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Prefigurative feminist practices of democratic city–making: learning from socialist feminism and the Greater London Council (GLC)
No full textThis chapter explores feminist politics in architecture and urbanism through a focus on democratic practices of shaping the built environment. It follows the UK–based socialist feminists Sheila Rowbotham, Hilary Wainwright and Lynne Segal, in their work Beyond the Fragments and their entry into the radical municipalism of the 1980s Greater London Council (GLC). It describes the ethos of the feminist organizing of the women’s consciousness – raising groups and their emphasis on prefigurative practices. The chapter introduces two key cases: the Popular Planning Unit and their work with communities in developing an alternative plan for the London Royal Docks, and the GLC Women’s Committee, who were able to develop an alternative infrastructure of support for otherwise marginalized populations to shape the city. The chapter situates the power of socialist feminist prefigurative practices in acting within and against the state, specifically in the context of the contemporary neoliberal city and more recent municipalist movements. The chapter argues that in practicing a more equal and decentralized politics and developing self-recognition and constitution as collective subjects, municipal feminist work remains relevant today for those seeking more democratic ways of making and sustaining the city
Knowledge absorption and innovation in UK SMEs: a study by economic sector and place
Full text linkThis study focusses on knowledge absorption in SMEs and their abilities to develop innovations. It does so by examining SMEs in three different economic sectors, namely, manufacturing, high-tech and services. In doing so it provides one of the first comparative studies of SMEs within these different sectors. It also examines variations by place and compares the performance of SMEs across four distinct places within the UK. The research is based around both a quantitative analysis of firm performances followed by a detailed in-depth qualitative study. Our results focussed on the stages of knowledge transfer from acquisition, assimilation, through to the transformation and exploitation of knowledge. The findings draw attention to the significance. of management practices within SMEs and recognised the importance of open innovation. The study indicates that place alone does not play a key role, compared with the industry sector
Ūdens Māte (Mother of Water)
No full textDelving into the rich history of Riga's waterways and focusing on a tributary of the Daugava River in the Sarkandaugava district, a site infamous for the submerging of women accused of witchcraft during the 16th Century, Ūdens Māte explores concepts around speculative past, present and futures.
Using water as co-collaborator, ecotones as a space of unexpected encounters and the diatom* as a metaphor for magical transformation, Ūdens Māte is a meditation on water. Water as life-giving. Water as storytelling. Water as archive. Water as remembrance.
Reimagining the site at Sarkandaugava as a source of enchantment and feminine power, and conceptualizing water as an entity that has the possibility to unite human and other-than-human, the installation invited viewers to reflect on the intersection of myth, science, ecology and the female experience through the lens of Hydrofeminism.
* microscopic algae made of glass. Research was enriched by interdisciplinary collaboration with the Hydrobiology team at the University of Latvia, with a particular focus on Gomphonema diatoms that bear a distinct relation to female forms.
Presented at the Sculpture Quadrennial Festival in Riga, Latvia in August 2024.
Originally envisioned as three site-specific large-scale female-shaped, diatom-like glass sculptures floating in water, the project took a different form due to available funding. Thanks to the creative vision of the festival's curator, Kristiana Karklina, our initial idea was transformed into an opening night swimming performance that perfectly captured the essence of the festival's theme 'What Would Not Have Been'. Dancers Anna Bubovica, Ksenija Simanova, Glorija Spisa and Dana Zvonareva embodied our unrealized sculptures in the waters of the Daugava River. Musical improvisation by Sarme Gabrena created a magical sonorous layer, turning the performance into a dialogue between diatom-like movement, sound, and the shimmering reflections on the waters surface. The performance began on the deck of Noass Art Centre, with our installation of work showcased in the basement below, creating a powerful connection between the live performance and the final artwork
Slices of Peace
Full text link‘Slices of Peace’ is the outcome of British-Nigerian artist and designer Yinka Ilori’s (MBE) tenure as Kings Hill’s Artist in Residence. The sculpture is a one-of-a-kind apple formed of different colours and patterns, designed to reference Kent's rich history of apple growing. Large enough for people to gather inside, the sculpture allows for people to come together as a community. The sculpture is also accompanied by the immersive soundscape, 'Freedom Sounds - Lift Every Voice', created by sound artist and musician Peter Adjaye.
Shaped by Futurecity, the artwork and residency programme was the result of a cultural partnership between Yinka Ilori, Liberty Property Trust, Kent County Council, Turner Contemporary, University for the Creative Arts, and of course, the residents of Kings Hill.
Supporting the overall project was AtelierUCA, a team of students and graduates who supported with public engagement, project documentation, and the development of the accompanying publication. They were also tasked with programming and curating the accompanying exhibition that opened alongside the Ribbon-Cutting / Launch Event for the sculpture on Friday 12th April 2024.
Overseen by their Project Manager Daniel Tollady, AtelierUCA was formed of 15 members from a variety of disciplines, including Architecture, Interior Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Photography and Fashion
Createch: peer-to-peer networking (P2P) and knowledge exchange (KE)
Full text linkThe report highlights the findings from research into P2PN Networking and Knowledge Exchange in Createch with a particular reference to sustainability. The research was delivered through the Createch P2P and KE projects that was funded by UKRI via the University for the Creative Arts, AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)
Working the land, painting the land: The Broomsquires of the Devils Punch Bowl
No full textPanel discussion, conference presentation, and exhibition.
Panel Title: An Intentional Material Practice.
As a smallholder and painter, I am interested in the educational value of working landscapes and lost traditions specifically here the Broomsquires of the heath who would live and work making besom brooms from the heather and birch found in the heathland at the Devils Punch Bowl, Surrey.
My practice led PhD research has seen me develop participatory activities picturing trees for wellbeing and education; ‘From Screen to Green, Re Connecting Children to Nature through the Picturing of Trees in the Narrative Non- Fiction Picturebook’.
Continuing to work in an autoethnographic approach working plein air through walks and large-scale painting. I hope to bring to life the immersive location and elements of ritual surrounding the Broomsquires. Making brushes and mark making devices through an attempt to rekindle the traditional besom broom craft. My current painting practice comes from a need and desire to reconnect with nature. As I have spent many years making images through a fractured process. Layered hand painted images compiled digitally due to the commercial requirements of freelance illustration work requiring changes and flexibility.
My research has led me to immerse myself in nature spending time to document specific places alongside the welcomed problem of creating more permanent images that are more ambitious in scale. I have found a liberation in this process of plein air/reportage documentation that picture the unique aspects and atmosphere of personal experiences moving away from more literal representations. The tools in which I use to further problematise this practice gives another rich sense of place.
By creating and facilitating an immersive experience I hope to counter the ‘nature deficit disorder’ outlined by Richard Louv in 2005 and practice what I preach ‘from screen to green.’
Establishing an experiential process ‘Painting the land.
Digital transformation for fashion and luxury brands: theory and practice
No full textThis book re-evaluates the diffusion and positioning of fashion and luxury brands following the impact and disruption of digital transformations, particularly on existing omni-channel models and touchpoints and consumer behaviours. By exploring the importance of digital transformation and discussing the benefits and challenges it has created for the fashion industry, this book provides insights into the role of various digital technologies, systems and strategies in generating and maintaining brand value and equity, customer engagement and experiences and connecting the marketplace and marketspace.
Chapters 2 and 16 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via Springer Link
An unfolding inquiry into the aesthetics of explicit nudity in 2D adult animation
Full text linkThis thesis examines how explicit imagery can be used in 2D adult animation content to create engaging, mature stories. The thesis argues that 2D animation provides unique aesthetical solutions and options to tell mature and engaging stories that live-action medium simply cannot.
This study employs autoethnographic methodology with a reflection practice diary and animation tests as two main methods to gather rich data. This research approach was chosen so that the researcher could experience first-hand how cultural programming and the pressure of the Judeo-Christian moral value system affect animators who set themselves on the goal of creating explicit animated content with sexual overtones.
The inquiry’s starting point is an examination of the animation medium’s relationship with explicit imagery, with a focus on the development and growth of the adult animation segment. This is followed by the analysis of aesthetical applications in various adult animation sub-segments. The thesis then examines examples of explicit animated imagery in non-sexual, erotic, and pornographic content through such aesthetical concepts as motion, colour, appeal, stylisation, and exaggeration.
Textual analysis with empirical evidence has revealed how (mentally and emotionally) challenging it is for an animator from the Western cultural sphere to produce explicit erotic content. The emotional stress was felt and long-lasting. However, research showed that this taboo could be broken, but it requires substantial time investment and a strong will. The findings from animation tests indicate how 2D animation can extract the essence of beauty from explicit nudity and sexual intercourse. Finally, the thesis demonstrates how 2D aesthetics can serve to create unique, mature stories. This thesis concludes with a conversation about why erotica needs animation and animation needs erotica
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN. A slightly mischievous practice
Full text linkMy pedagogic research stems from an ongoing interest in the progressive pedagogies of Ward and Fyson (1973), Illich (2011), Goodman (1971), Reimer (1973), Freire (2000) and Hooks (1994) that encourage ‘us’ to utilise the city as a place of learning and experimentation. City-as-school or in our case city-as-studio. This is exemplified through a long-standing Semester One studio brief, Wearable Architecture, where students are required to make a 1:1 enclosure. Up until recently, this was a collaborative endeavour between our BA(Hons) Architecture and Interior Architecture and Design students.
Educated beyond the confines of the University, this situated project provides students the opportunity to speculate and to play, to imagine the city as an extension of the interior, challenging the narrow definition of what the interior might be. Avoiding any explicit reference to the domestic, enables students regardless of discipline, to explore the connections across alternate spatial practices, the ‘anatomy’, idiosyncrasies and ‘temperament’ of our built environment, the consequence(s) of architecture.
To use the city as a testbed for contemporary spatial production, exploring; alternative or unorthodox forms of occupancy. To help inform constructions that might be considered, part model, part furniture, part interior, part garment and part architecture. Celebrating the exploration of the city through the performative and temporal, and being ‘slightly’ subversive, mischievous, disruptive and at moments absurd. Provoking students to engage with spatial design as agents of social, cultural, political, economic, and ecological change.
This photo-essay showcases some of the explorations from over the last three academic years, 2021 to 2023, which demonstrate that our First-Year students continue to produce work that is challenging and ambitious from the outset
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