Office of Useful Art at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
Initiated by Grizedale Arts and Ikon Gallery
Ikon hosted The Office of Useful Art 20th of May to 1st of June 2014, taking occupation of the Institution’s events room to offer a contrasting operational model to the standard exhibition display. Conceived as a working environment with programmed activities, maker space, talks, discussions, and a place for staff and public to commune together. Visitors of the space were invited to join the Asociación de Arte Útil (Useful Art Association) and make contributions and suggestions for Útil projects in the locality.
The Office was open for visitors to use as a communal lunch space everyday between 12.30 and 1.30pm with tea made from a tea urn designed by Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane for the village hall of Water Yeat in the Lake District.
Printing, ceramics and textiles workshops were expanded to make useful products which were then sold in the Ikon Gallery shop in support of the Asociación de Arte Útil.
Project developed by Grizedale Arts as part of the five year ‘Uses of Art’ project with L’Internationale, a confederation of European museums and was made possible with the support of the Culture Fund of the European Union and Arts Council England.
https://ikon-gallery.org/event/office-of-useful-art/
