An artist who staged a stunt at Manchester Art Gallery over the weekend to highlight how much people rely on the arts for freedom and humanity says we are 'running out of time'.
Belshah, who is based in Manchester, arrived at the Mosley Street gallery on Saturday morning (April 13) to leave three new paintings in the lobby before reading out a short statement on capitalism and walking out.
The artist said he wanted the move to raise awareness of the difficulty artists have when it comes to accessing institutions and how more people need to be aware that ‘our civilization is falling apart’ by capitalism.
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“There’s a level within institutions at the moment where it is very difficult to get into these spaces,” Belshah tells the M.E.N. “My concern is that we’re running out of time and the writing’s on the wall.”
Belshah cites the likes of Oldham Coliseum and Bury Art Museum as reasons why people need to take notice with both venues facing a lack of funds in the last few years. A low stream of funding led to the Coliseum eventually closing for good last month.
“Our civilisation is falling apart and people look to the arts for expressions of freedom and humanity,” he explains. “We’ve got to fight for these spaces. Bury Art Museum is having issues with their funding and it’s a really important piece of culture in that town. If it’s lost, there’s a real risk of losing social value in that area and the impact. It’s painful.”
Belshah says he hopes the stunt will make people see where things could be heading if change isn’t made soon. He has 'donated' the three paintings to the Gallery and said the stunt was well received on the day.
"I’m so glad they took it well," he explains. "I think they were a bit worried at first but when I explained it, they were very receptive."
The three pieces of artwork look at the artist’s inspirations, including other artists like Derek Jarman, as well as the animal inside and ‘what it means to be human’.
Belshah insists the stunt was not targeting the Art Gallery directly, but wants it to show that ‘these spaces shouldn’t be gatekept’.
“I have a massive gratitude to the gallery,” he explains. “The Derek Jarman exhibition curated by Fiona Corridan in 2021 with artist in residence Jez Dolan gave so much visibility to his work and has had such an impact on people and Manchester since then. I think that’s something we need to hold on to - I’ve seen waves of creativity in the community because of that.
“But to give a piece to the art gallery is a very long process and it’s difficult to get things into these spaces. I hope they don’t mind me leaving it there but it’s about expediting things.”
The stunt is the first of a number of projects in the works for the artist. His next plan is to hand out 333 burgers in Piccadilly Gardens during the King’s Coronation.
“The country is struggling right now but we’re still spending ridiculous money on a Coronation," he said. "We’re forking out for a new golden carriage when people can’t afford their prescriptions and the country is on its knees.
“Instead of watching the Coronation, I want to hold a party of protest instead. We can still have fun, but it’s just about not giving our energy to something that, in my opinion, doesn’t have a place in a fair society.
“Liz Truss said recently she was concerned that countries are becoming social democracies, they’re not even trying to hide it anymore. Capitalism is falling apart because they’re holding up so much wealth and have gotten so greedy.”
When asked about the significance of the number 333, Belshah said it refers back to the Rushton Triangular Lodge, which is located in the same Northamptonshire village he was born in. Designed by Sir Thomas Tresham, the building regularly features the number three in its design to symbolise the Holy Trinity.
“Sir Thomas Tresham built it as a protest,” he outlines. “It was where they held meetings for the Gunpowder Plot and was Inspiration for Alan Moore’s V For Vendetta. There’s something in the water from that village because I think I’ve got that same spirit and it’s something I reference in a lot of my work.
“We can blow things up with words now, we don’t need to be violent. We can be figurative and we can have a revolution in a non-violent way.”
Manchester Art Gallery told the M.E.N they are unable to accept the paintings and are in the process of returning them to Belshah.
A spokesperson for the gallery said: “The gallery has an established policy and procedure in place for the acquisition of new artworks, that includes the gifting items to the gallery. This considers the significance of the artwork in relation to both our collection and our collecting priorities, and how this artwork can be used and cared for.
"This means that whilst we're always interested in supporting local artists and seeing their work, unfortunately we're unable to accept unsolicited works of art into the collection in this way.
"We're therefore trying to make contact with the artist of the paintings left at the gallery over the weekend in order to return them.”
Belshah's website can be visited here.
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