Mila Askarova, Founder & CEO of Gazelli Art House
In conversation with Mila Askarova, founder and CEO of Gazelli Art House, Baku delves into the inception and evolution of art spaces that bridge the creative landscapes of London and the Azeri capital. Askarova tells us how she curates themes tailored to overlapping audiences in each location.
Baku: What was your initial vision with the inception for Gazelli Art House?
Mila Aaskarova: In 2010 we registered the gallery here in London and in 2011 we did 4 pop up shows which were all curatorially interlinked. The idea was to have each of these shows introduce the next, beginning a gallery’s life with the ending of these pop-up shows, with the final show being in the space where we are now, which was, on a curatorial or conceptual level very interesting.
The vision was always to engage and mix a wide and diverse audience and focus on showing artists regardless of where they’re from, which mediums they use, what their background story is, be it traditionally trained as artists or otherwise. We sought to find talent that taps into certain social issues that strike a deeper chord in a way with what they do and see how we can support them on a commercial level. Within the program and throughout time, it has been integral for us to get an educational program together with talks, panel discussions often tying to the exhibition itself but making it, again, more than just an artist talk that we are exhibiting. So as a result, over the years, we’ve built a certain audience and because the programming from day one has been quite diverse, we tapped into different pockets of people living in London and visiting London.
Baku gallery came into play in 2012, when we opened in London, we opened a space in Baku straight away. And for the first few years it was mirroring the programme here (London). But then in 2014/15, we expanded the space out there to what is it in its current state since 2016. For the first, two years in the lead up to COVD, the gallery started featuring more Azeri artists, becoming more local. And as of last year, we started looking at ways of how to bring the two galleries together.
So now what we’re working on is a show over the two spaces, London and Baku for the first time, which would first open in London, beginning of October, and then open beginning of November in Baku, that will hopefully bridge the two spaces together.
Baku: How do you split and explore the stories, themes and artists between the two galleries across London and Baku?
MA: I think it was mainly driven through the program with curatorial direction, but with artists, because it’s so different to London in terms of not only on the market level, but just generally audiences wise, different in a sense of it’s more, I can’t say more engaged, but there’s definitely a good healthy footfall that we have in Baku for shows. And there are quite a few, exhibitions that we could put on, artists that we can show who not only haven’t been shown in the region before, but also could showcase some kind of interesting mediums. For example, the digital, I’m thinking that’s something else we’re trying to put together, a show of digital artists out there, which isn’t really tapped into yet in Baku on a commercial level or an exhibition level.
I think there’s just more opportunities out there (Baku). So when thinking about which of the artists to show there, a few things come into play, mainly if there’ll be a connection locally. Because we have such a wide range of artists we work with, there’s also an opportunity to merge the two and be quite playful, not have such strict, not programming, but strict boundaries, of what to show out there just because it fits within a certain taste or ideas that they might have there be a bit more daring even. I think bringing more like Azeri or regional artists to London also requires its own kind of strategy.
Kalliopi Lemos & Nancy Atakan, ‘A State of Acceptance’, Gazelli Art House Baku 2023-2024
Baku: Yes exactly – they’re two very different cities and galleries or curators want to address a certain issue or have a certain theme and, and these would differ depending on the geography you are in.
MA: Exactly. On the commercial level, you have to be quite consistent with what you’re showing and be able to bear the costs of the first show that might not work, but the second, the third show people might start recognising the name. And what’s been interesting to see is while it takes a bit of time to build on the exposure in the market for specifically Azeri artists here, it doesn’t mean that they’re unknown back in Baku.
So, often what happens is artists who’ve got already an existing market or are fairly known back in Azerbaijan, it doesn’t translate yet outside the country and here they would still be regarded as emerging.
And again, we’ve got to be almost close to certain that we want to do this on a longer term basis, that it’s not just a one show – we’re committed.
Matteo Zamagni, Refracted Bodies, Gazelli Art House London 2023
Baku: It has to work like a reoccurring loop, with each show you have a much bigger pool to choose from with bigger ideas, and much bigger stakes too. Is there some kind of reoccurring theme or curiosity that you follow or would want to explore or wish you had explored earlier?
MA: We started our Gazell.io digital residency in 2015. It’s actually in July, that we will have our 100th digital resident artist. The idea back then was to start connecting with artists we wouldn’t necessarily yet show at the gallery and then see what can come out of these connections. Over the years, we’ve built a community of artists working in digital mediums with anything from VR, AR to gameable environments, immersive environments, anything non-traditional. It was exciting for me to explore how we can use the gallery’s infrastructure with the physical space to support artists who aren’t working in those traditional styles.
So the idea was always how to build a sustainable market, so we’ve got our own ecosystem where we occasionally have collections released and sold via this marketplace.
We, have done a few partnerships with other marketplaces and platforms and it’s something that started its own life as well, Gazell.io. So it’s still considered as the digital arm, but I think predominantly it’s the residency, which is important for us to continue and to nurture these contacts and connections that are already there with artists.
Gazelli Art House, London, 10th Year Anniversary Edition of Window Project, 2022
Baku: We also saw that you do something called the Window Project that you started in 2015. Is this something that you continue to do?
MA: We launched the Window Project at the time of the London 2012 Olympics, and we have committed to it, doing it mainly three times a year and it is usually tied in with what we are doing at the gallery. That, again, has its own story, its own potential. We developed the program over the years to feature some overlooked and mid-career artists and still some young artists as well. But it’s more historical now, despite this digital focus.
The galleries program is slightly different to what it was back when we just started. It was a way for us to keep on top of what’s going on, on the alumni, and recent graduate level. It developed into partnering with schools – schools would do their open calls and an external selection committee that we put together consisting of a collector, curator and critic would judge and select who would take over the windows from the 10 artists we have shortlisted. It’s been a good way for us to connect with the schools and with these alumni who would love the opportunity to be displayed in the middle of Mayfair, showcasing a project of theirs that has been selected. So it worked in every direction, and we are planning on continuing it, hopefully in the next year, next autumn.
Baku: As an art collector yourself, how do you differentiate between the art that you select and collect for yourself and the art that you showcase in your galleries and art spaces?
MA: I actually had issues with collecting myself when I just started because I always thought, you know, if I like an artist that I would like to buy a work of, then why am I not working with them at the gallery? And vice versa. It felt like a kind of not conflict of interest and didn’t feel like the right thing to do to actually collect the works of the artists that were shown at the gallery. But then it changed over the years when I met my husband, who was already a collector and we started collecting together, not massively, but every now and then if we see something interesting which is exactly when I stopped thinking about how does that work with the gallery and I finally was able to separate it. We currently buy some works of the artists that we show and I no longer see it as a conflict or issue, whatever issue that I had with it. And then we would buy works that are from other galleries at auction.
Baku: And what is the selection process for the different locations? In London and Baku, do you only select from artists in those respective geographies?
MA: It’s a mix. I think we started off with bringing international artists into Baku more so than now. I think Baku has great potential to showcase and support artists locally to begin with and build out their market, their exposure, their work.
And then London can come in to support that further down the line through London than the rest of Europe, the rest of the West kind of thing. So I think it makes more sense for Baku to focus on local or even regional audience and artists.
And then once there’s some kind of development and success basically in that, then it slowly builds out. But I think it’s good to mix as well. It’s good to mix and just again, use the London’s outreach, London’s program, London’s artists to show in Baku for the first time.
There’s definitely advantages with both for Baku gallery to support both local and international artists as well. We try to keep it open.
Recycle Group, Sapient Installation, Gazelli Art House London, 2023
Baku: Where do you see the artistic and creative landscape of London or Baku changing or going right now, and in the future?
MA: In London, because of the import, export, the shipping issues, I think that would probably impact artists working here in terms of the materials they use – I’m always conscious large scale sculptures.
Baku: We had a conversation with a a sculptor who uses a specific glaze, that you can only find in Germany, and although there used to be a warehouse that would stock it, it’s currently very difficult to get it shipped into the UK due to supply chain and cost issues.
MA: That’s it, exactly. So I think this will probably impact the artists working with more physical things, more I guess on a sculptural, I guess, installation level. So maybe it will be a bit more localized.
I guess in Baku, the same thing. Not many artists can afford to have shipped material into Azerbaijan for their work. There’s really no one operating on that level yet.
So I think these things impact what they produce, but digital probably will be a bit more of a thing. It is already, but in most conversations we have with the artists who aren’t yet working in the digital space…the digital side of things always seeps in.
Let’s see how this autumn goes. The show that goes over the two spaces has a quite a big environmental topic attached to it – just because we want to do something for COP29 as well. We haven’t done anything on the environment before, not so open, not so committed, in a group and thematic sense. I’m curious what we can find through that – as for us it will be a matter of finding artists that can dig a bit deeper considering this would not be the first show that is dedicated to the environmental crisis. For us, It’s how do you move that conversation forward through the artworks, through the artists that are part of the show.
Baku: There are so many moving parts when addressing a certain theme. Do you think it’s an integral aspect of running a gallery or being a curator to address or provoke certain conversations? And, do you think artists carry this responsibility as well?
MA: Yes, for sure, we need to, I think it’s interesting to, again, use this space as much as we can to have these conversations and to see what can come out of it. As for the artists – I think so, but it depends on the artist. There are some artists who are interested in particular topics and address these throughout their work, however others focus more on materials and creating something of aesthetic value and meaning. Our galleries tend to work with artists that have something more to say than purely the aesthetic value.
Baku: Do you think that art in that respect should always have a deeper meaning beyond aesthetic presentation?
MA: I don’t think it needs to always have a meaning and I don’t think if it has a meaning, it means it’s necessarily good.
I think it’s sometimes just an emotional reaction, right? And it could be different for the viewer than what the artist event wanted to say.
www.gazelliarthouse.com
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