“Pioneering” might be the best word to describe what happens inside this building. David Dale Gallery & Studios is a non-profit contemporary art space. It calls the east end of Glasgow home.
Established in 2009, David Dale Gallery & Studios champions new visual art. It commissions new works and projects. These come from early-career artists. They can be from the UK or even further afield.
The David Dale Gallery provides opportunities. It supports artists, curators, and writers. It encourages professional growth, education, and community involvement. Its main goal? Showcasing outstanding contemporary visual art. The organization also runs affordable artist studios. Emerging artists can use these to develop new works.
The gallery takes its name from Scottish industrialist David Dale. Since 2012, it has been located in the former David Dale College buildings in Bridgeton.
One of David Dale Gallery’s initiatives is the Glasgow Art Map. This is both an online and printed guide. It shows contemporary art exhibitions around Glasgow.
Founding directors Max Slaven, Ellie Royle, and Ralph Mackenzie started it. They were students at Glasgow School of Art in 2009. Slaven said they wanted a place to continue working together. They valued the peer group environment of art school.
Originally, the plan was just a workspace. But the gallery soon gained importance. It started working with artists worldwide. In some cases, it even provided UK and Scotland debuts.
David Dale Gallery’s fifth anniversary show was quite unique. It featured work by around 90 of the 104 artists the gallery had worked with. The show was called Finite Project Altered When Open. It was inspired by Robert Morris’s 1969 exhibition.
Slaven opened the gallery with an empty space. He installed pieces as they arrived. Swiss artist Kilian Rüthemann sent instructions. They read: “A 1m 20cm fluorescent tube is siliconed to the wall and then smashed”. Leo Fitzmaurice also sent instructions. “A square on the wall is painted with grey floor paint. Then a corresponding square on the floor is painted with white emulsion wall paint.”
David Dale Gallery separates the gallery program from the studios. This avoids a parochial atmosphere. They wanted to show artists they had never worked with before. The gallery focuses on early-career artists. Its program is 60-70% internationally based. This fills a gap in the Glasgow visual arts scene. The studios create a community around the gallery. This is important for discourse and audience engagement.