BEND IN THE RIVER
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Making it happen

Bend in the River was founded and is directed by Marcus Hammond and Hilary Hammond, who first opened an art space in Gainsborough in 1996. They are both directors of Slumgothic , the organization that coordinates the activities at St John’s. Other directors have been drawn from the local community and also from further afield, namely Sheffield.

The Bridge Street gallery operates on a commercial model with high levels of social entrepreneurship at its core. It survives on commissions from sales and is supported by the other commercial enterprises of its two founding directors.

The exhibition space at Bridge Street, which opened in the spring of 2005, is now open four days a week, a significant increase on the weekend opening that the Hammonds first gallery was restricted to.

Solo exhibition is the principal activity of BITR and while it previously hosted Arts Council touring exhibitions, it currently curates all of its own shows. Artists are sourced by the directors, and a relationship is established that can be in development for several years prior to exhibition

The gallery promotes its artists outside of their exhibition in various ways including introduction to other spaces, display of work to individual clients outside of the gallery show, and at art fairs.

How it was done

Bend in the River has been built up by the dedicated solo efforts of its two directors, and by a growing support network of likeminded followers and enthusiasts.

It works in similar fashion to the Fanzine. Enthusiasts seek the product out, forge an allegiance to it and commit time to traveling to see shows. They may subsequently commit time and expertise to help the organisation.

Most of what BITR does is bespoke. There is a heavy reliance on the vision of the directors, and on the commitment of the artist to the creative cause.

Study for Procession: Michael Bowdidge (photo provided by the artist)

The result

Over time Bend in the River has developed a sustainable model for independence.

It has positioned art in a rural context that is not provincial, thereby providing a new experience for audiences as well as a context for discourse regarding a sense of the local.

It has also brought international quality and ambition to Gainsborough, provided a catalyst for intellectual dialogue and a model for the future of Gainsborough. All of these activities are a demonstration of possibility (Bowman, report cited below).

BITR at Bridge Street and St John’s create an appetite for ambition and energy: a future where previously there was cultural scarcity.

The reasons for its success

In a recent report entitled 'East Midlands Rural Visual Arts Review', co-author Jason Bowman described BITR as a 'poetic gesture producing an appetite for energy and ambition, individual learning experiences, illustrations for the potential of art and the value of creativity'…He concluded that the gallery was ‘a catalyst for the conceptual and physical regeneration and restoration of Gainsborough'. Bend in the River has created:

• A SPACE WHERE THINGS CAN HAPPEN

This is a unique achievement that has been homegrown from individual philanthropy, an extremely rare thing in a world of the public subsidy and state sponsorship.

Further information