Slack Space: Empty Shops as Exhibition Space

72,000 retail outlets are predicted to close in the UK during 2009, but there are artists and curators who have taken the initiative of putting up artwork in these otherwise unused commercial properties, know as ”Slack Spaces”. The article mentions a group of artists who were “allowed” to put art into some shops in Margate. One of them is Emily Firmin (THAT Emily) who says the purpose of Slack Spaces is to not only to promote artists but to help the local economy.

“Rather than letting lots of pound shops appear, we are encouraging people to start up businesses. We know recessions are awful but can be a good time for artists as creative ideas start appearing while otherwise redundant people are sitting at home fiddling and doing creative stuff.”

What better way to encourage economic stimulus than making sure commercial properties don’t fall into ruin and improving the image of the surrounding area?

I wonder what a slack space could be for the wider museum industry? One thought is part of a project’s community outreach, especially if a museum is outside the city centre. Or it could be temporary exhibition space for more of the collection to be on display, hopefully allowing some of the more crackpot objects museums tend to have in their storerooms. Hell, maybe even temporary  storerooms where groups of volunteers can gather in a space to get stuck into a collection management project.

The way to really make this work would be a scheme set up by the local government to force work with property developers to make this happen. Very short-term minimal-or-no cost leases for creative and cultural purposes.