With our current involvement with the Youth Forum live project coming to an end, it would seem appropriate to take some time to reflect on our contribution to the project and how the Galleries can take this forward. From the very beginning of the project it became apparent that the Youth Forum was not as well founded as we were led to believe, so it was agreed that one our first priorities was to help establish an identity for the Youth Forum, giving them a true home which would not only mark their presence within the millennium galleries but also help the group represent their position on art and the creation of it.
So as of Friday 5th November, the Youth Forum has a new base, which with the dramatic lifting of the blinds, opened up a previously private but extremely prominent area of the gallery to the general public, for the Youth Forum launch event. Revealing what was seen by some in the institution, as a somewhat controversial refurbishment at odds with the existing structure, our intervention seems to have been very well received. Highlighting that which we felt was essential, the aim was to not only increase recruitment to incorporate a wider audience, but to help establish the Youth Forum in the gallery itself. Creating a degree of ownership and identity of the space. The event overall was successful with almost 200 people coming through the doors, all commenting on the vibrancy of the room, most feeling it was a very appropriate representation of what the Youth Forum should stand for in the Gallery.
Also present at the launch was the prototype for the [Displayframe]. Consisting of 8 different components, the concept of the [Displayframe] was to introduce a versatile piece of furniture which could be easily reconfigured into different arrangements to cater for the various different user groups and demands. Based on an ergonomic 425mm x 425mm stackable cube, it is intended that as the Youth Forum changes and develops, the gallery can manufacture additional boxes to adapt to meet their altering demands, possibly commissioning new and different components to compliment the system as is required. Presented in their original mdf, the idea for their finishes, is that as the Youth Forum develops a more personalised identity for itself it will be able to customise the boxes to help represent their current ethos, sometimes changing the decoration throughout the year to appropriate various exhibitions. We also proposed to take the [Displayframe] out of its home using it the mark the Youth Forum’s presence throughout and possibly outside the galleries, to connect with the wider community.
Although we feel we have accomplished a lot over the past 6 weeks, there were some issues, which arose which we felt needed development, but were unachievable within our timescale. Therefore we have also but together a brochure of future proposals, which the gallery could take forward if they see fit.
A more immediate issue was to address the problem of acoustics within the room, to resolve this, we proposed a new more robust flooring, which will absorb a degree of noise, whilst also having the added bonus of being much more practical than the existing carpet tiles. Furthermore we also proposed the addition of some form of acoustic panelling, which could be suspended from the ceiling to provide added sound absorption.
From an early stage of the project we began to question the Sheffield Museums and Galleries Trusts approach to art, and how they saw art being represented within their premises. Keen to attract a wider demographic to the galleries, the client wished to be more inclusive of “The Youth”, however it became evident that the current representation of the Youth Forum was possibly under achieving, therefore we put forward the recommendation of opening up the Youth Forum to a much wider community, using the [Displayframe] to reach outside the two schools from S10 & S11 which it currently catered for.
Furthermore thinking of the Youth Forum we began to question whether the galleries view of art, was simply in the exhibition or more in the making, hence we decided to adopt a form of guerrilla tactics, with a series of installations aimed at challenging the gallery. As expected somewhat, the gallery were displeased with our intervention, asking us to remove them within days. We felt this highlighted their viewpoint and is something that should possibly be taken forward through internal reflection by the galleries, as the shear existence and purpose of the Youth Forum seem to be at odds with the interests of the Galleries. Following our involvement with the project, we concluded that if the Youth Forum is to succeed it should be on the their own terms, with the support of the galleries.
