In the journey of life, one must strive to move forward. In the journey of not-life as well, one must strive to move forward, as do the travelling art galleries. As the name suggests, travelling galleries are art exhibitions that are on-the-go, travelling across the globe to exhibit their pomp and splendour. To quote Scotland’s Travelling Gallery,
The Travelling Gallery is a unique, self-contained, custom-built mobile art gallery which brings contemporary art exhibitions into communities.
These essentially are art installations, mounted onto customised buses that tour around several locations for most of the year. An exciting way to promote art indeed!
1. Travelling Gallery, Edinburgh
Image Courtesy – Travelling Gallery
The Travelling Gallery is one such establishment based in Edinburgh which was first conceptualised in 1978 by the Scottish Arts Council (SAC). When you are inside the bus it is designed to feel just like a ‘regular’ modern art gallery. The exhibitions include, both, displays of established veterans and upcoming artists of the regional and international communities. Some of the featured artists are ~in the fields, Dennis & Debbie Club, The Bothy Project with Torsten Lauschmann and Charles Young.
This art-on-a-bus project was such a hit that in 1983, the SAC commissioned a custom built vehicle which was used for the next 25 years. The current travelling bus is an upgrade from the original and has a larger floor space with carpets, new high-tech audio-visual equipment and increased security. It usually tours two exhibitions per year for about four months at a time and is often at a different venue each day. The Travelling Gallery has included an education programme to increase the accessibility and learning potential from the exhibitions, through formal and informal learning. Artist-led events like workshops and crash courses are held to encourage ideas that are in tandem with their respective exhibitions. Admission into the Travelling Gallery exhibition is completely free and you receive a colour leaflet about the exhibitions as a souvenir to take away. The Travelling Gallery of Edinburgh is a valuable experience for the passionate artist within you.
For more information, you can contact them via email.
2. ADDA Gallery, Brussels
Art by featured artist, Dran
Image Courtesy – ADDA Gallery
ADDA Gallery is another excellent travelling gallery which offers a contemporary art space on-the-go. This particular travelling gallery is a Brussels-based gallery that travels all around the world. Their body of work typically deals with well-established modern artists of urban art. Some well known artists that have been featured here are Dran, Mark Bode, Okuda San Miguel, Miss Van and Remed. If your artistic taste align with the finest in modern art, the ADDA Gallery should definitely find its place on your bucket list.
For more information you can visit their Facebook page.
3. NOMADartbus
Image Courtesy – NOMADstudio
On a similar note, the NOMADartbus was conceptualised by Carrie Boucher of the NOMADstudio with the intent of promoting art to those who couldn’t or wouldn’t make it out of their neighbourhoods. Their mission is rooted in the belief that making art is a basic human expression and everyone should have access to resources that enable them to create it themselves. The NOMADartbus implements a similar model of displaying art on a bus but can’t be exclusively labelled as a travelling gallery inspite of it being a mobile work of art. The bus was a donation by a family in Venice, Florida which fuelled the project into action. The NOMADartbus is an extremely funky looking bus that tours across the Tampa Bay Area, USA to spread the good vibe of art for the heart.
Art, music, theatre, dance, I don’t think their importance can be quantified, they’re just a part of who we are as humans, they allow us to share our experience. I can’t imagine a life without them, but we have to teach the value of the arts if we want them to continue to be appreciated and supported,
says Carrie Boucher, the founding artist of NOMADartbus.
You can get in touch with them via e-mail.
It is said that the travel of art is the only true art of travelling, and what better to sum up this line than art on wheels! If you have experienced any of these marvels or know of any similar concept, feel free to pour yourself out in the comments below.
