Scott’s dramatic composition is thus intimately linked to the particular history of a particular place, yet its metaphoric dimensions have a far broader resonance. Empire-building, the voyage of discovery, the exchange of goods and ideas: all are implied here, as are the respect for individual human existence and the faith in progress that emerged from the Enlightenment. In this context, the English word “lifeboat” has particular resonance. As does the pier referred to in the title of Scott’s painting. Reaching outward from the known and secure mainland toward the dangerous depths of the sea, the pier is a place of encounter, of arrival and departure, of commerce and – not least of all – of cultural exchange. It is thus no coincidence that the former Customs House is now a multipurpose cultural center, housing both a theater and an art gallery.

It was here that six Wuppertal artists arrived in the Spring of this year with their “Art:Box,” a crate measuring one cubic meter and containing raw materials for the first of a projected series of cross-cultural exchanges. (On arrival, the crate was ceremonially photographed standing on the pier.) As Wuppertal’s oldest sister city, South Tyneside was chosen for the inaugural exhibition, which has now led to a joint presentation by Germany’s “sixpack” group and four of their British counterparts in Wuppertal. In theory, at least, this ingenious “ART:BOX” initiative will foster exchanges with other sister cities in Israel, Slovakia, France, Poland and Nicaragua. This ambitious undertaking has its roots, in turn, in an international project developed in 2000 with the late Peter Kowald under the title “Crossing Borders.”

When Wuppertal’s first partnership agreement was drawn up in 1951, it was with the city of South Shields. South Tyneside was not incorporated until 1974 and thus observes its 30th anniversary this year, just as Wuppertal has now celebrated its 75th. Both, then, are comparatively young, “consolidated” cities – one of the few obvious similarities linking an English port on the North Sea and a landlocked former textile capital in Germany. That the old harbor of South Shields was important for the textile industry in northern England is not without relevance.

Wuppertal’s goodwill ambassadors invited their colleagues to lift the lid of their “ART:BOX” and take a look within. Among the works it contained were six portraits lining the six-sided transport crate; in his own style and medium, each artist had created a portrait of one of his colleagues, thus introducing the group to its English counterparts. What followed was a creative dialogue and a process of exchange that furthers the original intention of the Wuppertal-South Shields partnership agreement. Very much in the postwar spirit, it first took the form of a youth exchange, and in addition to the immense organizational problems of travel documents and transport, the partners were confronted by the lack of adequate housing. South Shields had been heavily damaged by German bombers, while one-third of Wuppertal’s inhabitants lived in emergency housing or bunkers. Nonetheless, the first exchanges took place in the summer of 1951. “ART:BOX” carries on that spirit of initiative and dialogue, reminding us at the same time of the remarkable ability of art and artists to cross frontiers. To lift the lid.

David Galloway