Reading Roars!

Anyone wandering around Reading may have noticed this curious spectacle of PEEPSHOW in the window of the now-derelict Long Tall Sally shop, opposite the Town Hall.

Step closer and you will find tiny worlds and surprises tucked behind each of the peeping holes. Some of the things appear connected, some seem more random, some make you laugh, some surprise you, but whatever you think about what you see as you peek in, you have to admit that this is not what you expected to see on your way to work or to the train station.

PEEPSHOW is an exhibition by arjeea21; a group of mostly Reading-based artists who meet every month at the Jelly Legg’d Chicken workshop in the Town Hall to plan shows in and around Reading. I remember a striking exhibition organised by this same organisation in December 2008, in the now empty Gallery 10 on Gun Street. My favourite work at the arjeea21 show was called Curation Play, and involved a miniature gallery with moveable elements that could be reorganised freely into whatever you liked.

The Jelly Legg’d Chicken negotiated the use of Gallery 10 for many groups of artists during 2008 - 2009. I went to a few shows there and showed work myself around this time last year, and it was really exciting to have a gallery in town that unknown or emerging artists could afford to show work in.

But Gallery 10 and the Long Tall Sally shop are just a couple of examples in a long series of empty buildings in Reading that Jelly has negotiated for use by artists. The history of Jelly is long and rich, and wherever Jelly have been, exciting stuff has happened in Reading. Stuff which - like PEEPSHOW or Gallery 10 - was fresh and new and rootsy, coming straight out of the vibrant creative community that lives in this town.

The Jelly Legg’d Chicken was founded by Suzanne Stallard in 1993 and first lived on Gun Street in the building that now houses Lakeland plastics. Exhibitions were shown there every 2 weeks and artists were charged a small amount to show their work there, but the space made no commission on sales which meant that young or emerging artists could afford to show their work there.

In 1997, Jelly moved to Broad Street, to what is now the building with Coffee Republic in it. The Jelly Legg’d Chicken was also formally incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation. At Broad Street there were 12 studios in the building. Artists paid either in kind or with money for the use of these spaces, while money was also raised for the rent by art classes and the proceeds from the cafe in the building.

In 1999 when The Oracle was being built, Jelly managed to negotiate a deal with the builders and planners, for a lease that let them rent the enormous space that is now STRADA for £30,000 per year. By running the space in a more commercial way and putting on yet more classes and exhibitions, and by working 10am - 8pm most days, the rent just about got paid. But when the lease terms were renegotiated with much higher, commercial rates, Jelly was forced to relocate.

In 2004, The Jelly Legg’d Chicken moved to the Town Hall, where it has remained up until today, continuing to support local artists and negotiate the use of spaces for exhibition and studio purposes. Artist groups who use the Jelly workshop include the outcast knitting group, the hang on artists and arjeea21. As well as this, Jelly still offers a range of creative classes and acts as a bookable space that artists who want to put on workshops or study days can afford to rent.

But perhaps as important as these tangible services, is the hub-like quality of the Jelly Legg’d Chicken. At the moment, artists who need to talk to each other pass through the same space and get chatting to each other, or are put in contact with one another by arch-networker, Suzanne Stallard. Without a central space used by all these artists’ groups, such groups will recede back into people’s living rooms and random bars around town, invisible to one another, and isolated. Having a central place that is used by all these artists groups puts them in touch with one another, and this sense of community and network is absolutely vital if we are to have a vibrant, colourful, thriving creative scene in Reading.

However, the work of all the groups mentioned above will be compromised after 1st March, which is the date that the Jelly Legg’d Chicken has been ordered to vacate the Town Hall by. Reading Council apparently want to use the space instead as a gallery, because they believe that in this way they can reach more people. But I want to know more about this plan. I would like to know, for instance, what provisions will be made for emerging artists, what kind of prices artists will be expected to pay in order to use the space, and who will curate the shows and decide what kind of Art to show in Reading.

So with Jelly looking like a basically homeless organisation, and the Council hatching plans for some kind of future gallery space, I wonder if curious, strange, exciting shows like PEEPSHOW will continue to be a part of our urban scenery, or whether they will be replaced by something blander, more ubiquitous, less distinctive, less difficult and less exciting. Something perhaps, like STRADA, or Lakeland Plastics, or Coffee Republic?

If you want to support Art in Reading, there are a number of things you can do;

• Click the links from the Jelly blog, browse through the hang on artists blog, check out the arjeea21 website and find out what people are making - all the time - in this town!
• Leave comments on posts about Art - interact with it and say what you think
• Go to the Sunday Art Market at the Oakford Social Club and buy work directly from artists there
• Buy a cup of coffee in Moondogs cafe before it closes down
• Watch this video that was made by Reading artist, Peter Montford, in Moondogs Cafe
• Go to the Arts Forum meeting this coming Tuesday (9th February 2010) at 7pm at The Kennet Room, Civic Offices, all welcome

And remember to look in those peepholes next time you walk by Long Tall Sally.