Site 3 : Understanding the Site
Triangle Theatre Company is in residence at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum (although their offices are not in the main building). The Company was established by Carran Waterfield in 1988, and now involves regular collaboration with Richard Talbot. Triangle cites its current work at The Herbert as being: ‘engaged in performance and interactive projects using the Gallery’s collections’. Past projects at the Museum have involved exploration of its wartime collections through the Little Herberts group (young people from the area), and the facilitation of ‘training camps’ where children have immersive, participatory experiences in different wartime scenarios. Previous projects include Dugout!, War is Over and Coventry Kids in the Blitz (see DVDs in PLH archive). The company has received the Museums and Heritage Award for Excellence for Best Educational Initiative (2005) and the Curiosity and Imagination Roots and Wings Award (2005).
Triangle’s previous work at the Museum, as with the ‘Chico Talks’project, seeks (amongst other things) to provide something of an institutional critique. Performances engage with the institution as an idea, and are playful in exploring what collections and performances in such contexts might ‘mean’.
The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum
The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, exists under the umbrella of the City Council’s Arts and Heritage Service (alongside Lunt Roman Fort and the Priory Visitor Centre). Admission to The Herbert is free, and the Museum has a lively, popular cafeteria area on the ground floor (for many a destination in itself).
The Museum, which opened in 1960, was, during the period of research, undergoing a multi-million pound redevelopment, due for completion in late 2008. It will have a number of new galleries – history, art, science, peace and reconciliation, and temporary galleries –two further education spaces, and a combined gallery and performance space. This performance space (it is envisioned), will be available for community use, visiting groups and performance installations, and will have its own seating and lighting arrangements. While this redevelopment occurs, the Museum is operating very limited opening/access to just a few of its spaces (two gallery spaces, and display cases on the ground floor). With this in mind, the Museum perceives benefit in using outreach projects, and exploring collections that reside in store.
Triangle’s work with The Herbert often involves taking groups out of the museum to partake in immersive participatory projects off site (War is Over, Dugout and The Pollard Trail). Where possible, the Museum’s artefacts are used in preparatory work or performances themselves. In order to understand this relationship, it is important that we can reach an understanding of the aims of both organisations and where they complement one another (or perhaps even clash). To this end, collecting and analysing site policies and statements, interviewing and archival research have been paramount in our research.
This case study represents the research project’s interest in both the production and reception of performance in museum/heritage contexts, and the ways in which such activities involve engagement with the various texts of the museum (artefacts, spaces, institutional prerogatives etc) and its audiences.
