Many of the people reading this know that back home in the States I have been known to enjoy being engaged in efforts to promote the arts in my community. Whether that be through getting involved at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum or through my therapy and teaching practice at OCA, I have a fond spot for promoting access to the arts and art education. Since I have been broad, you could say that I have been experiencing a bit of a withdraw from my normal weekly volunteering and the ways that I typically invest my time. Naturally, I was determined to seek out opportunities that enabled me to get involved while studying abroad.
My research for potential volunteer and employment opportunities led me to a gallery called The Lock Up. The Lock Up is an old police building and jail from the 19th century that was renovated from 1982-66 to become what is now a contemporary art and performance space. This institution produces new exhibitions every 6 weeks of wonderful contemporary art work. They also have artist and curatorial residencies that individuals can apply for so they can get more immersed in professional experiences. You would think that an institution such as this one would have a cast of employees a mile long to keep in operation. However, there are only two to three official staff that run the place and the rest of the operations are performed by, you guessed it, enthusiastic volunteers.
After learning about the gallery a couple months ago I kept my eyes out for the chance to apply. I have also scoped out numerous other galleries in the area, but most of them required an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate) so that way you can work at events such as exhibition openings. The second that I was informed about my housing location, I sent in an application and volunteer interest request and quickly received an email back. So there I was, two weeks later at 10 am walking into this mysterious gallery that until that point had only ever known through a computer screen, almost like seeing a painting you’ve only ever seen on Web Gallery of Art.
Shortly after arriving I was welcomed in by two other volunteers and Kourtney, one for the staff members. There was one other person there to be interviewed so we waited for Kourtney to get herself organized and then all sat down for a chat. She mainly wanted to know how we were involved with the arts, whether or not we had been to The Lock Up before, and whether or not we worked. As we spoke she also asked about RSA certification, availability, and whether or not we would be interested in working events where another party rents out the space. Maisey and I were both very enthusiastic about every opportunity that the space had to offer and both signed up for our first volunteering event.
Once we were done with our conversations, Kourtney released us and invited us to stay a while and check out the current exhibition. I was very excited to check out the space, but also a little creeped out. The Exhibition space was located throughout the building in the original cells from the police station, complete with prisoner created graffiti and wall carvings and the original toilets. If the building had been well lit I probably would’ve been fine, but some of the exhibition spaces required the viewer to walk through hallways and corridors that were pitch black. It took a lot of courage for me to initially walk into some of those spaces.
The exhibition itself was actually really cool. They are currently featuring the Australian artist Shaun Gladwell who does performance and video artwork. For this particular exhibition the artist was exploring social control and conformity. Several of the works featured videos of persons of authority, such as military or law enforcement officers, and others featured videos of outcast characters engaging with spaces in nonconventional ways. When paired with the history of the space, the artist was sparking a conversation point about who imposes social order and control and who that control is impacting or targeting. Some of his works, such as God Speed Verticals: Escalator Space (2004) reminded me of some of Cao Fei’s work such as Whose Utopia. There was one Gladwell piece in particular that made me think of Cao Fei and that was a video piece that the viewer experienced through virtual reality in a virtual reality headset. The viewer sat alone in an old prison cell, wearing this headset and as they turned their head they witnessed a blindfolded man assembling a gun. Now, I had never experience VR before, so I quickly became freaked out and deserted the VR room. No thanks!
After making my way through the gallery and growing hungry, I made my way down to a little café called The Moor a few blocks down the street. The girls at the gallery recommended this particular café since a few of our volunteers work there throughout the week. As you can see I had a delicious cinnamon sugar morning bun paired with a cold brew coffee. Fun Fact: cold brew coffee in Australia is served with ice cream. This particular cold brew came with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and coconut milk. Although I generally don’t go for fancy coffee, this one was delicious. I spent a short while at this café, soaking up the artsy lifestyle that I was worried I wouldn’t find around my rural university campus. I couldn’t help but think, that if I hadn’t come over my anxiety about traveling on my own in a strange place, I never would have ended up with a new volunteer position downtown or with the experience of Australian cold brew coffee and morning buns!
While I waited for the evening bus to come, I took some time to walk around the Newcastle city area. I managed to make my way past a nightclub I had been to a week or so prior and ended up taking a relaxing stroll by the harbor. There is such a wonderful freedom in being able to experience a new place with only yourself, a map ( a map app!), and a little bit of courage. It makes you take risks and experience the city in an entirely different way than being chauffeured all the time! Eventually, one o clock rolled around and I made my way back to the bus stop to head back to Uni. Sitting relaxed on the bus ride home reminded me of the benefits that you can reap when you take calculated risks. Just a few days ago I boarded the public bus, full of anxiety and fear and now I have practically become a professional. That same courage even helped me in searching out new job opportunities and got me invested in taking an RSA course. It’s amazing how much I feel myself changing already!
Until Next Time!