The current focus of my research is the Studio as a Safe Space. For the first time I am bringing together my art practice and my teaching experience to comment on the nature of the studio and its nurturing and protective qualities for those who use it. It also questions whether world events and homegrown tensions impact on the safety of this space
I am exploring the concept of the art studio as a ‘safe space’ within university education, drawing on art practice, pedagogic experience, and student collaboration.
I am using my own projects:
Objects for A Studio: which explores how the psychologically charged space of the studio conditions the work made within it.
GLINT: Which considers the studio a mindset, rather than room
Train Studio: which values the preciousness of this space
...to inform my own reflection on this creative environment and consider it from the perspective of the fine art student.
My research examines the tensions between comfort and challenge, protection and provocation, and the different ways students engage with their creative environments. Using practice-based inquiry and reflective documentation.
I view the studio as not simply a neutral site for production, but a conceptual, psychological, and social structure shaped by the identities and needs of those who use it.
This research will involve a series of workshops, presentations and papers on the subject.
