The Director's Cut: Godfrey Worsdale, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art from Axisweb on Vimeo.
There’s nothing shy about BALTIC. It’s big, bold and a little bit brassy.
It makes a noise in the landscape, standing tall and proud amongst the iconic architecture that surrounds it. A contemporary art gallery with brawn as well as brains.
That brawn has come in handy since it opened in a blur of publicity in 2002; the gallery has, after all, had its fair share of hard knocks.
Current director Godfrey Worsdale, who took the job in August 2008, is the gallery’s fourth. For a while, it seemed as if the role came with some kind of ancient curse that couldn’t be shaken.
Founding director Sune Nordgren left a year after BALTIC opened amid complaints that the gallery’s finances were in disarray.
His replacement Stephen Snoddy resigned after less than a year, following his suspension while the Metropolitan police investigated an allegation of assault. No charges were ever made and Snoddy is now director of New Art Gallery Walsall.
Snoddy’s successor Peter Doroshenko lasted longer, leaving in November 2007, but his management style prompted bitter complaints from BALTIC staff.
His artistic judgement was also questioned after the gallery hosted a Beryl Cook retrospective on his watch.
So, big job, big gallery, big personality required? You’d think so.
Worsdale, previously founding director of the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, has, you sense, the strength of character and determination required for such a high profile role.
His first move on starting at BALTIC was to address what he saw as a top-heavy management structure, resulting in job losses at a senior level.
Yet, despite the cropped hair and business suit, Worsdale is no financial hard man leaving the artistic vision to others.
While the exhibition programme is looked after by BALTIC’s curatorial team, his passion for contemporary art is tangible.
Prior to our on-camera interview, he smiles broadly as he talks about his time as curator and then director at Southampton City Art Gallery (1995-2002) and specifically working on a Martin Creed exhibition; it resulted in the artist being nominated for, and ultimately winning, the 2001 Turner Prize.
Worsdale chats excitedly about how the Turner Prize brings contemporary art out of the galleries and into the pages of the tabloids, and his delight at BALTIC hosting the prize’s exhibition this year.
He’s serious about art but not too serious; he recognises that it can also be playful and humorous.
After everything that BALTIC has been through in its short life, Worsdale seems a good fit.
A northerner (he’s from Doncaster); a people person with a light touch; a good talker; a believer in audiences as well as artists.
Pragmatic when it comes to finances, he’s sure-footed and principled about BALTIC’s job of promoting the understanding and enjoyment of great art.
Which brings us to the second thing Worsdale did when he took up the job.
In a bid to emphasise the importance of the visitor experience, all staff who dealt with the public – gallery invigilators, front of house – were moved from building services or security or whatever department they had been part of, to education.
That, reasoned Worsdale, is what they’re there for, to communicate ideas and information, to enhance the gallery-goers experience.
Brain to think it, brawn to do it. BALTIC might just have its man this time.
©Chris Sharratt, January 2011
Watch the rest of The Director's Cut series on Axis
More Information
For information on BALTIC's programme of exhibitions and events, visit www.balticmill.com
The following exhibitions were showing at BALTIC during filming:
Anselm Kiefer, Artist Rooms On Tour with the Art Fund, 8 October 2010 - 16 January 2011
Dirk Bell, Made in Germany, 8 October 2010 - 16 January 2011
Dan Holdsworth, Blackout, 12 November 2010- 20 February 2011
Credits
The Director's Cut is a collaboration between Axis and Creative Times in association with Lumen.
Concept, Interview and Art Direction: Chris Sharratt (Creative Times)
Editor: Lucy Bannister (Axis)
Camera and titles: Phil Slocombe (Lumen)
Sound production: Stuart Bannister (Lumen)
The video and The Director's Cut series is also available to view on creativetimes.co.uk
Watch the rest of The Director's Cut series on Axis
