Jo Ray - artist
Bookville embodies a genuine, rigorous and intellectual and practical application of Inclusion, creativity, challenging debate, freedom of expression and inquiry. I have experienced the work of Bookville as a participant in their 2005 residency ‘Publishathon’ at Hull Art Lab, and in a professional context when I invited them to visit and speak to students at Hull School of Art and Design. Maggie and Graeme are incredibly adept at making a space for creativity, drawing on their wealth of professional experience, artistic understanding, and intuition. These skills have been continually evidenced not only in the radical tranformation of venues into thriving centres of activity, but in the transformation of groups and individuals who become involved with them in whatever context. The infectious energy provided by Maggie and Graeme is a powerful catalyst. But as well as the inspiration they provide, it’s the tools they pass on to others, the underlying ethos and the continued praxis, that ensures the legacy of any Bookville initiative is long lived. I understand their work as essential research into sustainable modes of being and making.
Mark Pembrey - artist, writer & curator
Bookville is a very exciting thing. When I came across Graeme and Maggie’s first Bookville base, just after it opened on High Bridge Street in Newcastle Upon Tyne, there was already a whole load of stuff happening: bookmaking, live music, poetry, storytelling, creative workshops…something just about every day for just about everyone. It was that sheer volume of things going on that made you feel like this was somewhere where things were happening, and somewhere where you could get involved. People came from all over to hang out and share the things that excited them. It’s often hard to find an artist-led space – or anywhere – that can make people feel like they can really do that. Soon the ‘stop thinking, start doing’ ethos became infectious. I still see traces of its influence around Newcastle today, and as it moves and changes shape I’m sure it’ll continue to infect in a pleasing way. Bookville, to me, is about fast-paced and high-energy creativity as a catalyst for great things, and as a great thing in itself. It should serve as an inspiration to all artists and artist-led spaces. Projects like Bookville help make things possible, but also they help people realise that things are possible – things like making great art and having a really good time. Everything.
James Johnson Perkins, artist
Bookville is a concept (curated by Graeme Walker and Maggie Tran) which stretches the boundaries of a conventional bookshop by mixing it up with various artspaces and helping artists with DIY publishing. At Bookville when it was on High Bridge St in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, audiences were treated to countless happenings and events including: Book making, performance days, local bands, poetry readings, exhibitions and various other actions. These events: entertained, enchanted and dazzled
Bookville’s famous slogan is ‘Stop thinking, start doing, so visitors were actively and directly encouraged to get involved, either by organising something themselves or by joining in with other events. It was one of those magical places where spontaneous things happened and it inspired a host of artists to think for themselves and try things out. So books were burnt, there was an upside down man, people were serenaded by love poetry and like all special places like this, treasure was found.
Christopher Manson - photographer
Bookville was born after the Waygood Gallery appropriated the old hairdresser's building on High Bridge street for the purpose of spontaneous and compulsive art happenings. As a gallery and bookshop, Bookville exhibited work from emerging and accomplished artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers and more. As a workspace, Bookville attracted savvy image and performance makers and invites them to engage in a new dialogue with the gallery space. The intention of Bookville was clear: to make art and the practice of art accessible to all. In this, it respectfully succeeded.
