Goodbye from ACA

After years of travelling and gathering life experiences, in 1994 our imaginations led us towards the daunting prospect of bringing our thoughts, ideas and fantasies together and making them real.

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Then we stumbled across an old Victorian schoolhouse overlooking the village of Allenheads in Northumberland. What followed was 18 long months of negotiating with the estate of Lord Allendale, gradually gaining their trust before we were finally able to move in and begin restoring the old schoolhouse and reinventing its purpose.

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The work was extensive: floors to ceilings, walls to windows, plumbing and electrics -everything needed attention. In fact, our first clients came to us from Loughborough University’s Department of Human Geography when we were only a third of the way through the building work. At the time, we were sleeping on a mattress on the floor of what was to become our home - the old headmistress’s quarters. But we had started, and what a great feeling that was, Allenheads Contemporary Arts was underway, co-founded by Helen Ratcliffe and Alan Smith.

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From those beginnings, ACA went on to deliver an extensive and diverse programme of projects and residencies for creative practitioners, bringing together myriad combinations of contemporary art and contemporary living, both locally and within a wider global context.

We often paired art with other disciplines; human geography, astronomy, environmental studies, science and philosophy, creating opportunities for ideas to collide, develop and evolve. The resulting work offered a wealth of ideas, questions and evolving practices rather than predetermined or permanent products.

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Over the years, ACA developed strong relationships with universities and independent art organisations nationally and internationally. We worked together on residential programmes, festivals, exhibitions and research projects, always placing an emphasis on research and development and on the process of making and thinking.

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Many of the projects were shaped by the evolving ideas brought into our workplace and home by the artists and students who came to stay. During extended residencies, they generously shared their thoughts, questions and ideas, often returning to Allenheads for future visits and further periods of work. Their presence became an essential part of what ACA was.

 

We were also incredibly fortunate to be so warmly welcomed into the village by its residents. In those early days, people helped us in and around the building as we struggled to make the old schoolhouse habitable. And while we were working away each day, our wonderful neighbour, the beautiful Nelly Peart of Dudley Place, would insist on having dinner ready for us at the end of a hard-working day. Those acts of kindness, friendship and generosity have stayed with us.

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We are deeply grateful to every artist, scientist, student, researcher, collaborator and friend who has shared these remarkable years with us. Many of those who have contributed to ACA’s story can be found on the artists’ page of our website: https://www.acart.org.uk/artists And a very special thank you to our directors through the years; David Butler, John Bowers, Nick Kennedy, Hannah Marsden, Julian Germain and Mark Thomas, whose commitment and support have been such an important part of ACA’s journey.

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After more than three decades, Allenheads Contemporary Arts is saying goodbye.

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We leave with enormous gratitude for all that has been created, experienced, questioned, imagined and shared in the high little village of Allenheads.

 

Thank you.

Helen Ratcliffe & Alan Smith