A new, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it art gallery installed in the Keiller Centre has the potential to replace Draffens bar as Dundee’s worst-kept secret.
Volk Gallery, unveiled at the Keiller Centre on July 1, is a gallery with a twist – it’s made from a repurposed nappy vending machine.
Founded by city artists Elizabeth Ann Day and Luke Cassidy Greer, Volk Gallery aims to bring artists out of the “arts scene” and into people’s daily lives.
“The idea of Volk Gallery came from a trip to Vienna that we took last year, just before lockdown. So it’s very much a Covid baby!” explains Elizabeth.
“‘Volk’ just means ‘people’, so it’s the people’s gallery. And in Vienna, in all the entryways into the museum quarter, they have these little pends and they fill them with vending machines of artworks.”
“It really gave us the message of taking art out of a museum context and putting it into these public spaces where you don’t necessarily see art on a daily basis,” adds Luke.
“There’s not the intensity of walking into a gallery space that you already don’t feel comfortable in. You’re just walking into your local shopping centre and there’s a vending machine, just like the other vending machines.”
Designed to be both affordable for audiences and worthwhile for artists, each piece costs a flat £3.
“The way it breaks down is we receive £1, the artist gets £1 to make it and then receives £1 profit for themselves,” explains Luke.
“Because that is a massive problem – people not getting paid for their time within the arts.”
What kind of art comes out of a vending machine?
Volk Gallery is as much about bringing artists out of their usual bubble as it is about exposing the public to new art. The first featured artist is DJCAD graduate and painter, poet and musician James Alexander McKenzie.
His exhibition (i.e. the thing people will get when they pop their coins in the machine) is an original mixtape.
“James is a painter but he’s also a performance artist and he writes a lot of poetry,” says Elizabeth.
“He’s recorded it to cassette – they’re bright neon yellow cassette tapes, which are really good fun. Even if you don’t have a cassette tape player, they’re just very beautiful things to have.”
And with the art inside the vending machine changing each month, there is scope for a variety of experiences with Volk.
“The idea is that every artist can take it whichever way they want,” says Elizabeth. “The only restriction we give is the dimensions of the slots in the machine.”
Upcoming exhibits include a riso-printed zine from Duncan of Jordanstone illustrator Mairi Isla – some of which will have original ceramics included in the vend “as a little lucky dip” – and a series of flags and lighters from Glasgow-based artist Chris Connarty.
A promising line-up indeed, and before they’ve even started, it’s clear the founders of Dundee’s newest hideaway gallery have no plans to slow down.
Luke jokes: “As soon as this ribbon’s cut, we’re on to the next group of commissions!”
Related articles: