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Feedback and comment
Comments from participants, audiences and guests can be found here. If you would like to comment on anything regarding Milton Keynes Contemporary and WHITEWALL please click the button below.
26 Oct/07
Thank you for last night's preview at Milton Keynes Contemporary. What a valuable additional resource this Gallery has proved to be for Milton Keynes. Not only has the gallery become a "destination" in its own right, but the high quality and accessibility of exhibited work adds to the knowledge, confidence, and "shopper experience" of passing audiences who may not have these opportunities by other means. It uniquely helps to distinguish thecentre:mk from its competitors, and it especially provides opportunities for emerging professional artists which don't exist elsewhere in MK, at a time when nurturing creativity and innovation will be essential for the city's growth, distinctiveness and prosperity. How lucky Milton Keynes is that thecentre:mk recognises the "added value" that comes with a cultural dimension, and believes in supporting the community that supports it.
Jacky Scott, Arts Consultant
06 Nov/07
Milton Keynes Contemporary's WHITEWALL has made both an inventive and urgently necessary contribution to the health of the visual arts in Milton Keynes over the last twelve months. The projects have been of a consistently high standard and have provided a much needed platform for regional and emerging artists to showcase their work to a wider public. Indeed, positioned in the shopping centre, the real success of the project has been its engagement with the public of Milton Keynes, however passing or slight, the simple presence of the project has contributed significantly to how one may reflect on and engage with the city environment. At long last, WHITEWALL, signals a largely artist-led initiative, by artists and for artists in the heart of the City.
Michael Stanley. Director, Milton Keynes Gallery
05 Nov/07
As a passionate MK resident without much to do with art, I’ve enjoyed the WHITEWALL much more than I thought I would. In fact I’ve chosen to walk past it when visiting the shopping centre, just to see what’s on it and whether there are any interesting artists about to talk to. It seems there often are. What I like most about it is that it’s not exactly an art gallery and yet it is. The light there is superb, the exhibits are always thought provoking and always very much about MK. It has made a positive difference to my shopping experiences and made me even prouder to be an MK citizen. I hope you guys are able to keep it going.
Tom Bulman. Countec Education Business Partnership
29 Oct/07
The WHITEWALL has demonstrated that exhibitions in non gallery settings are an excellent way of engaging retail audiences with high quality contemporary visual art.
The WHITEWALL has now raised standards in what retail can offer to further satisfy their customers. This has been a successful partnership between the commercial sector, curator and artists. The exhibition programme has animated that area of thecentre:mk with curiosity and intrigue which has drawn people towards the WHITEWALL area. Exhibitions today have been of the highest quality and provide diverse content which retain viewers and encourage re-visits.
This has been a generous and hopefully beneficial investment for thecentre:mk, however sustainability is always difficult. In order to build on success and audiences thecentre:mk and WHITEWALL need to be able to make this partnership a long term one. This may require other funders joining in, and I hope that thecentre:mk will maintain the not-for-profit element of this programme when it selects other investors. Freely accessible high quality contemporary art within a highly successful commercial business is a good balance and provides good value to the people of Milton Keynes.
Milton Keynes is a place that pioneers new ways of working and celebrates itself creatively. This is demonstrated by the WHITEWALL and the Culture Team strongly supports its continuation.
Marie Kirbyshaw, Senior Public Art Officer
01 Nov/07
Bill is an amazing character; I've had the privilege of knowing him since 'Africa week' - an art initiative involving several MK schools, culminating in large banners hung in the centre and an appearance on Blue Peter (cheers for that one Bill). That was back in 1992/3 and I was about 11, it's now 2007 and it\'s good to see him still going strong. It's fantastic to be able to go back and look/listen to some of the contributions of this maverick, polemicist, poet, romanticist, cynic,, artist, father and teacher to name a few. Good luck Bill (ya sadiqi).
Mohammed Ageli. Resident
09 Nov/07
We are great supporters of WHITEWALL. We like everything about it. It is so refreshing to find a new format for staging temporary exhibitions. It makes the work on show as available as we can imagine it possible to make them. We need a platform for local artists in the city and its position in the thecentre:mk ensures that the work shown is exposed to the widest possible public, open to anyone or everyone. We have a number of permanent artworks in Milton Keynes but to have a permanent place for a constantly changing forum is more valuable and exciting. Passers by are enticed by the quality of the work without needing to brace themselves to get through the door of a gallery. The form is a non-challenging invitation to anyone new to contemporary art to get involved. We believe it is good for art in the city and good for the experience of being in the shopping building. It would be good to see more WHITEWALLs.
Boyd & Evans, International artists
10 Nov/07
I would like to say that I think WHITEWALL is a real plus to MK. I can’t always get to the openings, but I always go along when I’m in the shopping centre to have a look. The exhibitions have been fantastic. I do hope we can look forward to more next year. WHITEWALL has always given me a real lift, and it’s thought provoking. I love it.
Rosemary Hill, Media Producer
04 Jan/08
What a great idea WHITEWALL is! To take an out-of-the-way, unused space in an under-visited corner of one of the busiest shopping centres in the UK, and turn it so naturally into a destination is brilliant. To make it a recognised cultural destination, with interest, variety and stimulus is pure genius. Well done Milton Keynes Contemporary. And well done too for thecentre:mk in spotting that here was something that would really add value to visitors` experience of MK and worthy of continuing financial support. Something unexpected, out of the ordinary and invariably quite fun. Long may it continue as an integral part of CMK, and a visible outcrop of our city's cultural landscape. One for the Queen's next visit, perhaps....
John Best, Former Milton Keynes Council, Chief Executive
