Art Exhibition Wednesday 22nd November, Subway Fast Food Joint, Hastings Sussex Coast College, 1pm

‘Seize the Sub’

Art Exhibition Private View at Subway Chain in Sussex Coast College,

Wednesday 21^st November 2012

Curator’s Talk 1:00 meet in the foyer of Sussex Coast College

‘I TAKE MY DESIRES FOR REALITY BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES.’ (Slogan first used by the Enragés in 1968)

‘If man is formed by circumstances, then these circumstances must be formed by man.’ Marx

If all the factors conditioning us are co-coordinated and unified by the structure of the college, then the question of mastering our own experience becomes one of mastering the conditioning inherent in the college and revolutionizing its use. This is the context within which we can begin, experimentally, to create our own immediate experience. And so today we reclaim the space, the gallery-turned-retail outlet becomes the retail outlet-turned-gallery.

Tour Guide in Subway

 

Opened in November 2009, the new college has been designed to create a ‘progressive, best-in-class learning environment, which underpins the economic regeneration of Hastings and Rother. The scheme has cost an impressive 120 million pounds.

 In the words of the college, this expense aims to serve the learning and skills of the 21st Century.

As part of the vision, mission aims and values of the college, (‘to harness talent and potential, and nurture a positive culture of innovation and creativity’), students and staff were promised a space where they would be able to showcase their work and exhibit the work of visiting artists.

HERE is that space (stand outside Subway)

As you can see, it was later decided that replacing the art gallery with a subway fast food outlet might develop the branded theme of the interior architecture, and accentuate the new college ethos: one which values commercial interest over student wellbeing.

This derision on the part of the college alumni acts as a powerful insight into the way modern education is operated today: as a fast food business. If the college is not prepared to put students first, then perhaps we must intervene to put education before eating habits, and re-consume the space as a place for creative learning.