#SpillingTheTea - with B Atherton

Last month, we headed back to Turf - Croydon’s homegrown artist space (and the first entirely artist-run contemporary art space) to chat with B Atherton. As one of the Co-Founders of Turf (which opened in 2013) as well as a Chair of the newly established Culture Croydon Community (an independent group set up as part of the Borough of Culture legacy), B has over ten years’ insight into the Borough’s creative landscape and the political and economic and factors affecting it.

For those who have not come across Turf before, how would you most simply explain what you do?
Simply put, we’re a homegrown artist space (run by creatives for creatives) hosting free exhibitions, workshops, studios & collectives. We’re a bit like a cross between an arts space and a community centre, using art as a vehicle to connect and benefit communities. We organise free exhibitions for local & national artists and run free creative workshops for all abilities (including family fun days & school workshops). We also provide affordable artist studios (for local artists like Miguel Sopena) and facilitate two “collectives” (‘MOSS’ who are a group of local learning-disabled artists and ‘Art Press’ who are Croydon artists aged 13-18). In addition to this, we host a community project space which is free for Croydon locals to use, as well as a support & residency programme for Croydon School of Art & BRIT school students. Perhaps of most interest to your readers, is the fact that we support artists with paid commissions (since 2013 Turf has supported the work of over 500 artists).

How did the idea for Turf first come about and what inspired you to get involved?
Turf was founded in 2013 by Alice Cretney (who used to work at Matthews Yard, helping curate their arts programme). I met her there and she told me about wanting to create an organisation which would provide opportunities for emerging and established artists in Croydon, which would also encourage local engagement with art through exhibitions, workshops, and collaborative projects. I grew up in Croydon and had recently returned after Uni, but was feeling a bit lost. I was excited to join her (and a growing team of creatives) to help create a space and community that I desperately needed. Turf has helped me in so many ways, and also nurtured a revived sense of belonging for me in my hometown.

How is Turf funded?
We’re a registered charity and currently operate with about a 70/30 split of funding to earned income. I think what often happens with small organisations that are reliant on funding is that they have to compromise on their vision in order to secure money - tailoring their activities to appeal to funders. At Turf, I feel we’ve largely avoided this pitfall, partly because we’ve grown slowly and organically but also because we’ve got such a strong ethos behind us. So, when we’re pitching for funds, we make sure the projects we’re delivering with the grants are strongly linked to our overall mission. 

That being said, we’re conscious that after Covid, there was a lot more funding available. Over the last year, several funders like Foyle Foundation and Henry Smith have closed which again, will have an impact on us going forward (as it makes competition for funds more pronounced). It’s worth noting this funding pool can be further narrowed by ethical concerns with funders who don’t align with an organisation’s values.

We’re keen to become more self-sustaining with an aim to move to a 50/50 split but as much of our earned income comes from artist studio memberships (we have a waiting list of 400!) and facilities, it’s contingent on us being in an affordable, secure and long-term space. And we’ve been quite vocal (!) about our frustrations surrounding space recently…

Yep, we’re aware! So, since you’ve brought it up (!) let’s get into it. What’s the issue with space?
We currently work from two “meanwhile-use” retail units – this one here in the Whitgift Centre and a smaller one - Little Turf - on Keeley Road. This essentially means we have short term/temporary use of the buildings before they are brought back into more commercial/permanent use. Whilst we’re grateful to have space, and meanwhile use has an important role in incubating and testing ideas at low risk, it’s not ideal long term. We feel, sadly, that Croydon’s current regeneration, vision and policies are preventing homegrown successes becoming permanent, repeating mistakes of the past where treasured spaces like the Warehouse Theatre and beloved store Turtles have been forced to close and creating gaps which have, as yet, never been filled.

As we explained in our recent blog post…
“Through Turf’s 10-year lifespan existing in temporary locations, our story has become inextricably linked with space. Grown from and firmly based in Croydon, we’re keen to set down stable, permanent roots in our hometown. The barriers we’ve experienced trying to access spaces alongside Croydon’s ‘regeneration’ are numerous. The pervasive sway of corporate interests, combined with the Council’s travelator of bureaucracy, -and bankruptcy – has created systems where stated goals are unachievable. Communities are increasingly fragile under these systems, pitted against risk aversion, opaque agendas and economic power structures”.

If you head to our website, you can read the article in full and learn about our various (eight!) attempts to apply for permanent space in Croydon (and what became of them all). True commitment to culture means more than flurries of programming and relegating us to the seat warm for commercial operators in temporary spaces.

How do you engage with the local community?
This is always an interesting question for us because we’re fundamentally rooted in Croydon, founded and run by locals and wouldn’t exist outside of Croydon. However, ‘the local community’ is also not just one thing but made up of lots of different interconnecting communities. I think one of the most important things to bear in mind is that you don’t represent them all, and you need to reach out to those who know better than you and trust their knowledge and experience - there’s a great network of knowledgeable support in Croydon. It’s also important for us for work with particular communities to be defined and led by those participants - programmes like MOSS and Art Press are peer-led - collective members let us know what they want to do, and it’s our job to make it happen!  

How do you support emerging and underrepresented artists in Croydon?
Well, let me count the ways! On top of our free exhibitions & workshops (we’ve put on nearly 700 free workshops since 2017) we have affordable studios, ad-hoc free spaces like the Project Space, facilities (like ceramics, our library and access guides). Our principle within the public programme and as a charity is that we support emerging work by artists who are often underrepresented - artists we’ve supported at early career stages, with artists we’ve supporting going on to be internationally exhibited and this year nominated for the Turner Prize. We also have an annual residency opportunity for local students. We’re committed to 50% of our commissioned artists being local - the overlap between local artists and those from further afield is actually pretty important to us. But again, the permanent and reliable infrastructure is vital. If you don’t have places to work, access to the necessary facilities or fabricators to build, artists will move elsewhere, or worse have to give up their practice.

What has been your most memorable or impactful exhibition/project so far, and why?
I’m going off-piste here - we’ve run so many incredible projects over the years from screenings in skate parks to immersive installations - but I want to speak about our studios! The impact of the space itself as a ‘project’ is often overlooked as it’s the foundation of everything we do, with our studio members at the heart of Turf. It’s amazing to have artists build a creative home here, actively and sincerely support each other, and speak about how important the space is to them. Being part of creating a space like that has been a great privilege, and I feel immense gratitude every day to every person who’s helped make it happen!

How do you think Croydon’s art scene has evolved in recent years?
It’s been interesting to watch how the government recognition of creativity and culture has played out locally. We’ve always been (transparently) quite critical of activity and indeed of central government programmes that come into areas, create a big flurry of activity and then leave again without always being able to provide resources to ensure long term legacy. 

Obviously, here in Croydon we’ve had both the CEZ and the Borough of Culture programmes in back-to-back operation. These certainly helped generate more of an interest in arts and culture and gave the local arts scene a boost (especially in terms of funding). We were able to benefit from CEZ led projects like the Young People Creative Workspace Fund (which subsidised studio and co-working space for local young at places like Turf) and the Borough of Culture funding grants (which enabled us to run ‘Desire Paths’ – the project I spoke about earlier which used a programme of talks, walks and exhibitions to explore role of physical spaces and their stability in a community’s wellbeing, viability and cohesion). 

As I say, programmes like these are really good for generating an instant buzz and awareness in arts and culture, but at Turf, we’re now focused on how we can ensure longer term impact and legacy.

What do you see as the key opportunities for Croydon’s wider art scene?
I think having a shared vision (and some imagination!) is a key piece in the puzzle right now. The Croydon Arts Scene needs clear leadership and direction – and that’s hard when you have so many different people involved (who are often freelancers or organisations that are already under-funded, under-resourced, and stretched to their limit).

At Turf, we hoped to have more say in the delivery of the original CEZ programme, but frustratingly the central government team (CEZ is a Mayor of London initiative) expanded the programme from 3 Boroughs to 6 Boroughs at the last minute (and so funding had to be spread accordingly). We’re interested to watch its development into a CIC.

In terms of legacy from Borough of Culture, this seems to be a bit of a moving target. We originally understood that the Council’s leadership team for the Borough of Culture programme (aka Culture Croydon) would step down at the end of the year. As such, we set up Culture Croydon Community (led by myself, Katie Honey Gabriel, Katia Del-Rio Smith and Katie Hurley) – an independent legacy group. But that is all now in review.

In press releases, our Mayor has been pretty supportive of culture and the arts (which I guess you would expect all the while we had Borough of Culture status!) but we need this sentiment to be embedded in plans, processes and crucially (coming back to my earlier point!) permanent infrastructure. 

Artistic endeavours shouldn’t be flash in the pan activities reliant on pop-up and meanwhile use space. For Arts and Culture to thrive, people and organisations need permanent buildings and spaces to grow and develop in. 

Reinvigorating Croydon needs money and imagination, (not simply copying what other Boroughs have done). But that’s what creatives are best at – using ingenuity and tight budgets to bring about change. 

For more information about Turf, visit www.turf-projects.com or
follow @TurfProjects

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