Artist-led: Back Lane West

Can you tell us about your Back Lane West, who you are and what do you do?

Back Lane West is a non-profit, artist-led residency, project, and meeting space in Redruth, Cornwall. Established in 2009, our aim is to support critically engaged visual art practice and artists’ professional development. Central to this is the commitment to develop opportunity through regional, national, and international networks of exchange and discussion; and contribute to building a nationally and internationally connected, contemporary visual art community in the South West. Our core programme is one of monthly artists residencies.

Can you tell us why you set up and why Back Lane West is important in the context that you are working in?

BLW was set up by accident rather than design: three Cornwall based artists looking for a space for a temporary exhibition; finding the space and initially offered it for six months’ rent free - an offer that couldn’t be refused; the landlord is supportive of the creative industries. Following our own exhibition we offered the space to other artists, initially as an exhibiting space, something that didn’t exist in the area at the time. The word got out around the art community about the space, both locally and further afield, and it naturally grew into a meeting place with a programme of residencies and exhibitions.

Can you tell us about what you are currently working on and if you have any projects coming up you’d like to share with our network?

Our programme for this year is predominantly residencies and we have a mix of local artists and some from as far as Scotland booked in. Within the mix we also have the community focused organisation Shalla who we are welcoming back in October for what has become a regular yearly slot. We work particularly closely with the artist-run exhibition space Auction House, the idea being that artists might do a residency at BLW to develop ideas and concepts which would lead to an exhibition at Auction House. Which is what is planned for our current resident Leila Gallaway.

BLW is named after the lane in which it’s situated. It was once one of a small row of shops, left vacant when the remainder of the shops in the lane were converted to living accommodation. Back Lane West runs parallel and close to the main street and shopping centre. The space has two large arched windows onto the lane and big double doors, which has enabled us on two occasions to have cars in the space as part of artworks. We are keen that artists activate the space and use it to experiment with ideas.

Over the years of running BLW several other artist-led organisations have sprung up in Redruth: CMR, Auction House and more recently, Stick Figure. We try to work together and coordinate events and openings when possible, to share audiences across the town.

We are lucky that we only pay a peppercorn rent which has enabled us to survive for these past 16 years. We do have to ask artists for a contribution to our running cost (£200 for a month residency, currently our only income), this gives them 24/7 access to the space. At the end of residencies most artists have a public opening.

Find out more:
Website http://backlanewest.org/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/backlanewest
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/backlanewest