Welcome to the Leisure Centre

Leisure Centre is an artists magazine, produced on an occassional basis. Each issue contains artists responses to a theme.

You can take a look in the archive section
And contact us at poolside@leisurecentre.org.uk

Leisure Centre Q&A
Why is it called Leisure Centre?
Why did you start it?
Why does it look like it looks?
What's in it?

Why is it called Leisure Centre?
I liked the idea of the magazine being identified with a space, a place to play, for both its contributors, perhaps playing away from their regular practice, and for its readers. I’m interested in leisure and how we amuse ourselves. Leisure is quite a decedent idea and I like the concept of the elegant pursuit, yet the ubiquitous leisure centre is a proletarian venue of functionality (and dysfunctionality), smelling of chlorine and hot fat. I think of the leisure centre as a suburban phenomenon, which reflects the focus of the magazine, it is decidedly non-metropolitan and its themes, such as Tears in the Tea Tent: The Summer Fete Edition, reflect this, as do the locations where many of its contributors come from. This said, Leisure Centre is an outward looking publication, I don’t mean to turn my back on the capital, being non-metropolitan is to do with a certain attitude rather than a geographical location. While many fanzines have punkish roots, Leisure Centre likes to quietly acknowledge that Punk isn’t the only self organizing DIY movement, preferring to look towards the homemade aesthetic and ethos found in the parish newsletter, the WI market, the school magazine and of course the fine tradition of DIY itself (the B&Q variety). Back to top

Why did you start it?
Lesiure Centre was a long time coming, I must have been talking about it for 18 months before the first issue actually came out. I was really inspired by a visit to Glasgow, where I saw so much artist led activity taking place, at the time I was working at Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth setting up and running an artists’ resource centre. This role put me in contact with so many artists who were doing fantastic, critically engaged work the region, however it also made me aware of the lack of active artists networks. I really wanted to do something which would create a bit of excitement about what was going on in this area and the first issue consisted of work by artists all based in the South East region together with two reviews of exhibitions in the area. Since then contributions to the magazine have come from all over the UK and elsewhere, I think Leisure Centre is an important tool for creating a network of contacts for myself and all the other contributors and readers. Back to top

Why Does it look the way it looks?
Leisure Centre started as an A6 photocopied sheet with elements of hand colouring. Its now an A5 pamphlet with a cardboard cover. I really enjoy the parish newsletter aesthetic, the photocopied pamphlet. I also like the small format, the idea that it can be carried around to be brought out whenever you have a spare five minutes.Back to top

What's in it?
The content and tone of Leisure Centre was inspired by the Saturday Book a handsome publication produced annually between 1941-1975. It contained a selection of miscellaneous writings, stories, pictures and facts. I think the idea was that you could while away your idle hours with it on a Saturday, the copy I have from 1959, has sections entitled Elegant Recreations and Domestic Diversions.
Each issue of Leisure Centre consists of artists responses to a theme. The themes so far have been; Games, Geography, Summer Fetes, Ruination, Desire, Mass Observation, Weather and Hand- written. Responses have been both humorous and serious and have included: origami paper and instructions, a haiku, a postcard, writings, drawings, reports, fictions, sound recordings, photographs, maps and a list of places with slightly rude names. Back to top

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