Independents Biennial 2025 had a predicted materials budget of £30k. That was built in to commission costs, and production costs. We saved every penny of that other than commercial print costs, and that meant at least some artists were able to retain their full commission fee. It means others could receive bursary payments to cover travel and time expenses
That was entirely down to what became the Circular Arts Network LCR.
The most told story of that was the old walls of the Lady Lever Art Gallery, which became the A-Boards outside the majority of our exhibition venues. Those boards have since been used outside pop-up cinemas, community events and for exhibition signage outside artist-led galleries.
A few, particularly the one from the Bombed out Church, has near completely disintegrated after a summer in the rain. But it cost nothing, it stayed out of landfill, and even now, graces my office wall as a reminder that the scrappiest of scrap is worth saving.
But there were also the screens. The LCD screens now listed with Circular Arts Network LCR for others to benefit from. They came from a mix of places, including the Victoria Gallery & Museum (along with countless plinths, and storage crates). Over fourteen weeks of the festival, those five screens showed 25+ films.
The projectors, the fabric, the paper, the glass, the kiln, the bricks, the transport. So much of the festival was produced on good will, and in some ways, it’d easy to say that it shouldn’t be, and that artists should be paid properly for what they do. But its also important to state that it was the good will that enabled us to pay artists properly. By begging, borrowing, and rescuing, we saved almost our entire production budget and made sure the money served artists instead of retailers
In 2027, artists will be encouraged to use CAN LCR’s new material library to build their budget. Not because we’re cheap, but because it means they can pay themselves more.
If your commission budget is £3000, that’s usually £2500 plus £500 on materials. What the artist saves in circularity, reuse and recycling is therefore directly profiting the artist.
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Patrick Kirk-Smith, @indybiennial
