 15 August
STUDIO BRUT is Swindon’s first professional art studio for ‘Outsider’ artists.
Founded by local artists Harrie Dearing and SLART (Steve Light), (Substack @slart.me) the project has grown from a simple idea: if the traditional art world doesn’t always make room for self-taught artists, create a place that does.
Based at Arclite House, Peatmoor, it is a working studio with periodic exhibitions in the project space. You are invited to the official opening by The Mayor of Swindon on Saturday 15 August at 6.30pm (Free tickets available on Eventbrite).
Backed by Swindon Culture Collective, STUDIO BRUT has been funded by London charity HYPHA, who take over disused buildings to stop them deteriorating.
Co-founder SLART (Steve Light) said: “I read a book in 2019 that asked the questions, what did you like doing as a child? What were you good at? What did you spend most of your time doing? The answer was ‘ART & video games!’”
In 2019, Steve was working in IT but he joined Artsite in 2021 and hasn’t looked back. Since then, he has exhibited in Swindon, London, Brussels,Scotland and Germany. He wants different audiences and different cultures to see his work.
Steve wanted to practice art more seriously and needed a bigger space to work on six foot by six foot canvases! He and Harrie had been looking for a new studio space for a while, but this new professional art studio will help support other emerging artists as well. Steve feels
‘Outsider artists’ means artists outside the mainstream, who are producing raw art, with no technique or training but with a clear passion for art and self-expression.
Some will be selected for solo exhibitions and there are plans to develop a directory and website dedicated to outsider artists as well
Out of interest, following on from Rod Hebden’s update, I asked him what the City of Culture bid meant to him and he said: “For me the 2029 ‘City of Culture’ bid is one of the most important things happening in Swindon. So much creative work goes on here that people simply don’t see. Winning ‘City of Culture’ would change how the town sees itself, and the boost from visitors would be felt by every business in Swindon, not just the creative ones.
“We’re an underdog town, but the creativity here stands up anywhere. We just need people to see that for themselves.”
EXHIBITION REVIEWS
John Piper @ Museum & Art Swindon, until 26 September.
I hadn’t heard of John Piper until I visited Wiltshire Museum recently. Described as one of the most prolific and inventive figures in Modern British Art, it is a joy to see the exhibition has been transferred to Swindon.
As an artist he was very versatile, producing drawings, paintings, collages, ceramics, book illustrations and stained glass commissions for cathedrals, and he was also a respected photographer!
Inspired by places all over the United Kingdom, Devizes and Portland held special places in his heart, so this exhibition focuses on Wiltshire and Dorset.
There is a beautiful set of four lithographs featuring the Market Place in Devizes, and his book illustrations featured in a SHELL Guide to Wiltshire showing several well-known Devizes buildings. He was fascinated by architecture, and although his earlier work is a little sketchy; the detail is there but not overdone.
He generally uses quite a muted, dark palette with occasional vibrant highlights. One of my favourite works is a triptych of Stourhead gardens and grotto. The contrast between the lovely light colours beyond the dark trees and bushes is striking.
He said: “The formal structure of a painting, the light, dark, colour, texture, line and volume are as important as the subject.”
As an artist myself, I wholeheartedly agree with this.
The English parish church was the backbone of his portfolio. He was friends with Poet Laureate, writer and broadcaster John Betjeman, who lived in Uffington; hence the lovely painting of St. Mary’s church at Uffington.
Other local churches include Bishopstone Church and St. Mary’s at Lydiard Tregoze. He also painted Lacock Abbey during WWII when he was a War Artist, specifically commissioned to record the damage caused by German bombs.
Another impressive historical moment he captured was the cultivation of Salisbury Plain during the war. The plain itself had never been ploughed since the Domesday Book and this is a very brooding painting, hinting at the gathering dark clouds of war.
Piper often visited Portland in Dorset and there are interesting scenes of stone quarries, stonemasonry and the industrial side of Portland, not just beach scenes such as Chesil beach and Lulworth Cove.
His love of landscapes and megalithic monuments like Stonehenge and Avebury led to a friendship with Reytiens, one of the leading stained-glass artists of the twentieth century.
Together they collaborated on stained glass windows at Coventry Cathedral (which was flattened by bombing during WWII), and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.
There is a cartoon for the stained-glass window featuring Avebury. I had the pleasure of seeing the window itself, which is permanently installed at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes. The light through the stained glass is breathtakingly beautiful. The colours are so vibrant!
You can tell the calibre of an artist by who collects their work and John Piper’s works are held in the following collections: UK Government Art Collection, Tate Archive, National Trust, National Galleries of Scotland, Manchester and Southampton art galleries and the Wiltshire Museum.
Perhaps a key to his success is this: “The more intensely you look at things, the more intense will be the work.”
I met two lovely ladies at the exhibition and discovered they had travelled from Great Somerford to see it. Cathy said: “It’s brilliant! This is a very, very good museum. Well set out and explained. The ceramics exhibition is really good, but John Piper’s is exceptional.”
Frances added: “I really enjoyed the quality of the history and exposition. Just the right amount of detail, real clarity, very straightforward and with such interesting points.”
Given that we are in an exceptional heatwave, the climate-controlled exhibition space was a welcome relief and cool retreat too! Just saying!
Marlborough Open Studios
Every July the art trail runs over four weekends in Marlborough.
Well, to be more accurate, it’s from Derry Hill near Calne in the west to Wroughton in the north, to Market Lavington in the south and Radley Bottom near Hungerford in the east.
As is customary, the event is free of charge and artists and craftspeople open their studios and workshops for visitors to explore. The 40 participating artists have to pass a selection panel and in previous years, the work has been very traditional and representational.
This year, however, the brochure seemed to include more abstract artists and ceramicists, which was refreshing. A further 34 artists were listed as Associates and if you like their work from the image included, you can contact them separately, which is a great idea.
We visited several artists and textile specialists, and I came home with a stunning hand-made silk scarf. I really couldn’t afford it – but it combines my favourite colours of lime green, turquoise and purple. When you list the colours like that, you don’t think it will work, but it absolutely does.
So, I consider it to be a treat I have bought myself in advance of my birthday! I know when I wear it, it will bring me great joy, and that is what all forms of art are about.
We need more colour and we need more joy in the world!
Another fan of Marlborough Open Studios is Jeremy Holt, a retired commercial lawyer and art collector. He has visited MOS several times and when asked what attracts him to such events, he said: “I have a profound respect for artists and enjoy meeting them because they are so different from me.
“I’m very interested in where they work because their studios and workshops are all so different. I enjoy seeing the work because it lives on after them and I respect the way artists and craftsmen are driven to create, irrespective of whether an item sells or not.”
He astutely observed that: “Artists never really charge the market value of the time it takes to create their work!”
Jeremy continued: “The world would be a happier place if more people did things for their own sake for no payment or public recognition. Things like volunteering, mentoring young people and so on.
“Making art is part of that because creativity brings joy and goodness into the world.”
EXHIBITIONS TO VISIT:
Ken White: Unseen Works at The Little Gallery, Marlborough until 12 August.
Prior to his death last December, Ken White was already organising this retrospective exhibition with Grant Ford, who owns the Little Gallery and has featured on The Antiques Roadshow.
Ken’s children have gone through the attic to find previously unseen works, and the last painting Ken was working on is also included. Even though he was quite ill towards the end of his life, he made a point of getting up and painting every day.
Grant Ford said: “White was a local man who deserves more recognition as a British artist. As someone who’s been in the art world for a long, long time, I think his work needs to be appreciated by a much broader audience.”
So, if you want to own a little piece of local history, signed fine art giclée prints and original artworks are available, priced from £100 up to £15,000. As a certain global retailer has said: “When it’s gone, it’s gone!”
Do You Suffer From FOMO? If So, Do Not Miss:
David Hockney - until 23 August at The Serpentine Gallery, Hyde Park, London.
Innovating right up until the end of his life, the entire collection of still lives and portraits were created using an iPad. “A Year in Normandie”, is a 90-metre-long frieze inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry. It shows the changing seasons at the artist’s former studio.
MC Escher - until 6 September at Embankment Galleries South Wing
Escher’s work is instantly recognisable with its optical illusions, impossible buildings, and endless patterns. Over 150 of his original works include major themes such as landscapes, tessellations, and metamorphoses, to impossible constructions and the iconic visual paradoxes.
Now booking for September: Bayeux Tapestry at The British Museum, London from September 2026 to July 2027.
Remember History lessons and 1066? The 70-metre-long Bayeux Tapestry returns to England for the first time in 1,000 years.
Made by English embroiderers, it is both a precious historical record and a remarkable work of art. It shows events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England.
These events changed England forever and the tapestry features 11th-century England both before and after the Conquest, from castles, warfare and ships to clothing, food and furniture.
SWINDON: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Mulberry Gardens Garden Party
21 August from 2pm-7pm at 225 Whitworth Road, Swindon SN25 3BX
Podpadstudios and Zozo Thomas have linked their gardens in Rodbourne to create a welcoming space for people to meet, chill, chat and take part in creative activities. You can make a hat or a flower arrangement or take part in a painting workshop.
Komic has created a brand new, colourful mural and chainsaw woodcarver David Boase is exhibiting pieces of work too.
Swindon Open Studios (SOS): Sat/Sun 19/20, 26 and 27 September.
The last two weekends in September showcase the creativity of around 100 artists and craftspeople who open the doors to their workshops and studios,
There are a number of small pop-up exhibitions as well. New College is promoting their student ceramicists and sculptors, as well as those studying Fine Art HND this year.
Look out for your copy of the SOS brochure available from early August in libraries, cafes, pubs and entertainment venues across Swindon.
PROSPECT HOSPICE ART AUCTION
Monday 19 October at the Hilton Hotel, J16 Swindon.
A range of fine art will be available for auction to raise much-needed funds for Swindon’s Prospect Hospice. As the costs of the evening are already covered, every penny raised will go directly to the charity.
Everyone is welcome and there will be no pressure to buy.
The Swindon Link Magazine Archive
Over on The Ink’s sister publication Swindon Link’s website you will find an impressive archive of the past 47 years of Swindon Link magazines, giving you a huge glimpse into the town’s recent past from the beginnings of West Swindon to now. You can find the archive here.
The latest magazines
For the North West Swindon Link Magazine click here
For the South East Swindon Link Magazine click here
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