CRUSADERS FIGHTING ART’S DEMISE

The perception among many young artists was that a general apathy hindered the development of a vital art scene in the Durban. Primary amoung the FLAT’s motivating principles was the desire to combat this apathy. We were also trying to work in an area of cultural production not supported by the mainstream galleries. For these aims and efforts, we had received some recognition in the mainstream press. This coverage although much-needed, was not particularly extensive. Indeed Meijer, art writer, for The Daily News had claimed in her column that “the gallery aims to create a platform for more experimental art, such as performance, installation, and video, media the more established galleries may shy away from.”[1] And this was echoed in the funding letter for Durban Arts, that Jeff Chandler assisted us in writing, where he articulated through our ‘voices’ that, “there simply does not exist a support structure of any significance for the visual arts.”[2] Owen in The Weekly Mail had pronounced that the gallery was “definitely working as an alternative to the more established galleries”.[3] And it was Meijer again who drove this point home in her March 4 column, when she said, “…the gallery proved once more it’s ready to give a much‑needed injection of alternative subculture into Durban’s dwindling mainstream.”[4]
Although not in a mainstream newspaper, it was a Natal University article, Crusaders Fighting Art’s Demise, which gave the FLAT the most significant coverage at that time. The article, though not attributed to any one writer, was written in part due to the efforts of Nina Saunders, an architecture student at Natal University. It began with a statement that affirmed our efforts:

Moe, Siemon Allen and Thomas Barry decided to do something about the lack of alternative art space in Durban.[5]

It then not only addressed some of the FLAT’s policies, but also its mission, and included quotes from Barry and Moe, where they expressed the FLAT’s motivations and aims:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                “The DURBAN art scene has become dead and boring" according to Lede,” The
“The Durban Art Scene has become dead and boring”, according to Ledelle Moe, one of the founding members of the FLAT Gallery. The FLAT was initiated in October of 1993 to create a vibrant space for student and professional artists to experiment with their work.

“It’s basically a place where anyone can do anything. It’s an alternative to what’s happening at art school or in the gallery system which is very limiting financially and in the kind of art you produce” says Barry. “We want to create a free environment and then see how people respond to it.”[6]

The need for a site that would allow for more experimental approaches was expressed by Moe:

This freedom that they speak of involves a multitude of media that can be creatively transformed. “We want to introduce theatre, music and art as a combination ‑ we just hope to get this place established as an experimental art place,” says Moe.[7]

Barry, in the article, outlined a basic FLAT policy:

We want to create an environment where people can all interact on the same level. We don’t only focus on art but on any issue that people want to raise and want a response to.[8]

Barry’s statement that the FLAT was open for “all” and would focus “not only on art but issues” was radical in two ways. First, we were, at that time, taking a political stance that ran contrary to the then still empowered apartheid government. In the shifting political environment of the time, our ‘open’ policy spoke to an inclusiveness for participants that crossed racial boundaries.
Moe echoed the importance of community:

“Artists as individuals are often scared but together you encourage each other to do all sorts of things.”[9]

Second, in the declaration that our space would not operate within the conventions of a traditional art gallery, Barry emphasized the fact that the FLAT was a place for the engagement and interaction of ‘everyday life’. This was in contrast to what we regarded as the safe (empty) white box; the stance we saw as being that promoted by more traditional venues. This also asserted the FLAT’s policy of ‘non-censorship’, where through discussion or through art forms any issue could be raised.

Crusaders Fighting Art’s Demise, Natal University Publication, Feb, 1994