Aberdeen doesn’t need to look as far as London for cultural venue inspiration, writes Colin Farquhar – Scotland already has many successful examples.
I am in London, standing in front of Battersea Power Station. There is a feeling of megalophobia in its presence.
It’s a huge building, and towers over me. Power stations are gigantic and all straight lines, with an imposing, otherworldly feel. You’ll know this if you’ve ever driven past, or stood in the shadow of the ones at Dounreay or Peterhead, particularly on a day when the haar is in.
Battersea Power Station has been absolutely transformed, undergoing a mammoth regeneration project. Below the four chimneys now sit beautiful apartments, a chic shopping mall, a sleek commercial office block, and a new underground station, on the Northern Line.
Crucially, there are also restaurants and a cinema within the footprint of the site. Culture must always find its space.
It’s a commercial development, backed with masses of private investment, in a district of London that is now super-gentrified. It might make an awkward comparison with, say, Aberdeen, but it stands testament to what you can achieve with vision, application and, well, a huge amount of capital.
The Battersea plan for redevelopment was, after all, referred to as “The Masterplan”. Meanwhile, in Aberdeen, our own City Centre Masterplan seems slightly stuck in the mud. Worse still, our cultural venues are closing, or struggling, as the cost of living crisis bites hard.
While I’m hardly calling for a Battersea Power Station-esque transformation in Aberdeen, there does need to be some vision, and application, for how we move forward large-scale infrastructure changes in the city, and where we might find space for culture.
If Battersea can find room for a new cinema, within the arches of a railway bridge, surely we can make way for a new arts development in the Silver City.
The visual arts are alive and need space
We don’t even have to look as far afield as London for inspiration. What Aberdeen really requires is a purpose-built, multi-arts and collaborative working space. These exist in Inverness, Dundee and Shetland, in Eden Court, DCA and Mareel. Cinemas, contemporary galleries, office spaces and studios, so creative practice has space and support to thrive in Scotland.
The north-east has, sadly, just lost its only cultural cinema and I, better than most, understand the challenges that exist for cinemas right now. However, the visual arts are alive, and must still find space to exhibit and display, to show and tell.
It needn’t be as tall and imposing as Battersea Power Station, but good culture, like tall chimneys, can cast long shadows
One such model would be a new contemporary arts centre that could support the whole north-east, and ensure visual arts, and cultural cinema, has a home in the city for years to come.
It needn’t be as tall and imposing as Battersea Power Station, but good culture, like tall chimneys, can cast long shadows. Empowering and enlightening us. Transforming our lives. Building something new, where, perhaps, there was something quite empty before.
Colin Farquhar is former head of cinema operations for Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen
Conversation