Art in the North of England, 1979-2008

Gabriel N. Gee is Assistant Professor of Art History, Franklin University, Switzerland.

"Gabriel Gee provides a timely and important contribution to the current focus on arts and visual culture in the north of England. He attends closely to the impact of successive waves of policy, funding and regeneration schemes since the 1980s, the development of cultural and creative strategies, and particular forms of resistance in key northern cities. This is most valuable historical research. The specific case studies and the material drawn from the extensive interviews with diverse actors over the recent decades all make for an absorbing read." --Ysanne Holt, University of Northumbria, UK"This book is a very clear and comprehensively written historiographical overview of the production and consumption of contemporary visual arts in the North of England in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. ... Although the focus is on the past three decades, the author does not hesitate to recapture local events and developments in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, if necessary for a clear contextualization of a recent event, trend or other fact. They are sometimes the roots, a prelude or in fact, the opposite of a current development. This broader contextualization, which deepens insight into developments, is a strength of this publication. Another strength is the seemingly effortless embedding of this publication in a theoretical art historical context."--Art Libraries Journal"Overall, Gabriel Gee’s Art in the North of England, 1979-2008 alleviates a dearth of books on the subject. ... It will prove an excellent read for those with an interest in the history of contemporary British art, as the author convincingly makes the case for the assertion, development and emancipation of the Northern artistic sphere through an array of innovative, challenging and mature artistic practices."--Etudes britanniques contemporaines

• IntroductionPart 1: 1980sChapter 1: the cloth cap and the red glove: politics and northern aesthetics in the 1980sChapter 2: Farewell to an industryChapter 3: New North? Artists in the urban fabric Chapter 4: Cultural regeneration and northern imaginariesPart 2: 1990sChapter 5: A case for capital Chapter 6: Sculpting an age: industrial metamorphosisChapter 7: Do It Yourself: grassroots practices and diversificationPart 3: 2000sChapter 8. Creative cities: an art of distinctionChapter 9 Creative resistance: social clubs and democratic promenadeChapter 10: Trans-industrial northern spacesConclusion