Rounding up visitors' feedback.

Throughout the course of the summer, as well as spending loads of time chatting to lovely artists and visitors at The Old Lookout, I've also been gathering lots of data from questionnaires. Someone with a much better understanding of maths than me will be crunching the numbers and analyzing the data properly over the next couple of weeks, but I thought I'd have a quick look over myself and draw some conclusions. I'll be focusing on the visitors to the gallery who filled out surveys over the summer, as this was the biggest sample group, so can provide the clearest answers. I'll be looking at just a few of the questions, ones that I feel are the most significant. I've also rounded the percentages to the nearest whole number. No one likes decimals nowadays.

Firstly, there is the question of our demographic. Out of the 11 age groups, more of our visitors came from the 61+ category than any other, with 24%. The fewest amount of visitors came from the 26-30 group, with only 3%. What I noticed however, is that the groups of 46-50, 51-55, 56-60 and 61+ were relatively equal in terms of numbers, with only the significantly lower percentages coming from groups 41-45 and younger. Apparently we also seem to attract more females, with 60% of visitors being women and 40% being men.
One of the most interesting results for me is the question of where people who visited the gallery live. Only 30% of visitors were local, well live in postcodes CT10, CT11 or CT12 at least. There were a few from CT9, which is Cliftonville, that aren't represented in this category however. This leaves 70% of visitors coming from elsewhere in the country, and sometimes even abroad. This shows us that many of the people who live locally, particularly in Ramsgate and Margate, aren't aware of, or simply aren't visiting the gallery.
As part of this questionnaire we asked people how they found out about the gallery/why they came in today. Without a doubt the most popular response was simply through curiosity, not knowing what to expect. 44% of people said this is why they visited, which considering there were 10 options to tick is a huge majority. The next highest was through seeing the sign outside the gallery, which attracted 23% of people in.
Now, only 41% of people who visited the gallery had been in before, with 59% being newcomers. What is reassuring however, is how many people said they would come back after visiting. The scale was 1-10, with 1 being very unlikely and 10 being definitely. I think we can agree that an answer of 7-10 would suggest that the visitor may well come back again. 78% of people ticked one of these 4 boxes, with 35% ticking 10, suggesting that they will definitely come back. Something else to consider with this question is that several visitors mentioned to the artists that they were only down on holiday, so found it unlikely that they would visit again. They took the question very literally, meaning that their score on this question didn't necessarily reflect their opinions on the quality of the gallery.
A very quick note on whether people would pay to visit The Old Lookout Gallery. When asked, 73% of people said they would be willing to contribute in some way, which is more than I would have expected at the beginning of the project.

In terms of more qualitative feedback from visitors, we asked "What do you feel The Old Lookout Gallery brings to Broadstairs?" Here are some of the most common responses:

- Culture.
- A chance for artists / students to show work to a wider audience.
- Broadstairs history /  appreciation of historic building / historic qualities.
- Curiosity / Interest.
- Brings an artistic element to Broadstairs.
- Something different to do / something non-seasidey.
- Tourism.

And I couldn't resist posting up some of my favourite responses as well:
"A lovely view and a nice stop on the way to chips." (Clearly someone after my own heart!)
"Mind food."
"Better than Turner Museum."
"It is a different world."
"A space for transcendence."
"...a chance to exercise my brain."

In contrast, we also asked visitors "Please provide any further comments or suggestions about how to improve The Old Lookout Gallery." I found that actually, only about half of people wrote a genuine suggestion for things to improve, with lots of people writing many more lovely things instead. Again, here are the most common responses:

- More advertising / publicity.
- Better signage / bigger sign at bottom of stairs.
- Don't change it! / Keep it as it is! / It's great as it is!
- More exhibitions.
- Tidy up / clean up inside.

And once again, how could I not put up some of my favourites?
"Sing sea shanties!"
"Keep the faith."
"Tilt it another few degrees!"
"A lovely lovely place full of niceness!"

It's been lovely to take part in this research project over the summer, not least for the chance to speak to and spend time with lots of fantastic and creative people. I hope this interesting and artistic community continues to grow over many more years. It's been a pleasure.

Artist in Residence Week 12 - Magz Hall.

In the final week of 2013's summer season, The Old Lookout welcomed Magz Hall with her sound installation exhibition Radio Recall. As Magz describes in her statement for the project, "Radio Recall is a community interaction and micro broadcast", which began on the Friday of her residency with a recording workshop for members of the public. The aim was to both teach volunteers how to use recording equipment and also to gather a series of interviews from local people. Magz was interested in hearing people's memories of listening to the radio: their first memories of radio; the shows they listen to now; how their listening habits have changed; and what kind of radios they use. Many of the interviews were incredibly nostalgic; not only for the interviewee but for members of the public listening to them afterwards. The sound pieces were then edited by Magz, and broadcast into The Old Lookout using FM through a selection of vintage radios, old and new. Now normally I would post lots of photographs documenting the exhibition to describe it better than I can with my rambly words. I did take some photos, but seeing as this was predominantly a sound exhibition, I've made a little video to show the visual set-up alongside some of the audio from the exhibition.

Magz with one of the project's contributors, after having recorded his radio memories.

On the first days of the exhibition, only one interview was playing at a time, with all the pieces on around a 30 minute loop. This was playing from only 1 radio, all all the others mainly just for visual effect. However, when I went back a second time, Magz had decided to use a multi-channel system, with several different voices speaking at once. This used almost all of the radios that had been donated, unifying the visual and aural aspects of the exhibition. I found that when it was just one voice, it was much easier to understand what was being said. It lent itself more to visitors sitting down, relaxing and staying in the gallery for a long time, so as to hear all the interviews. When all of the radios were being used, there was a much richer, multi-layered sound. This provided more interest when considering the waves of voices, the fading in and out of interviews. Because of the way the channels were staggered, sometimes there would be only 1 voice, with others cutting in and out at various points, which created a more diverse atmosphere. Whichever way the piece was presented, it certainly created a very nostalgic feeling, with people fondly looking back to their childhood memories of radio.
In terms of the public's reaction, it seemed to me that once people understood the nature of the show, and spent a bit of time with it, they definitely did become engaged with the work. Magz did note that several people seemed to be confused about the exhibition, perhaps not quite coming to terms with the fact that the art on show was actually aural rather than visual. There were a few "I thought there was an exhibition here?" questions, but Magz was good at explaining the nature of the exhibition and directing them to a statement which gave all the details. However, in terms of numbers, Magz was happy with the steady footfall, comparing it to her previous exhibitions here and suggesting that it felt like there was a much more regular stream of visitors this year. This may have been helped by the good weather this weekend, but to have more visitors than last year is a good thing nevertheless.
This was Magz's third exhibition here at The Old Lookout, all contributing towards research for her PhD. Each of the exhibits had a very different visual identity, and unfortunately she did say that she felt that this year's was the least visually striking. She said she wished she had had more time and help in hanging the radios around the gallery in order to make the look of the exhibition as interesting as the sound. She also felt this would have been helped by having better plinths, and perhaps other ways of hanging work in the gallery. This included giving the space in the roof a bit of a de-clutter, in order to utilise this space better. Like some of the other exhibitors this year, Magz did say that she would prefer not to have to be in the gallery every day, and would have been happy leaving the exhibition with someone else on some of the quieter days. She said she did meet some really interesting people, and enjoyed the interaction, but found the day to day looking after of the work a bit tiring. She also agreed that opening at 10am is a bit too early, and being there at 11am would be preferable in the future.
Overall, Magz told me that she always appreciates how the space can be used for experimentation. There were a few issues with the tuning of the radios, given the notoriously unpredictable Broadstairs reception. However, she said that she quite enjoyed the elements of chance and not knowing quite what to expect. It also gave her the opportunity to test out the technology she is going to be using for a larger exhibition in Canterbury next year, as well as getting feedback on the work from the general public. Although it seemed that several people weren't particularly acquainted with the term 'sound art', it struck me that once they understood the concept of the exhibition, they really did engage with the nostalgic sentiments it encouraged.

Artist in Residence Week 11 - Andrew M Butler

In the penultimate week of the summer season we welcomed seasoned Old Lookout exhibitor Andrew M Butler with his exhibition Walkstares. Andrew has exhibited at the gallery every year since its opening, so knows how the space works very well. His exhibition provided an opportunity to show the results of a project Andrew has undertaken over the summer, involving walking all around the Isle of Thanet and photographing something at every mile along the way. The structured nature of the project was reflected in the way the images were hung, exhibited in the order they were taken and all at the same height along the walls of The Lookout. Andrew knew from experience that he didn't want to use frames because of the reflections caused by the windows. He therefore hung the printed images using bulldog clips and string, a simple and effective way to demonstrate the nature of the project.

Andrew had shot this project specifically for display in this setting, he noted that he had wanted to do the walk for a while and making this site specific exhibition had provided the opportunity to show his work. I personally relish the way the project has clearly come full circle, with the images starting and ending with a view of The Lookout, and now being exhibited in the same location. It demonstrates the clear local influence in the project, which again I feel really works in this space. Andrew also included a map of Thanet in the exhibition, giving viewers an idea of the kind of distance walked. He also suggested that he would have liked to have marked his route out on a map, but just didn't have time to do it in the end. There was also an interactive element, where visitors can select from a series of images from the Turner and Dickens walk and put them into frames, creating a mini exhibition and bringing another element to the show. For me, the structure and consistency of the images and hanging created a simple, relaxed and meditative atmosphere within the gallery.
Throughout the exhibition, Andrew noted that people seemed to get hooked into the images - once they recognised one location they became more engaged with the whole exhibition. He wanted there to be something in each of the images that pricks the viewer, something noticeable and interesting. The selection and hanging process clarified themes within the project for Andrew, things that he hadn't noticed at the time of shooting the project. The symmetry of repeated imagery such as towers and signs really came out once the photographs were printed and hung. He mentioned that his main aim was to get lost in the landscape, exploring it in a different way. By enforcing restrictions on the way he was shooting a fresh way of looking at the environment was encouraged.
In terms of feedback about the running of the gallery, Andrew did note that we might need to have a look at doing a bit more marketing. He suggested that it might be a good idea to look into contacting some of the listings pages in newspapers, as well as checking up on what we currently have at the tourist information stand in Broadstairs. This could also include leaving leaflets in public buildings around the town, including the library and at the station. He did mention that he noticed a decrease from the last few years in people who solely come up to look at the view out of the window, which could suggest that more people are actually aware of the building's use than in previous years. However, Andrew also suggested that some people who visited were unclear about the fact that exhibitions change on a weekly basis, with some asking about last week's and even the week before's exhibits. He also agreed that perhaps putting the opening times back an hour could be beneficial, but keeping the schedule of days of hang and tear down the same, as this means that each artist gets a clear run over the weekend.
Andrew agreed that the building should always remain a rustic and informal space, as it can help to create a more relaxed atmosphere. He also mentioned that he relished the feedback form the public, and also being able to see a project through to fruition. For me this project had probably the strongest local influence, which worked perfectly when exhibited in this location. I also feel that visitors really responded to being able to recognise locations in the images, and became engaged in the entire series. It was lovely to see the influence The Old Lookout had on the shaping of the project, and how it had come full circle back to the location where Andrew's first and last images of the series had been taken.