Cabinet Interventions was a collaboration between ten artists and the National Trust for Scotland at Pollok House. In post-Brexit Scotland, how might often-contested identities and histories be articulated through artist practice in institutions such as the Trust? Between 2017 and 2018, artists undertook research and developed new work in response to the particular nature of Pollok House and its surroundings: an Edwardian country home managed by The National Trust for Scotland, with a significant international collection of art and artefacts, on the edge of Glasgow.
In 2017, and in groups of three, the participating artists undertook one-month residencies at Pollok House. Following each residency, the artists hosted an event to share practice, exchange knowledge and open up critical dialogues about the themes and questions that arose during their residency. This involved Pollok House staff, volunteers, invited artists, academics and researchers, as well as the wider public. These residencies are followed by an exhibition in spring 2018, produced as part of Glasgow International, that draws upon that research and dialogue to present original sound, installation, text and performance within and around the House.
This project was devised and led by artists Shauna McMullan, Susan Brind and Joanna Peace, who received funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh for the residency phase of the project. These three artists, in their capacity as Lecturers in the Department of Sculpture & Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art, had already been working with Pollok House for two years, developing on-site exhibitions with final year and postgraduate students. As a consequence of this initial research, these artists wanted to assemble a community of engaged makers around the site, who could work together in a critical and supportive way.
Participating artists were: Ruth Barker, Susan Brind & Jim Harold, Jasper Coppes, Alan Currall, Sarah Forrest, Shona Macnaughton, Duncan Marquiss, Shauna McMullan and Joanna Peace.