Northern Fringe Gallery

The Northern Fringe Gallery is a place in Barnsley and a bowl full of ideas.

When in October 2016 Brian Lewis was offered by the educational charity Axisweb what he believed was a suite of three rooms in the centre of Barnsley he jumped at the chance. He wanted somewhere to show the Schuhle-Lewis collection of contemporary Yorkshire paintings, prints, ceramics and sculptures but also somewhere from where he could collaborate with others, publish books and, alongside people interested in inter-arts agendas, embrace develop performance and touring strategies.

On impulse and with nothing, no tables, seating, partition screens or display equipment, to make something of the space, and no strategic plan he went in feet first. He decided that he would take four rooms on what, in pre-computer days, had been the South Yorkshire tax office. When he got there he discovered three middle size offices and an unfurnished room which was the size of two tennis courts. This was the room where a wide of range of people could congregate to be challenged and experiment.

The previous year a group of performers and artists had come together to celebrate the 400 anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. What they had in common was great age. The majority were over 60 years old. As "The Bus Pass People" they had taken a show to Stratford upon Avon and the physical remains of that expedition still existed as paintings, sculptures, stained glass pieces and giant Concertina Books.

The Stratford Adventure also provided a title. In and attempt to make the most famous portrait different of the playwright different John Young, the designer of our web site, had cut away the flowing locks and given him a fringe. The Northern Fringe was born. It was an attractive image and because it suggested that we were outsiders we adopted it without dissent. We intended to identify with Pontefract, Rotherham, Knottingley, Halifax and in particular Barnsley, not with the cities, Sheffield and Leeds.

Money was short and the had no confidence that grant aid would be forth coming. What we had was was an abundance of talent. These empty rooms would be the toolmaker's shop in which art activists could explore their own creativity and co-operate with others and in that way share knowledge.

The key ideas which drove the project forward were the need:

To continue to aim high and create better than standard work
To expand the number of artists to include younger people with different technical capabilities
To offer the people of Barnsley a display place and celebrate the town's existence
To have a series of exhibitions and Friday/Saturday exhibition openings. We could not staff it as a walk-in gallery nor did we wish to.
To maintain an annual programme which was ratified by a relatively small activists Moot.
To work with others who have studio space in the building
To keep other than one-to-one meetings to a minimum. Discussions would centre on specific projects.
To tour exhibitions and shows whenever possible
To have made a collection of cheap but stframes in a variety of sizes but in the same wood by the Pontefract
To work closely with local voluntary organisations such as Age Concern and the University of the Third Age and in time create a teaching programme which centred on publishing, performance, art and writing.
To work closely and use all of the space offered in the big room efficiently
To buy or accept from members second-hand furniture and equipment and avoid buying high cost objects.

Our strap-line was "Move your feet and you will find your arse will follow".