Expanded Studio Project

Primary Studios, Nottingham
PS2, Belfast

2019

The Expanded Studio Project was a 6 month collaborative initiative between Belfast based artists and artists based at Primary Studios, Nottingham. The aim of the project was to develop external relationships, exchange ideas and explore different modes of collaboration.T

he project was based on a pilot programme which ran between Primary Studios in Nottingham and Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge in 2014-15 where artists engaged in a period of dialogue and exchange over a four-month period.The challenge this time was to initiate and sustain collaboration across further geographical distance between England and Northern Ireland. In addition the Belfast participants were based across several different artists’ studios. (These include QSS- Queen Street Studios-, FLAX Studios, Array Studios, Creative Exchange Artists’ Studios, Pollen Studios and Vault Studios.

Through planned visits to each other’s cities and continued conversations and emails, artists began either ‘partnering up’ or discussing ways that they could come together in groups to find a way to work together through continued communication and find a means to respond to each other’s ideas.What was presented in PS² was not an exhibition of finished work rather a showcase of peer outcomes created through collective ideas, conversations and self-directed activities.

The Expanded Studio Project was initiated by Jane Morrow and was jointly co-ordinated by Deirdre Morrissey (Belfast) and Nastassja Simensky (Nottingham). The Expanded Studio Project is funded by Belfast City Council and the Arts Council of England. PS² is supported by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

A piece of paper with a doily pattern cutout on top of a reddish-brown surface.
An art gallery or exhibition space with tables displaying various objects and photographs on the walls. There are chairs, a large television screen, and art pieces including hanging papers, on the wall and tables.
A metal bucket filled with shredded paper and multiple small, colorful ceramic cups, some of which are empty and some have yellow or dark-colored glaze, arranged on a flat surface.
A television screen displaying a group of people with glasses of wine, sitting at a long table with papers and objects on top. The photo also shows an art display at the bottom with clay sculptures.
Collection of small, hand-drawn art pieces attached to a white wall. The artworks include abstract designs, faces, and geometric shapes, many with bold lines and colorful detailing.
A series of small paper notes, photographs, and cards are clipped to thin strings with black binder clips, hanging against a light-colored wall. The notes appear to be handwritten or printed and are unevenly spaced.
A series of handwritten notes on pieces of paper, clipped and hanging on strings with black binder clips. The visible notes contain scattered words and phrases, some of which are partially obscured, with a mix of cursive and print handwriting.
Several paper notes are clipped to a string with black binder clips, with sketches and handwriting on them. The notes include drawings of tools and handwritten notes, with one visible text reading 'scissors - faced - parcel'.
A yellow wooden table with various art supplies including pastels, chalks, and paper sheets, set against a plain wall and a gray carpeted floor.
An indoor art exhibit features a string of pages or sketches hanging from the ceiling, with a TV and smaller display screen showing the same installation scene. Decorative objects are on a table in front of the TV.
A metal mold set-up for making items in a craft or art project, with a large wheel, scissors, and various crafting materials on the floor, against a plain wall.
Various carved stone pieces arranged on a wooden table with a person working in the background.
An art installation of a screen showing a person standing with their legs apart, holding an object between their legs, with a cluttered background of papers, bags, and furniture.
An art installation with hanging paper pieces, a television screen displaying a woman working on art, and various small objects and artworks arranged on tables and walls.
Several bricks of different shapes and sizes placed on wooden boards on a workshop table, with a cluttered background of various tools and supplies.
A woman in a sleeveless dress with a circular pattern looks at her phone inside a busy kitchen or workshop. The counter in front of her has various containers, newspapers, and equipment, with an open door revealing a parked car and greenery outside.
Stacked wooden blocks or furniture pieces with visible labels or tags in a storage area or warehouse.
Silicone mold forms with floral and abstract patterns on a table, some in a green plastic container, used for creating decorative items or crafts.
Group of people standing and talking outside a building with a black wall and greenery.
A group of six people walking down a paved path in a grassy park with trees and a building in the background.
People walking on a mixed cobblestone and paved sidewalk, with benches visible in the background, in an outdoor public area.
A person is working with clay, using their hands to shape it within a wooden frame. The scene appears to be in an art studio or workshop.
Someone working with a brick and mortar, using a wooden mold on a table covered with newspapers.
A cluttered workshop with shelves filled with art supplies, a work table with various wooden objects, newspapers on the floor, and discarded items like a plastic container, a box of oil, and various containers and tools. Large windows let in natural
An outdoor scene with a brick wall and a teal wooden panel above it. There is a wooden chair with bricks on its seat, on a concrete or asphalt ground with some tools and debris scattered nearby.
A plaster mold of a human skull with detailed carvings of the teeth, jaw, and surrounding bone structure.
An olde wooden brick mould for a brick with a bend in the middle
Two large white blocks of plaster with beveled edges on a metallic surface in a workshop.
A hand holding a small ceramic cup with black and white abstract paint splatters, with some paint dripping down the sides, against a background of newspapers, paint brushes, and bowls of water for ceramic painting or glazing.
Three small decorative pots with various patterns placed on a pink ledge against a beige wall.
A person holding a blank, unpainted ceramic mug in the foreground, with a small paintbrush inside a dark container and newspapers spread out in the background, indicating a pottery or painting workshop.
A person's hand holding a ceramic cup with gray and white drip glaze design, set against a dark background.
Close-up of a hand holding a pink and beige ice cream cone with chocolate drizzle, outdoors on pavement, with people in the background.
A small, round, white ceramic planter with pink accents, placed on rough concrete ground with moss and dirt, near a building's foundation.
Close-up of a colorful ceramic vase with a textured surface, decorated with red, green, black, and yellow glaze, and featuring cut-out patterns. The vase is placed on a dark surface with other decorative items blurred in the background.
Six colorful ceramic cups arranged in a line on a wooden floor with sunlight illuminating the top part of the image.
A woman with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a navy blue top, red pants, and white sandals, is seated on a wooden chair. She is working on a large, woven spinning wheel, which is used to spin fiber into yarn. The room appears to be a cra
A group of people standing inside a building next to a railing, looking out through an opening to an outdoor area with grass. The people are engaged and appear to be listening or observing something.
A group of people sitting indoors, facing a performer playing the violin. The audience members are diverse, with some holding phones. The room has framed pictures on the wall, a wooden door, and a fire extinguisher.
A woman explains wool processing to a group of people in a rustic wooden room, with shelves of wool in the background.

The Belfast artists visited Primary Studios, Nottingham and spent a weekend exchanging ideas and pairing up to work together. I spent quite a lot of time with Christine, a ceramicist, who had a collection of vintage brick moulds. After casting bricks from the old Co-Op building I as keen to try making bricks using the moulds. We were both interested in textiles and linen and spent time investigating embroidery on linen.

The primary artists visited Belfast and we had a clay conversation in Pollen Studios, the pieces were displayed during the PS2 presentation. Christine brought across her raku firing equipment and we spent a day at Vault Studios, Tower Street, for a raku workshop.

Sarah and I had a drawing exchange on single ply wood and during the presentation set up a drawing space for visitors to create and display their responses to the exhibition.