Special Award for an Outstanding Contribution: Jon Bewley

Mar 25 2009 By David Whetstone, The Journal

Jon Bewley, director of Locus+ and previously Projects UK, wins the inaugural Special Award for an outstanding contribution. David Whetstone explains why.

UNFORGETTABLE cultural experiences often happen in concert halls, theatres or art galleries. Often, but not always – and certainly not in the North East. Projects UK and its successor, Locus+, have never been tied to a particular building but they have been midwife to some of the most extraordinary, memorable and sometimes downright tricky art initiatives of the past 25 years.

There was Natural History by artist Stefan Gec, six huge photographic portraits displayed on the roof of the Fire Station in Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, in 1995.

Commemorating firemen who died tackling the fire in the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986, the portraits made a moving spectacle and were welcomed by North East firefighters.

Then there was One Piece at a Time by Richard Wilson, a 1987 installation in the south tower of the Tyne Bridge.

It consisted of 1,200 metal car parts suspended by wires. Over five weeks, the wires were severed by an automatic cutting mechanism and, as each part fell, the crash was recorded and layered onto the previous recordings.

Silence and suspense became a din and a shimmering pile on the floor.

“It was the use of that huge chamber as a random musical instrument,” recalls Jon Bewley.

Neither project would have happened if it hadn’t been for Jon, founding director of Locus+ and Projects UK and a man adept at turning flights of fancy into reality.

There is no such thing as a typical Locus+ project. Jon and his team have worked with hundreds of artists on small, intimate artworks, perhaps resulting in a CD or a book, and on spectacular things which require months and sometimes years of preparation.

Hotel Monument, by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi, might top the lot. If it gets planning permission, the transformation of Newcastle’s Grey’s Monument into a one-room hotel will be a summer talking point.

Alison Clark-Jenkins, of Arts Council England, North East, says: “Without Jon Bewley, the North East would not have the reputation that it has for setting the agenda in contemporary arts practice.

“His tenacity, stubbornness and vision has brought great art to the region and taken the work of unique regional artists to an international audience.”

Originally from Redcar, Jon went to Newcastle Polytechnic to study fine art in 1977. On graduating, he decided to stay in the region.

He had already become one of the Basement Group, six adventurous young artists who put on events and exhibitions in the basement of the Spectro Arts Workshop, off Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street.

In a city without many galleries or studios, live or performance art offered a creative outlet and the basement was a magnet.

“It was marvellously well attended because there was nowhere else to go,” recalls Jon. “There was an open audition policy so there was always a mix of different things.”

In 1984, alerted to the success of the Basement Group, Northern Arts “took a risk” (Jon’s words) by putting money behind an office-based arts organisation.

“We weren’t burdened by the needs of a gallery or a performance space so in financial terms we were extremely efficient,” Jon says. “That organisation was Projects UK.”

For eight years Projects UK worked with young and established artists in spaces not traditionally associated with art. Billboards and early CCTV became artists’ materials and there were installations in spectacular derelict warehouses.

The organisation was wound up in 1992 after Jon had left for London. But in 1993 he returned to set up a new organisation that would be based in the North East but promote art projects nationally and internationally.

This was Locus+ and it is still in business, working on all sorts of projects from its office on Newcastle’s High Bridge. While perhaps not a household name in the North East, it has a big reputation in the art world for making things happen.

In 2007, a retrospective exhibition was mounted in Newcastle and Belfast for the three organisations in which Jon Bewley has played a major part.

A book came with it and Jon says the title, This Will Not Happen Without You, reflects the fact that every art project has relied heavily on the co-operation of a wide range of people – council officials, scrapyard owners, builders and many more.

In the book, Peter Davies, visual arts officer at Northern Arts from 1974-93, says of Jon Bewley: “Jon is a striker. He leads the line with distinction. The game is about creating chances and realising the resulting opportunities. The performance and track records of Projects UK/Locus+ is second to none.”

That is why Jon Bewley is the first winner of the Special Award.