SITE SPECIFIC ENQUIRIES
Enquiries about buildings fascinate me for all of their complexity. Buildings are emotive subjects; one person’s inspiring ruin is another person’s maddening dilapidation. There are often many varied stakeholders connected to buildings- a mixture of personal and professional interests, pragmatic and sentimental attachments. Buildings are canvases onto which people map their ideas, values and memories, which is why enquiries around buildings require open-mindedness and sensitivity. I have worked on several projects that focus specifically on buildings and their inhabitants/neighbourhoods. I find that creativity helps to open channels of productive discussion, creates space for multiple perspectives, elicits important stories and inspires imaginative solutions.
Example projects
2016- The Wedgwood Institute
Working for the UK Historic Buildings Preservation Trust (formerly the Prince’s Regeneration Trust) I conducted a series of creative consultations with local residents about the future of The Wedgwood Institute, a landmark building in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. I used a number of techniques to elicit discussion, including performance, games and installations. The results were communicated to the Trust to inform their plans.
2017- Stoke-on-Trent Artist at Work
A residency at the ACAVA Spode Studios in Stoke-on-Trent, where I collaborated with site users to look into the the labour of local artists, how they spent their time, and what the results were. I launched an artists census in which hundreds of local artists contributed, and which was taken on by artists in Margate in the following year. An exhibition at Spode captured a snapshot of the creative culture of Stoke-on-Trent at a time that felt vital for the redevelopment of the city, as it vied for the UK City of Culture title.
2022- ongoing The Ballroom
Ongoing work with Restoke at their arts venue The Ballroom at Fenton Town Hall, Stoke-on-Trent. Over the next 5 years I will be working with Restoke to understand and document the effects that The Ballroom has on the local community and the city at large. This includes working with participants, audiences and other building users. Methods of documentation are still evolving.
“This exhibition combines two elements which, in my opinion, are incredibly hard to execute well: community based art and documentary. This exhibition handles both in an interesting and insightful way.”
