Blink and you'll miss it

Brisbane's BARI Festival is testament to the fact that there is a thriving network of artist-run initiatives in our city. Art spaces come in all shapes and sizes and offer the opportunity for emerging artists to gain the exposure they need to establish themselves and their careers. But besides offering Brisbane's emerging talent an opportunity to cut their creative teeth, what else do ARI's have to offer?

Due to the general nature of the ARI, being run by volunteers, supervised by committees and funded sporadically by government art grants and the occasional public donation, it can be difficult to secure a space at all. Boxcopy is an example of an ARI whose persistence has paid off with an enviable permanent location in the heart of Brisbane. That said, the space itself isn't much to look at.

If you don't know it's there, you're likely to walk straight past it. The only clue to the potential culture hidden there is the indie-looking coffee shop downstairs. Where there's coffee, there's culture (isn't there?). There is a sign on the building, but it's hardly a flashing neon. Blink, and you'll miss it. If you are keen-eyed enough to notice it, or are already aware of its existence and finally discover it after several minutes of standing on the street and looking around perplexed, you are likely to find yourself even more confused by the uninviting climb to the first floor. Tucked between a staircase to a yoga studio, and a solicitor's office, is a disused office space. Boxcopy were lucky to nab it – apparently none of the potential office tenants were too impressed, and it's not hard to see why.

boxcopy is right
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Once inside, it becomes evident that Boxcopy is just that – a box. A single room, with walls interrupted by waist-high panelling and a disused back door, don't entirely appear conducive to the curation of art. Although, the gallery supervisor-of-the-moment upon our visit did assure us that it was still a very versatile space, despite these setbacks. Judging by the evidence, I wasn't so sure.

The exhibition showing at the time of our visit featured the room darkened for a video-art display. 5 TV screens, all playing the same set of clips on and off, on a loop. Stand alone, the set of clips might have presented a strong conceptual narrative of the representation of iconic Australian characters and an analysis of the gender roles they fill and exclude. On five separate screens, all at once, the message was lost. As hard as I tried to listen to the gallery supervisor, I found the looping screens just became a messy distraction.

She'll Be Right Clark Beaumont 2012
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It's hard to comprehend how Boxcopy might set out to achieve its goal of offering exposure to young artists when the gallery itself is playing hide-and-seek. A less scathing review might have labelled it a 'hidden gem in the heart of Brisbane' but I'm honestly not so sure. It seems to contradict itself. You can't claim to be both a hidden gem and seeking to expose hidden talent. It's problematic. To truly fulfil such a mission statement, Boxcopy would need to expose itself more. A flashing neon sign would be a step in the right direction.