Interview with Sophie Norton and Vienna Shelley: Directors of the Gallery 22/23

Words by Emilia Sogaard

The last few weeks saw the Norman Rea Retrospective, YUSU Activities and Love York Awards. Emilia Sogaard spoke to the two directors of last year’s award-winning committee to find out about their time directing the Norman Rea Gallery and all that they achieved.

When asking Sophie Norton and Vienna Shelley about their role as directors it was clear to see they had been well-nominated and carried the gallery through an amazing year with so many diverse exhibitions and events. Their co-directorship meant they supported each other and could draw on each other’s strengths.

Norman Rea Gallery winning Society Committee of the Year, YUSU Activities Awards, June 2023.

E: How would you sum up your roles as directors of the Norman Rea Gallery?

S: As one of the directors you have to lead and co-ordinate everyone else. With so many members and a constant stream of creative ideas you have to be able to consolidate and formulate these ideas to ensure they happen.

V: Over the time of being directors our roles developed naturally. At first there was perhaps a split between admin and front of house – with each of us playing to our strengths, but gradually the roles merged.

They learnt skills from each other, and already being friends meant they encouraged and influenced each other during their co-directing. Sophie, as former Head of Blog and Vienna as Head of Press and Publicity both had experience of different sorts of organisation. Both Sophie and Vienna spoke about the constant, exciting evolution of the gallery and how as directors they were keen to continue this. From the beginning they had to immediately take over. And their efforts paid off – as over their first summer they developed the innovative exhibition concept of “Cache Money”. With their first opening exhibition in Term 1 of 2022, Sophie and Vienna created an exhibition template, outlining a method for future exhibitions. Building on the previous director’s efforts they continued to progress the inner workings of the gallery.

E: What was a standout contribution or event at the gallery?

S: In terms of what we implemented as a committee, the masterlists which ensured a more efficient way of tracking all artists involved and a smoother running of installing and de-installing and handling of the artworks.

V: “Cache Money” was certainly a highlight, with a great feeling of relief when the doors were closed after opening night. It was the best feeling when after having worked tirelessly all summer on the concept, overcoming technical problems, and ensuring the continuation of efforts from the previous directors (such as afterparties), we could feel so proud of ourselves. It was a feeling of success as it was the first time we had organised everything.

Vienna also spoke about the growing face of the gallery, with more recognition from the History of Art department, the gallery being seen as a face of the university and with it coming more into light with the wider public. Sophie commented favourably on the diverse audiences attracted throughout their directorship. For example, the technological focus of “Cache Money” had a different audience to the “queer!” exhibition that was the fourth exhibition of the academic year.

“INhibition” exhibition, featuring Amanda Allmark’s artwork of three ceramic hearts, November 2022.

E: What was your favourite exhibition/artwork?

S: The local artist Amanda Allmark who exhibited at “INhibition”, made an impression on me when speaking to her about her artistry. Talking to Amanda was really encouraging as for her the gallery was a platform for artists to show their artwork without the need for it to be ‘crazy’ or extremely provocative which seems to be the aim more and more for contemporary art. Amanda spoke about how, for her, art was simply a form of self-expression.

Norman Rea Retrospective, June 2023.

V: During the Norman Rea Retrospective I listened to the artist Lucy Churchill, who exhibited in “Body-Architect” who spoke about her life as an artist, and the difficulties of grappling with art historical analysis and public opinion, often finding herself stuck in the middle.

E: Why did you think it was important to focus on different methods of curating?

S: What we wanted to get out of each exhibition varied, so this guided how we curated them. When an exhibition concept was first proposed there was a vision, with each exhibition aiming to immerse the visitors in different ways, create different experiences and leave people feeling different things. This meant that the curation became another dimension to the art itself.

V: From the start, an array of mediums was always important. For example, “Cache Money” was technology based, “INhibition” was a breakdown of the boundaries of white cube gallery spaces, and “Body-Architect” was a sensory exhibition. Therefore, each exhibition required a different curational agreement. And in line with many worldwide exhibitions today, incorporating all the senses, we tried to make the exhibitions 360-degree sensory experiences.

Pop-up Shop in the Norman Rea Gallery, January 2023.

E: What do you think the most important role of the gallery is?

S: We wanted to put our own personal objectives in the gallery. Getting artworks from Represent York back up was a major thing as it showed the long-term impact of the work of previous gallery committees. The gallery was also all about having a dialogue with its members which is great because everyone who is part of it makes a space for their passion for art alongside their full-time degrees.

V: It is more than just a gallery, it’s a creative space where individuals can bring their creative plans into reality. For example, the previous year had a Fashion Show, this year saw two Pop-Up Shops. The gallery is a platform for many diverse things, with those involved really being able to pursue their passions. It is a creative hub within the university.

Norman Rea Gallery winning Arts and Cultural Society of the Year, YUSU Activities Awards, June 2023.

E: What is particular about the Norman Rea Gallery as a society?

S: The amount of effort put into the gallery is incredible, it is a big workload with strict weekly committee meetings, followed by members’ meetings, creating a really tight-knit group of people with high-end goals. The fact that we aim for four exhibitions a year puts a lot of expectations on everyone involved – and throughout the year we see everyone put in 100%. Everyone’s passion and enthusiasm is really visible as they strive to bring all the events into being. Winning the Committee of the Year award at YUSU Awards was very affirming as we both felt we had done the best we could, and it had really paid off.

V: Many difficult experiences had to be overcome including people management and the recent awards show that we negotiated boundaries well and maintained both friendship and professional relationship. Winning Cultural Society of the Year was great because it showed recognition of how we use the space multifunctionally, bringing different groups of people into the art space.

E: As the ex-directors is there anything you are particularly excited to see with the new committee?

S: I am excited to see how creativity manifests itself in this very creative committee and the different curational ideas. It is great how even with the same space the gallery can look different each time, and I am excited to see how the next powerful committee bring it all together.

V: Each year the gallery is getting bigger and bigger – creating different relationships within the university and it is exciting to see the new committee’s personal touch.