Buy your Southwark Cyclists Jeremy Deller t-shirt here.
Jeremy Deller : Turner Prize 2004
Last August Jeremy Deller asked Southwark Cyclists if we could help
out in his Tate Britain gallery for his exhibit for the 2004 Turner
Prize. He was one of four finalists. We jumped at the chance and spent
80 person days staffing an information table in his Memory Bucket
gallery, sometimes sharing the space with Roadpeace and the odd Quaker.
We never did meet the miners or the bat experts but handed out a couple
of thousand newsletters and maps, etc. to interested visitors. Jeremy
then won the Turner Prize and gained worldwide coverage. His acceptance
speech went out live on Channel 4 and was "dedicated to everyone who
cycles in London...".
Barry wrote up two reports about the event.
Barry's first report:
Huge thanks to Adam, Andrew, Jacqueline, Mike and Susie, plus Agnes
of Roadpeace, who helped on the Information Table in Jeremy Deller's
room at Turner Prize Tate Britain today. We did really well and made
an effective impact, learned lessons for next times, and all really
enjoyed the experience. We'll discuss it at our monthly meeting on
Wednesday 10 November (7-8.30pm. Blackfriars Settlement, 1/5 Rushworth
Street, SE1. Bring bikes inside. Optional pub after.) but here's my
quick thoughts as the fireworks crash around outside. I'd better stay
in tonight. Cough cough.
I left home around 9am to get to Tate Britain, Millbank, for 10am
to meet Adam and Andrew on the opening shift. The five mile ride there
felt like 30. My hovering cold had matured overnight and I felt coughy
horrible. But we met on the Tate steps at 10am with a couple of hundred
Tate touristas. The Tate didn't want us in early because setting up
the info table was part of the visitor experience. Hmm.
We expected as promised the 2,000 LCC memberships forms, magazines
and maps to be in the Deller room waiting for us. Agnes from Roadpeace
arrived with her shopping trailer and plastic leaflet stands and coolly
got on with laying out a good display. We searched the Tate for our
supplies. The loading bay, several basements, a few corridor cages.
Nothing. Lucina Vivanco - the curator helping Jeremy with his room
for the duration - phoned Tate Modern. Nothing. I was cross. I tried
to phone several LCC staffers and got voicemailed. I didn't realise
till later that they were in the same planning training seminar I
should have been at.
So Andrew and I grabbed a rank cab from the Tate front and headed
for Evans The Cut...to grab as many maps etc as they had. We marched
in, flashed badges that said "Tate Gallery: Southwark Cyclists".
No need for explanation. We need your maps. They had none. Nor had
Evans Waterloo Road. On Your Bike at London Bridge had a good display
of them plus several boxfulls to spare for us. Result. But we still
had no LCC membership forms. The cab edged us on to Evans The Needle.
They had nothing either. (Lesson here: when looking for Michael's
London cycling shirt it was OYB that had them, not several Evans).
But our trawl meant we got hundreds of maps including crucial Tate
number 10. (£24 taxi fare!).
Back at Tate we laid the London Cycle Guide maps out on the table
and immediately got questions. Someone had the bright idea of spreading
maps out and marking commutes etc on them. Even better.
Lucia - our Tate contact - arrived and said we could claim for coffees
and food. Tate staff were all helpful, the room guides were fun and
interesting, we were very much left to get on with it. But had to
leave our bags etc in the cloakroom. And all that was fine.
Hundreds of maps were taken, we spoke to that many people. Many wondered
why Southwark Cyclists were there in the Tate and what was the Turner
prize connection. We explained. Our routes to work maps engaged loads,
one guy worried to me about the too big roads on his new job commute
from Blackheath to Greenland Dock. I sorted. Helped lots sort their
rides/commutes. So many had no idea about LCC or their local groups.
We engaged a lot of people who were interestedly curious to know why
we were there. And were appreciated. Of those I spoke too, only one
mentioned in passing that some cyclists shoot red-lights. We had a
hugely responsive audience. The magnificent 7 of us rota'd well and
had time for tea and lunch and browses round. We were manageably busy
and covered the whole day. And left our remaining maps etc for Sunday.
(Pause to take ticket payment call from Brunel Tunnel about the Tuesday
5pm tour etc).
The clicker on the door told me at closing time that 1633 people had
paid/been Friends to the Turner Prize. Nearly all of them would have
noticed us/Roadpeace and we helped/encouraged a lot with their cycling.
A good number said they'll do Locks, Docks tomorrow. We'll see. That's
why I'd better early tonight.
We Tate again on Saturday 27 November and Sunday 5 December. And I'm
asking Jeremy Deller if he has other slots. But I'll ensure next time
we have LCC literature plus Southwark Cyclists newsletters and business
cards too.
Summary: very enjoyable effective day that had loads of visitors engaging
with our presence. And no hostility. And who knows what spin off.
4 of us volunteers (including 2 who said they'd take press photos)
didn't turn up. No problem. Except for no photos.
Barry's second report:
Our second day in the Jeremy Deller room yesterday went really well....we
had loads of maps, Rough Guides to London cycling, LCC membership
forms.....and our fine latest Newsletter and new business cards too.
We didn't quite fall out with the Quakers over table space and it
was good to work with Roadpeace again.
The Channel 4 TV crew filmed us for around 30 minutes....Adam, Andrew
and Cheryl. They'll hopefully use that footage in their Monday 6 December
live Turner Prize award programme. Two of us lunched very cheaply
in the Tate staff canteen. Staff lockers, showers and very secure
internal bike parking.
We're next at Tate Britain on 27 and 28 December and again on 5 December.
Please let me know direct if you can help out at all. Phone me with
any queries/offers.
It was good to come out of the shut Tate and find a mobile speed-trap
set up right outside the building. Excited childish fun as we applauded
each camera flash.
