18 .........................................................................................Amir Dehghan 19......................................................................................... Queen Elizabeth II 20........................................................................ The Galleries Association

Amir Dehghan

On the first Saturday of all twelve months, I am one of the two men in yellow on the double-decker bus. The red Routemaster spends most of the year touring curious gallery-goers across The Galleries Association’s spaces around west London, from the Design Museum to J/M Gallery. On one particular Saturday, once a year, the red bus gives an exclusive tour around the exhibitions that take part in Kensington and Chelsea’s Art week; this was the first year I was on board and in yellow. I need to introduce what being a man in yellow entails; I’m the child of an artistically-driver chaperone and a 1970s Routemaster conductor; I escort, accompany and look after the gallery-goers.

It’s twelve o’clock on a sunny Saturday, the 2nd of July, and I’m at The Muse, escorting the last few soon-to-be passengers up to the Routemaster parked at its usual spot on Raddington Road. As soon as I see the bus, I can also hear the sounds of Portobello Road Radio penetrating the aluminium walls of the bus, the resident DJs of the TGA Art Bus. As the clock ticked to 12:30, the men in yellow shouted, “All aboard!” and the wheels on the bus went round and round on our way to the first stop on KCAW 2022 art trail. “Home Grown” by Kipling hunt, found at Kensington Memorial Park, consisted of four paintings of examples of homegrown plants, a mural that even I could see at the back of the bus at St Mark’s street; I could also see the gallery go-ers and art bus musicians snapping away the acrylic painted plants. “All aboard”, I shouted, and with a full bus, we began heading to the second stop, taking in the beautiful views of Notting Hill on a sunny summer’s day. An amulet, based on a white blood cell placed on Bramley Road by the artist Charlotte Colbert. As I watched from a distance, I noticed the blown-up size of the cell and pearl-like texture provoked the audience to interact with this symbol of protection.

The Art bus brings people together, exposing them to the various stimulating things around them, not only visual art but also music. Every month we have guest musicians that come along for the ride and perform for the passengers and portobello road radio; exposure is at the centre of the tour’s philosophy. After our all-year-round pitstop/coffee break at the Design Museum, Portobello Road Radio’s speaker cones begin warming up with our first musician, Kitty Noble, a modern young RnB musician, with self-written lyrics and self-produces sounds serenading the window gazers taking in the wealth of sites on our route to Duke of York Square to find Roman Lokati’s sculptures. My hunting partner was Maya Sanbar, an artist onboard this month’s art bus and an artist who is a part of the art trail, specifically the next stop. Sanbar is an artist that put her energy into art therapy; her study on how art can be a tool to heal and her work on the art trail, “Quilt patch”, was precisely that. We all gathered outside Chelsea Theatre, where the artist Maya Sanbar and the children who took part in the workshop brought out their quilt patches, all presenting the artist’s expressions of happiness. This was the 12th stop since we saw “Home-grown”, but by far the most intimate; the Sanbar gave us a talk, and we met the children involved and interacted with the works on a tactile level.

After seeing thirteen artists, touring for four hours, and listening to four intimate onboard gigs, it’s time to head back home to Notting Hill; on the way, being serenaded by Klay, another one of the musicians on board. As a man in yellow, I cannot stress how awesome the monthly Artbus is; you need to join us on our next trip; I mean, I would say this trumps The Magical Mystery Tour... To recap, on this free bus, we have a wealth of musicians, artists, and gallerists, all on one bus stopping at 12 stops which exhibit the best that the West has; what else would you do on a sunny Saturday?

The unmissable Notting Dale Campus

Accessing the rarities within the doors of Notting Dale Campus is like catching a rare Pokemon. On 1/37th of the 365 days of the year, Kensington and Chelsea Art Week opens the doors of Notting Dale Campus to the public. The treasures within these doors are whispered about all around the sphere we live on, from Jeff Koon’s Baroque Egg and Hirst’s Spot paintings to my favourite work being an artist that’s experienced migration, “KIMSOOJA Cities on the Move – 11633 Miles of Bottari Truck”. Something I try and catch each year.

A two-tonne Hyundai Truck with used bed covers and clothes native to the land on which the truck departed its 11633-mile trip overlooks passers-by on Nicholas Road. The truck’s bed is loaded with a mound of colourful Bottari (cloth bundles sewn by Kimsooja) bound together to form an interactive performance piece. The truck was driven through Korean cities from November 4 to 14, 1997, with Kimsooja sitting atop the bundles capturing the journey on film to create a reflection on the role of women in society and voluntary or involuntary migration and movement. A film that was initially projected on a Seoul building and has since been projected worldwide. It demonstrates its contemporary global relevance by evoking a sense of nostalgia for the past and hope for the future and new beginnings. This truck may have found its resting place in Notting Dale Campus, but the story it tells and the road it travels will forever give it meaning in a changing world.

We’ll move on to arguably one of the most unmissable sculptures on campus, which stands proudly and brilliantly in the of heart the yellow building, and of course, the baroque egg and ribbon by renowned American artist Jeff Koons. Koons’ The Baroque Egg With Bow is part of his Celebration collection - modelled on a chocolate Easter egg, this baroque piece evokes familiar nostalgic objects from our childhood. Recreated at striking scale and shimmering surfaces, the piece appeals to multiple senses, with pleasing colours and tactile renderings of blue foil. In addition to prolific names like Koons and Hirst, what better month in the year than July to see David Hockney’s contemporary works that we’re drawn in situ via an IPAD. Documenting the transition from winter to summer, each piece depicts the period from January to June 2011, with specific days in between. The colour is rich and has innate intimacy due to its subject and relationship to the artist. Hockney considers this one of his significant works and sees many of the images as a work of art. The series formed part of a major exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2012 and conveys the beauty and fragility of nature with a very contemporary eye and medium. Hockney uses a touchscreen tablet as a digital sketchpad, allowing the artist to explore and expand a new visual language expressing his love of colour in these bright wooded landscapes.

Carsten Holler’s Mirror Carousel (2005). A 7-meter-tall playground carousel made of gleaming steel, complete with stage show bulbs and extended suspended seating, is found at the atrium of Notting Dale Campus. This striking piece in the atrium of the Yellow Building is not to be missed. Holler explains the overall effect of reflective surfaces and vivid motion: “During a 5-minute loop, participants on the ride were confronted with a whimsical mix of refracting reflections in relaxing slow motion, creating an omnidirectional meditation experience.” A metaphor not just for this space but a visualisation of the carousel that is Kensington and Chelsea Art week, a rare Pokemon-catching trip that you can miss next year.

The bridging of a vital gap”

438 days ago, I, Amir, began my Industry Foundation Award (IF Award), after recently graduating from BA Fine art at Camberwell College of Arts. 368 days have passed since then, and only now am I beginning to understand the vitality of that short period. A time I now treasure, one that has sculpted me artistically, professionally and philosophically. To find myself in the arms of the IF award after leaving Art school, is like the shift from Baroque to the era of enlightenment in art, a departure from the mythological and historical thought that comes with art school, into learning the rigid forms of industry and science. The IF award helped me find which gear I mesh with best within an industry foriegn to me.

Art school was extremely valuable, you have your own studio, ability to make your own decisions, to have tutors to talk to who had successful careers of their own and who treated you as artists whose work was deserving of their time and attention and even criticism, which was very precious to me. But, there were many vital missing pieces of the puzzle which can disable artists from being sustainable practitioner outside of the walls of art school. Leaving them like Thelma and Louise, flying off a cliff in style. This is exactly where the IF award was vital, bridging the art school side of the cliff to the Industry’s cliffside. Two months of mentorship, which initially covered everything from networking, skill sharing with industry professionals, shadowing curators, gallerists, talking to established artists, leading onto the streamlining and milling away of your creative gears to find where you would fit in best within the industry. The IF award is the step which has gotten me where I am now, an artist which has had multiple Solos both international, and national, a Parttime 3D specialist technician across University of the Arts London, a Freelance Gallery Technician, and as of late a gallery manager of Zerui Gallery, a space which myself and my close friend setup using many of the skills I gained from IF. This not just an Ode to the award, but also a plea to the industry to begin bridging the crucial gap.

Outside of the secondary art market’s world, the art industry rarely provides mentorship on a formal basis and the IF award acts as a proof of concept to the industry. It is an example of how two months of intensive mentorship can lead to the birth of an industry professional which has acted as a vital tool within an industry hungry for finite professionals. From only one years experience as a gallery technician, I can name over 10 London Galleries which are begging for well trained technicians, assistants, managers. To those on the industry side of the bridge, from Galleries to advisors, the IF award is an example of how to successfully develop individuals to become sustainable members within a short period of time, providing hope to both malnourished sides of the bridge.

If you’re reading this as an artist who has just left Art school, you can apply to the IF award via the website: ifaward.me on a yearly basis. Though there are some key skills that I learnt during my time that can help you begin to bridge the gap yourself. Firstly, attend as many private views as possible, talk to as many people as possible with your details (portfolio, website, Instagram) to hand. Secondly, write proposals for exhibitions which you can share with galleries and curators which you feel your work would fit well with, if that’s spreading your message by going door to door or within the digital sphere. If you are someone looking to build skills to apply yourself within the industry, I would shadow industry professionals, contact myself @amirdehghanart, volunteer at young projects. Offer to help out on university installs, from photography, to marketing, to hanging, so that you can bulk out your portfolio, prior to contacting galleries for work.

The Industry foundation is hope, it’s a template, it’s a bridge, it is something that has changed my life and has the ability to change many more. It is a proven concept which benefits both gallery and intern, a concept that needs to be spread in an industry which is starved of trained experienced individuals.

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www.thegalleriesassociation.co.uk

Galleries on the Tour

David Hill Gallery 345 Ladbroke Grove, London W10 6HA davidhillgallery.net

Design Museum 224-238 Kensington High St London W8 6AG designmuseum.org

Elephant West 62 Wood Lane London W12 7RH elephantwest.art/

Frestonian Gallery 2 Olaf Street W11 4BE London frestoniangallery.com

Graffik Gallery 284 Portobello Road W10 5TE London graffikgallery.co.uk Japan House 101-111 Kensington High St London W8 5SA japanhouselondon.uk

The Muse Gallery 269 Portobello Road W11 1LR London themuseat269.com

Serena Morton Gallery 343 Ladbroke Grove London W10 6HA serenamorton.com

Unit One Gallery|Workshop 1 Bard Rd, London W10 6TP unit1gallery-workshop.com

Whitewall Galleries Central 100 Westbourne Grove London W2 5RU whitewallgalleries.com