Arnolfini boss Kate Brindley looks to future

Kate Brindley took on the role of interim director at the Arnolfini in April 2014 and was confirmed as the permanent director in November.  We talk to her about her first year in post and what the future holds.

2014 was a period of transition for Arnolfini and thus far the changes are looking positive.

“This year has been a time of incredible change for us,” Kate says. “Arnolfini is going through some pretty big transformations and I am so excited to be a part of its future. There have been some amazing highs, like our citywide summer project The Promise. For me, the best moments so far have been hosting Siobhan Davies Dance last year and experiencing the Family Arts Festival which brought over 300 mums, dads and creative kids to the building.

“Last year, we welcomed over 50,000 visitors to the summer show, The Promise, and more than 30,000 for the current Willem de Rooij and Josephine Pryde exhibitions. Most recently the building has been buzzing with the extraordinary IBT festival. It’s always fantastic to see the space being used in new and unexpected ways.”

The stand out show for summer 2015 is the Richard Long exhibition his first in Bristol for 15 years.

“Arnolfini has a long history of working with Richard Long and we both agreed this year would be a perfect time to celebrate that relationship. His work has always engaged with the landscape and it feels right for us to be working with him during Bristol’s Green Capital year.

“There will be a number of important early works that focus on the Bristol landscape, along with some new works, created for Arnolfini. These will include a large sculpture made from Cornish slate and a giant piece made of mud from the River Avon. We are also delighted to be showing a selection of new fingerprint drawings on driftwood and an offsite commission on The Downs, which will be supported by Simply Health. We will also produce a new publication with Richard, which will include texts by Robert Macfarlane and Teresa Gleadowe.”

The curatorial approach at Arnolfini also appears to have shifted.

“We are trying to listen and respond to audiences much more now. We are putting audiences at the heart of everything we do. Arnolfini has always been about bringing new and experimental work to the city, but now we recognise that we also need to balance this with established, well-known names.

“We have ambitious plans for the programme and we want to be able to present a major show, by a known contemporary artist, each year. We want to focus on showing work by artists that are either Celebrated, Rediscovered, Unseen or Emerging. The Rediscovered strand will revive work from artists that have played a part in the Arnolfini story. The Unseen or Emerging programme will bring artists to the public’s attention for the first time.

“We are really proud of our history as a multi – arts venue and want to bring back great music, film and performance to the building. This year we are celebrating 30 years since our ground-breaking gig with The Wild Bunch and will be working with people involved in the original performance. After IBT and Mayfest, performance at Arnolfini will carry on with performances from internationally acclaimed dance artists Laila Diallo and Seeta Patel.”

Arnolfini is also partnering and working with other arts organisations.

“We have teamed up with Bristol Museums and Art Gallery, with grants from the Art Fund, to bring a series of contemporary art works to Bristol. The next is a major installation work by renowned artist Do Ho Suh this March. We have just shown the wonderful Grounded as part of our ongoing relationship with Bristol Old Vic, and we have established partnerships with In Between Time, Mayfest, Encounters, Q Junktions, Watershed, MShed, Spike Island, Situations, Festival of Ideas and Visual Arts South West.“

For more information about what’s on at Arnolfini, visit www.arnolfini.org.uk.