GEMA: Where heritage, art and culture live side by side and looking at another decade of achievement

Many years ago, I produced and presented a television series on GBC called ‘I was There’ where I chatted to people who had been witness to some of the most important happenings in the Rock’s history – the 1967 Referendum, the marriage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono – just to mention two. Events and activities – which have changed, shaped and made Gibraltar what it is today.

So, as I sat down to write this week’s column, I could not help thinking about this programme. As a journalist I have been privileged to be part of so many for more than 40 years – and it is in the world of art and culture where I have experienced some soul-searching changes for many of our very talented artists who have contributed and continue to contribute to the Arts, and the public – us, the viewer.

So, when I received the invite to celebrate 10 years of GEMA - the Gibraltar Exhibition of Modern Art – next week I knew I had to feature it on these pages because I was there when this new space first opened to further promote local art. Those of you who know me, especially artists, know that from my days on radio and television, right through my association with this newspaper, I have always been, and to a large degree, remain a keen supporter of all cultural activities and the Arts.

Painting to Dance 130219 ( Photo John Bugeja ) exhibition by Paul Cosquieri of large format paintings

It seems crazy that a whole decade has gone by since GEMA was born. The tenth anniversary will be celebrated next Tuesday at a special event led by the Minister for Culture Christian Santos.

Since GEMA first became Gibraltar’s Exhibition of Modern Art it has offered many opportunities to established and up and coming artists. A space where everything and anything has been made possible. I still clearly remember the day Ambrose Avellano opened his ‘Dancing under The Shadows’ exhibition in 2014 by walking into the venue dressed in full diving gear with goggles and flippers and all. And why not? If this space was created for modern art, it was only right that it presented it all… and it has. Then there was the voices installation by Nina Danino exploring the feminine voice, religious chant and lamentation – the voices from within creating a multi channel audio installation in the round. The work of Spanish artist Victor Quintanillas and so many others in these ten years all of which has given us so much pleasure and joy – and not just through exhibitions but in events involving the wide community.

In all this time we have been privileged to witness so much inside these walls at Montagu Bastion, a 19th century unique fortification – cum art venue and community space with its stone vaults, gun embrasures, and atmospheric corridors. Today GEMA remains a living space where nothing is impossible and where the Rock’s cultural story continues to grow and make waves. I always feel that the link between the old and the new – our military, our historical mix with our personal every day stories (I remember the days it was a store and local musicians would rehearse there), and artistic stories – a history which continues to create an exceptional and distinctive space.

Gibraltar’s cultural landscape has been constantly on the move over the past decade, and GEMA has been at the forefront of this. It came just after the opening of the Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery at the City Hall. The intention was to hold exhibitions and bring to view the large Gibraltar Art Collection which remained in store, which continues to grow year on year, and which I am glad to say significantly remains on the move. The Montagu Bastion was seen as a new art space for Gibraltar’s contemporary art, and initially housed 44 works including the winning entries of annual art competitions rotating on a yearly basis – the first display included Christian Hook with his Gustavo Bacarisas portrait from 2011, and Karl Ullger’s 2009 - La Siesta – and artists Paul Cosquieri, Sean Ballester, Jane Langdon and Vin Mifsud. The gallery – continues to be led by Gibraltar Cultural Services.

Chief Executive Officer at GCS, Seamus Bryne, recognises that the space has had a great impact on Gibraltar’s art community in the last 10 years, and wants it to continue that way.

“The gallery is in constant use, and this is a good sign. The fact that 10 years on, it is recognised as a cultural hub where artists and public can create and view new artworks and share in new experiences, must mean we are doing something right, something worthwhile. We are always working towards bringing new ideas to the space. From day one in fact, the space was created as a vibrant and living space welcoming contemporary artists and new ideas - where the public also share in the experience and learn from it,” he says.

Now, let me take you back to a time before the venue became GEMA and opened its doors in November 2015. The Montagu Bastion space as we know it today was created following the close collaboration with the Little Constellation organisation which locally was then led by the former CEO at GCS, Yvette Zarb Bensuan. It was in May 2014 that the newly converted art space saw the first of a series of exhibitions forming part of the joint project with Gibraltar and San Marino.

The project – Listen to the Sirens - was designed as a year-long cultural dialogue between the two territories to share a common path of research and interest in contemporary visual culture. Organised through the network the first exhibition was called ‘In a low voice’ with works by Swiss artist Miki Tallone. GEMA, turned into a gallery at Montagu Bastion in 2013, became part of the micro state art network through the Little Constellation which created a network for contemporary art in European microstates and small geopolitical places.

It was based in San Marino and through its - Listen to the Sirens - the value of this contemporary art space was recognised. The network focused on collaboration, research, and cultural exchange in small territories. The Little Constellation was to work in partnership with the Government of Gibraltar’s Ministry of Culture and was very productive. It was created by artists Rita Canarezza and Pier Paolo Coro who established the link with Gibraltar – a conference was initially organised at the Garrison Library. This meant Gibraltar would open its doors to host international artists and their work, and join in a broader cultural dialogue within Europe which would benefit local artists and art enthusiasts alike – opening a side door to art outside Gibraltar.

In my view it was an experiment which worked, and which today continues to bring a new dimension in the arts to our shores. From the start Gibraltar saw international exhibitions, residencies, and research programmes as part of - Listen to the Sirens - allowing the Rock to become active in this microstate art circuit. In September 2014 Ambrose Avellano became the first local artist invited to show his work as part of the network in an exhibition curated by Allessandro Castiglioni. His exhibition - Dancing Under the Shadows – was the result of the Little Constellation project which on that opening night brought music and dance to the gallery offering a very personal view by Ambrose of the effects of the Spanish campaign against Gibraltar since the 1960s.

One gallery initiative was to rotate the work of local artists within the space – the first was Paul Cosquieri. This initiative is now expected to continue as the Artists Corner in the coming months.

Over the years hundreds of exhibitions have been staged in this challenging space of limestone walls marked by the many features left throughout history, and always hard hit by the rains. The space has been moving on and continued to grow in use offering great diversity of work. GEMA is now very much a part of our artistic and community projects – where there are book launches, theatrical and dance performances, music events, workshops, exhibitions, life drawing sessions, and interactive creative experiences. Even the Gibraltar Horticultural Society held its annual Flower Show in its walls. Even cooking has featured. Then last year Gibraltar Cultural Services launched a new programme with Kitchen Studios which took over the gallery for three months – in a new residency initiative which brought a new approach to the space and younger people, and which will continue into the next decade.

Montagu Bastion was once part of Gibraltar’s military fortifications. By 1859 it had 29 guns and became the most powerful bastioned fortification on the Rock. History tells us the Bastion may have originally been built by the Moors and rebuilt under the British when it was enlarged into a large five-sided bastion with three faces covering the Mole and the Waterport, and two flanks. In 1705, the year after the capture of Gibraltar, it was named after Ralph Montagu who was made First Duke of Montagu. In the last century Montagu Bastion was an anti-aircraft position. In 1928 four 3-inch anti-aircraft guns were installed and in use by 1931. It also saw the two 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns in WWII on site.

As GEMA marks a decade in art today it is recognised as a unique creative space, a blend of heritage, construction and modern artistic expression.

Davina Barbara, Head of Cultural Development, at Gibraltar Cultural Services, is optimistic and confident the space will further develop over the next 10 years and inspire new generations of creators. The new curation which we can see as from next week will focus on the winners of all art competitions locally with the oldest work from the 1960s by Elio Cruz with his Portobello Table, and the newest, last years international art winner José Luis Mancilla Angulo and his ‘Don Quijote y Sancho Panza’. What we can look forward to, she said, was more exciting initiatives to continue to bring creatives together, to offer greater opportunities and to foster greater community engagement. Davina Barbara, excited about the prospect of what this new decade could create, told me she was very much looking to engage a younger audience as well.

“The new approach will see a greater emphasis on education. Kitchen will continue their workshops for the young Kitchenites, with schools wanting to visit, we have devised new educational tools where children can enjoy the interactive ‘nooks’, origami and building blocks, and educational and fun resources.”

The GEMA art space is for — artists, students, families, and cultural enthusiasts — we can all partake in its activities. As we look to the future the aim is for GEMA to continue to be and grow as more than just an art gallery – to be a place where artists meet, where new ideas take shape, where culture meets heritage, where creativity is the ultimate goal - and where ideas will be born.

After 10 years, it is now perhaps the right time for the GEMA Gallery to further expand – to become so much more – and continue to be another pulsating heart in Gibraltar’s cultural community.

I look forward to the new curation and re-opening next week. New exhibitions and cultural events and projects I will continue to enjoy – for GEMA, may have been seen by some as an odd choice in 2014 but look how much it has given us.