To mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the fantastic and feisty Workers in Ynyshir, Shaun Thomas of Bylines Cymru spoke to Gayle Rogers and Chris Williams about the gallery's past, present and future.
As he reports, the Workers was "born out of protest" and owes its survival to commitment and hard work. That pugnacious tenacity has been essential in the face of perennial funding challenges and an enormously frustrating lack of support from Arts Council Wales. In that respect, its spirit of fierce independence is partly enforced.
But the Workers is also posing challenges of its own. What is particularly inspiring about the work that Gayle and Chris do is that the focus is always on accessibility and on creating energising connections with the local community: "We're challenging the 'is art for me' narrative. People may think art doesn't happen here, but we're here, actively bringing art to people's doorsteps." (On that note, it's good to hear that more Art Box Tours are planned, following the blueprint established by the mobile exhibition of David Hurn's work in 2020.)
Gayle adds: "I guess that's quite a political thing to say - art is for everyone and this space is for everyone." Of course, it shouldn't be political - yet it is, in a cost-of-living crisis, when artists are painted as mere hobbyists and the creative industries are a closed shop to an increasing number of people. Depressing, certainly - but all the more reason to celebrate individuals, organisations and institutions that are doing their utmost to buck the trend. As Thomas observes, spaces such as the Workers "give people hope and build community in innovative ways, despite the challenges they face".
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