“Music venues are the engine of the creative industries”: lessons from the graphic ephemera of our lost clubs and pubs

It’s Nice That (INT): What was the primary inspiration for curating a display about lost music venues right now?

Harriet Reed (HR): The display was primarily inspired by the threat to music venues during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. It felt important for the V&A to celebrate venues’ cultural contribution at a time when many were under threat of closure, taking the opportunity to explore the wider story of their evolution from the 1980s.

INT: The display covers a wide variety of topics, from how music venues look, sound and feel to how councils and negotiate with music venues. What was the process like of conceptually atomising everything about lost music venues and magnifying those individual elements for visitors?

HR: We wanted to make sure that the display was a celebration not a memorialisation; that while the very serious issues which venues face are acknowledged, they don’t detract from the overall message of cultural recognition. We wanted to include as many as possible from across the UK, from small gig venues in Newport to nightclubs in Belfast. Most importantly we wanted visitors to understand how these spaces work, why they are important, and to be inspired to support their local one!

INT: What did you borrow from real life music venues to give the display at the V&A the feeling of being inside a long-lost gig spot?

HR: The display was designed by Misty Buckley, with her associate Laura Woodroffe, our graphic designer Raissa Pardini, sound designer Stewart Baxter, AV designers NorthHouse, lighting designer DHA Design and a team of scenic artists, who managed to transform our gallery into a club/venue. Some of the items which form part of the build were supplied by venues, like the disco ball which has been lent to us by the Pioneer Club in St Albans, and the photocopied set lists sent in by the former promoter of The Square in Harlow – which adds a nice layer of authenticity!

INT: Venues are more than just sites of famous gigs, of course, they are places for strangers to connect for a few precious hours. How do you find that the posters and design of music venues provided that sacred place?

HR: Venues provide valuable space for strangers to meet, to make new connections and discover new identities. Particularly after dark, there is an element of escapism and of freedom of expression which does create a sacred space. No matter how small or humble, if the design reflects the venue’s ethos and artistic intent, it will make people feel welcome. Of course, venues can still be exclusionary, and many artists and collectives have had to respond to these barriers by creating their own spaces.

It’s Nice That: How important is it to preserve the history of music venues? (Especially politically!)

HR: Music venues are the engine of the creative industries – they nurture talent, form local identities and are important places to explore, learn about and experience performance, music, fashion and other forms of art. To lose the history of music venues would be to lose a vital piece of the UK’s cultural heritage – and make it easier to forget why they are still important today.

It’s Nice That: You didn’t want the display to feel all doom and gloom though – it's true, many music venues were and are turned to rubble, but there's still hope for the live music landscape, how did you choose to represent that?

HR: To make sure the focus of the display ends on an active note, and to encourage visitors to find out about live music near them, we developed an interactive with our AV designers NorthHouse. It takes the format of a short quiz and will match you up with your ideal venue – from a choice of Band on the Wall in Manchester, Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast, Le Pub in Newport, the Windmill in London or SWG3 in Glasgow. Of course, not all our visitors will live near these places, so we encourage them to use Music Venue Trust’s gig guide to find a similar space near them. We hope this fun call-to-action reminds visitors of the hundreds of venues which are thriving today.