Interviews, publicity material and reports concerning the group Action Space

Action Space were a pioneering community arts group aiming to bring art and the public closer together through a variety of media and community projects. This collection includes copy of an interview with the group, a prospectus and other publicity material, a progress report and extracts from a diary.

This is a summary catalogue of the archive. For the full version please visit https://archive.tate.org.uk/advanced.aspx?this=CalmView.Catalog and search using the reference 'TGA 703'.

Action Space was formed in 1968 with the objective of bringing artists and the public into closer contact, and to develop more relevance, integration and understanding between them. The group worked as a flexible association of artists working in the commmunity through education, play, drama, sound and art to reach its objective. The group centered around an administrative nucleus responsible for transport, offices, equipment and support for the projects and programmes in operation. Projects were run or presented by Action Space, and were self-initiated or by request. During the 1970s prominent members of the group included Ken Turner, Mary Turner, Alan Nisbet and Richard Harper. Action Space developed as a pioneering community arts group and from their 'environmental' roots, began to work with people with learning disabilities in institutions. In 1984 Peter Shelton and Caroline Bagnall re-established Action Space as a charity aiming to integrate art activities for people with learning disabilities into the mainstream and to raise the profile of disability issues through the arts. A focus of the group now became working with people outside of institutions. Action Space works with the community and people with learning disabilities and exhibits their art. For example, 'Exposed' an exhibition reflecting the lives of young people with disabilities in London, held at the Oxo Gallery in 2001.