West Lothian's X Factor cravings

Livingston's £6m Howden Park Centre upgrade will do little for the visual arts, fears Cathy Bell

QUESTION: When is an arts centre not an arts centre? Answer: When it's a theatre. A previous article in ArtWork (Wanted: a coherent arts policy for West Lothian - AW150 July/August 2008) posed doubts as to whether the £ 6 million make over of Howden Park Centre in Livingston would improve the building in terms of visual arts facilities. A preview of the building now reveals that these concerns were not without foundation.

The new centre will be the base for Firefly (formerly West Lothian Youth Theatre) and Livingston Art Association (LAA), therefore, it will immediately have to house two large groups even before the rest of the community get through the doors.

Firefly will be well catered for in the newly re-designed building. However, the studio space available seems inadequate even for the members of LAA and that is not counting other artists in the area who might want to use the facilities.

Compared to the rest of the building, the art studio space consists of a modest sized room, which seems to have been added on as a token gesture. Admittedly, there are improvements such as more natural light getting in by the addition of skylight windows. However, it seems cramped compared to what it was like before, this could be due to the reduction in height of the room by the removal of the mezzanine floor above.

Now the space just does not seem big enough to accommodate many artists at once (unless a group of Lilliputians working in miniature). Artists generate large quantities of artwork plus the materials needed to make it. Where is it all going to go?

As well as this there is less actual exhibition space than before. Studio H (the original studio) has been more or less halved, leaving one room (already mentioned) and a smaller room with a kiln. When asked why the mezzanine floor (previously used as exhibition space) had disappeared, the answer was that there was no disabled access. Strangely enough though there is a second floor in the new building which accommodates a green room, an office and meeting room and which is reached by a lift as well as stairs.

Surely a clever architect such as those employed by Nicol Russell Studios could have worked around the problem of disabled access to the mezzanine floor as well? Maybe even put in a new floor to create a separate gallery? Truth is - it was not in the brief.

The truth is that the new centre has been redesigned as a theatre. What is actually in it is a large foyer/reception area, a bistro/bar and relaxing area, two rehearsal rooms, five or six dressing rooms, a green room and, of course, the auditorium itself.

Although there is allocated wall space for hanging exhibitions in an open plan, 'multi-purpose' area, there still is no dedicated gallery in the building. The use of space is heavily weighted in favour of the performing arts, the visual arts being squeezed out even more than before the refurbishment.

Even so, West Lothian Council still believe that the new centre is 'a fantastic resource' and seem unaware of the shortcomings. No doubt LAA will make the best of what is on offer but what about other artists/groups in the area?

It would appear that WLC have used public money to fund more of a commercial enterprise than a real working community arts space. It is a sign of the times that what is really being catered for is the entertainment side of the arts.

The emphasis on performing arts also panders to society's drive towards a kind of X factor craving for stardom and celebrity. Drama, music and dance are undoubtedly a crucial aspect of the arts but should not dominate at the expense of visual art (and possibly literature as well).

It is disappointing to report this situation especially in a county which offers scant access to the visual arts in general anyway.

While HPC continues to masquerade as an arts centre, it will not be considered necessary to deliver proper spaces in which visual art can develop and flourish in the same way as the performing arts.

In Brief

THE CELEBRATED ceramic artists Dave Cohen and Ronnie Fulton are throwing open the doors of their Pitclay Studio/Gallery just three miles east of North Berwick in the lee of Tantallon Castle.

Meanwhile almost the same distance to the west of NB, the Dirleton Gallery has undergone a refit and has opened up under new ownership boasting a nifty line in slow food for those who want an escape from the world of burgers.

A hundred miles or so to the north Deveron Arts are taking it gently with their Slow Down programme which is to be launched with a Spring Arts Breakfast at which Richard Demarco will talk on Josef Beuys in Scotland over the presumably slowly boiled eggs. Venue: Ex-Servicemen's Club, Gordon Street, Huntly

In Edinburgh the newly established Henderson Gallery (round the back of the famous Salad Table, in Thistle Lane, are hosting a Burns inspired graffito event Lest Bogles Catch Him Unawares - Elph versus Robert Burns.