New beginnings: The Embassy and St Margaret's House

The new space is vast and light, high up in St Margaret's house in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh with views stretching to Fife by way of the velodrome and the industrialised hinterlands of the dockside. Windows punctuate the walls in the same way as the Ingleby's, prompting comparisons between the rareified surrounds of the city centre, bespoke commercial gallery and the peripheral DIY aesthetic of the artist-run space. There are also evident comparisons to be drawn between this gallery and the old Embassy, the shift in scale and location suggesting perhaps a change in minset as well as a rejuvinated scope in terms of exhibiting potential. I asked the committee members a few questions on the new space, new plans, and the tough times they've had in the last few months.

ON THE COMMITTEE:

How many of you are there on the committee now?

Norman: There's four of us. [Norman Hogg, Daniella Watson, Ben Fallon and Angela Beck]. John [Harrington]'s moved to London, but he's still a kind of unofficial committee member in terms of contacts down there. But he's not helping us do this! There was a period of about a day when it was just me and Dani.

Dani: That was scary!

Is there a time limit on the committee membership?

D: Yes, it's two years. But I think members of the first committee stayed on for three years. I joined in 2007, but didn't really get fully on board until after the new year, so 2008. But because we haven't had the space it's just been paperwork involved really. Or not just paperwork, but getting back on track. Turning the Embassy juggernaut around! There's been lots of different shifts in committee members in the meantime, because of the problems we faced. It's not the same as just putting on shows, it's almost like starting from scratch. Well, not entirely from scratch, because it's got the reputation and name and everything.

 

ON A NEW LOCATION:

N: I'm very positive about this space, I mean it's significantly bigger, and it's a bit of a dramatic change from the old Embassy. Which is kind of good psychologically to have a break, start afresh.

D: It's a different area of Edinburgh too, so that's dead exciting as well. It does create a different mindset.

Do you think your location will be an issue?

D: It's on good bus routes!

N: We're also hoping we'll have some sort of pull. I mean, there's a lot of studios here, a lot of arts based things happening. Maybe people will come and join us, different organisations take space here. We've been scoping out the area. There's some nice pubs.

D: It's good to try and connect with the local area. Even if it is just by drinking in it, to start with at least!

ON THE NEW PROGRAMME:

N: Well the first thing's the MFA interim show, [which started on 27 Feb]. And then our programme'll start exactly a month later. The first show's called Boneless Box. And it's a deliberately themeless show, with maybe about 40 or 50 artists, which we'll be taking partly from the usual suspects, people who've been associated with the Embassy in the past. And partly from a broader selection of folk from across the UK.

Open submission?

N: Not like a members' show, more like a long list, submission document. See what comes of it! We're hoping to get some proposals in from people who can work with the space.

D: Because we can have a bit of flexibility with the way the space operates, we can move walls around and work with how artists want it to be. Intersect it, leave it open. It's not just going to be a white cube, we can experiment with how it functions. We've got the programme planned until April 2010.

Bloody hell.

D: Yeah!

Ben: We've got a show at Halloween in Glasgow, an exchange with the Studio Warehouse gallery. They'll do a show here, we'll do one there. Exchanging social scenes and things.

ON THE RELAUNCH:

Angela: We're having a membership drive, with boxes based on the KFC takeaway box. With multiples, and a year's membership for £9.99.

D: We're going to try and get a band to play in the space as part of the show. It's a good space for a party, we can have loud music.

N: Only 'til ten mind.

D: That's plenty of time for a party! We're relaunching the website, and have a new logo and everything. So we can post details on our blog or whatever, details of membership and events. We're relaunching in lots of different ways. We're becoming part of Edinburgh Contemporaries, the new umbrella organisation. It aims to be a kind of hub to share events, research.

ON THE ANNUALE:

B: We're bringing the Annuale forward to June, so it's running at the same time as the Film Festival. For a number of reasons, a big one being space availability, it's much easier to find a space outwith the festival. Also I don't think the general festival crowd was the Annuale's audience.

D: Also because we have this space, in a different area. It's important to us to have ownership over something. To really separate it from the festival.

 

The Embassy have grand plans, and a great new space. After a worrying few months when it seemed like they might be gone forever, they've dealt with their financial and logistical issues to come back with a consolidated committee, an ambitious programme and a redesigned brand. Best of luck to them, Scottish art needs them.