The Secret Venue is based in, the working fishing village of Cockenzie, with its small harbours and beach’s being just 10 miles out of Edinburgh. As well as a working fishing village, it is also a home and has been for many artists such as, the great John Bellany (born in Cockenzie and painted here for many years), and of course, Andrew Crummy (Great Tapestry of Scotland etc.). It was also a regular gallery venue, in the much loved 3 Harbours Arts Festival, which ran for nearly 2 decades . The Secret Venue its self is lucky enough to be hidden in (the locally famous ‘Artists Street’) close to the wonderful historic Cockenzie house and gardens.
The Secret Venue emphasis is on conceptual but accessible art shows and performances. But that is, conceptual art that would not alienate viewer’s -no secret club perhaps, of conceptuality.
Since Corvid times, the gallery has been largely closed -as many were. Though there was a TSV virtual exhibition in 2021. Of late, I am proud to say The Secret Venue has reemerged as now a short TSV Film & Video label, with a surprising number of productions under its belt or in progress by end of that year!
How the name came about:
“When considering the small quirky two-roomed house at the bottom of our new garden and house. My first thoughts were to turn the down stairs into some kind of art room. But then it occurred to me, really I should share my good fortune and show my own -and other artists work perhaps. Shortly after, I met Andrew crummy, who inevitably encourage me to enter Three Harbours Festival as a venue, at which point I invited Gus Meechan to join me in the endeavour. But, as someone pointed out to me, this quirky art space was rather hidden away! -Which suggested, a secret place -so The Secret Venue came about, it was always my intention to be a bit different.”
Orange Blue is strangely beautiful and mysterious poetry, – spoken, and played.
But is it possible to even say what it is about? I must confess to initially struggling to find a way of elucidating, how do you explain that which is on the threshold of the inexplicable? -Then of course I realised the obvious –it’s the poetry its self that is the door.
Because in a way, I and you are all syllables in a landscape, as my poem ‘Syllable’ says. It talks to us about some deeper language of extra dimensions -so much more encompassing than everyday language. In fact, this other, always slightly beyond our grasp, this greater language -when we at last stop and listen on the beach, in the forest, the quiet street, seems more the real language of existence to us, it certainly feels so. It is in such moments, we soon realise, we our selves are syllables too, of this language.
Would that we could read it, we might find ourselves unifying as we could not before, where we are no longer such strangers to each other, and are all the more humanely civilised for it. As Richard Demarco contends with his essay and book ‘Road to Meikle Seggei’, We are all on roads paths to ‘Road to Meikle Seggei’ -just as we all artists of our own potential -where we are allowed to be, or can be. And just as Richard has shown in his intervention in war-shattered communities, art, as part of a manifestation of that language, can over arch divisions, even where religion, politics and science, can not reach.
And this is what Orange Blue is about at its heart –here, in a small way, to try and explore this mysterious and beautiful universal language. -And maybe bring a little more humane empathy between each other -and see where that may lead….
Carl John Barber
May 2017
