Richard Demarco, CBE (born Portobello
near Edinburgh
, 1930) is a Scottish
artist and
promoter of the visual and performing arts.
Richard Demarco Gallery
Demarco
was a co-founder of the Traverse Theatre
in Edinburgh in 1963. Three years later he
and other organisers of the gallery space left the Traverse to
establish what became the
Richard Demarco Gallery. The gallery
ran from 1966 to 1992.
For many years, the Gallery promoted cultural links with Eastern
Europe, both in terms of presenting artists such as
Paul Neagu from 1969,
Marina Abramovic from 1973 and
Neue Slowenische Kunst from 1986
within Scotland, organising exhibitions of contemporary Polish,
Romanian and Yugoslav art and in establishing outgoing connections
for Scottish artists across Europe.
His involvement with
Joseph Beuys led
to various presentations, from
Strategy Get Arts in 1970
to Beuys' hunger strike during the
Jimmy
Boyle Days in 1980.
Also particularly notable were the presentations by
Tadeusz Kantor's
Cricot 2 group
during the 1970s and 1980s. An unofficial performance of
The
Water Hen at the former Edinburgh
poorhouse during the
Edinburgh Festival in 1972 was a notable
success.
Cricot 2 returned to Edinburgh in later years.
Demarco introduced Beuys and Kantor to one another and in one
performance of
Lovelies and Dowdies Beuys performed under
Kantor's direction.
For many years, after the Scottish Arts Council deprived it of its
annual grant in 1980, following the furore associated with Joseph
Beuys' support for
Jimmy Boyle,
the Demarco Gallery led a financially-straitened existence. Since
the early 1990s, Richard Demarco's activity has been through the
Demarco European Art Foundation.
In November 2008 an important selection from Demarco's archives,
covering the period 1963-1980, was made available on-line by the
University of Dundee [see below for link]. Images of Demarco's
activities during this period, in particular collaborations with
Joseph Beuys, Tadeusz Kantor, Paul Neagu and Marina Abramovic are
available in the selection from the Demarco archives. Detailed
documentation of the Edinburgh Arts journeys from 1972-1980 are
also available in this selection.
Edinburgh Festival
Richard Demarco has attended every Edinburgh Festival. He has
attended or been extensively involved with the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world, since its
inception. In many years, his venue ran outstanding theatre
productions, art exhibitions and cultural events which led the
Fringe. In some years he outraged Fringe organisers by holding
events and staging plays outside Edinburgh. These included a full
costume, full length version of a play by Shakespeare staged on an
island in the Firth of Forth.Many of the young artists appearing at
his venue went on to become major figures in the arts.Others did
not but have precious memories of performing at his venue.It seemed
like an artistic version of Brigadoon, and was never run for
profit; many performers were allowed to put on productions or
exhibit at little or no cost.
Unlike many other venues, his always took large artistic and
commercial risks. For instance, in 1995, his venue hosted a group
of artists flown out from the then besieged city of Sarajevo, and
an opera installation by the young Damian Hirst.Other regular
attendees at his venue included the publisher John Calder, the
ligger Jim Haynes, and sundy bohemians.
Since the mid 90's and end of the Cold War he has lost backing from
Visiting Arts and other sponsoring bodies. Always a controversial
figure he has been the object of much vilification in the Scottish
arts world, at a time when the Festival Fringe has become dominated
by purely commercial considerations. His current reduced
involvement at the Fringe is in collaboration with Rocket
Venues.Even so he retains much goodwill, respect and some gratitude
across the international arts world. Sadly, the Edinburgh Fringe
has changed since the 1960s and there no obvious successor for his
role in it.
Honours and awards
Previously appointed as an OBE, he was raised to a CBE in the New
Year Honours List in December 2006. In 1976, Richard Demarco
received a Gold Medal from the Polish government and in 1986, he
was made a
Cavaliere of the
Italian Republic. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by
universities in Europe and North America and, from 1993 to 2000, he
was Professor of European Culture at the University of
Kingston.
References
External links
Wikis
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