Oneiric Kitchen is a collaborative project by Japanese artist-filmmaker Chiemi Shimada and London-based wellbeing practitioner Susie Cunningham. The project explores our relationship with sleep and addresses issues surrounding it. Developed through therapeutic cooking workshops in the UK and Japan and facilitated by project partners Primary (Nottingham) and Documentary Dream Center (Tokyo) the project aims to create a safe space for participants to reflect on their sleep experiences.
Each Begets Each is a collaborative exhibition of new work by Khaya Job and Wingshan Smith. Together, they delve into realms of friendship, myth-making, play, rituals, conversations and sound to weave a tapestry of interconnected experiences. By interrogating and performing archetypes of femininity, the pair engage in the audacious task of imagining a divinity for themselves to create new possibilities for identity and community.
A Material Romance presents new work by Will Harvey with text contribution by Jana Dardouk as part of To & Fro. Will and Jana took the opportunity of connecting to critique the pace of mass consumption by confronting the consequences of its waste and debris. Both artists work within the common ground of art and architecture, their practices seek to challenge our cultural perspectives of ‘waste’.
8 - 29 July 2023 As part of Primary’s reopening season, we will host a ‘Residents Series’, a programme of events and activity showcasing and platforming work by Primary’s resident and member community which includes over 60 artists, makers, musicians, curators, and creatives at all stages in their careers, working across all media.
Primary plans to share an annual mapping of resident and member achievements that have taken place over a 12-month period. By bringing together and publishing our creative community's many successes we hope to better communicate with our audiences, partners and funders the ambitious work being created and shared locally, nationally and internationally.
1 February-13 May 2023 at Bethlem Gallery Being Present is a group exhibition and event presenting work by artists from Bethlem Gallery, London and Primary, Nottingham. During the Covid-19 pandemic and spanning various lockdowns exhibiting artists participated in Artist Meets, an artist-to-artist support programme which saw artists from paired based on their shared interests or approaches to art production.
To and Fro is a pilot project that brings together Primary’s Public and Artist Development Programmes. The project pairs four Primary residents / members with four non-resident artists who connect with our Public Programme. Following a call for expressions of interest from Primary residents and members pairs were suggested by our programme team based on a shared area of research or mutual approach and the potential for an exciting collaborative exchange!
Career, Plan, Development is a long-term project with coach Stella Sideli supporting ambitious sustainable career growth for Primary’s residents and members, helping them to work towards achievable goals and develop 1, 3 or 5 year career plans.
Artist Meets is an artist-to-artist support programme which sees residents from Bethlem Gallery and Primary being paired based of their shared interests or approaches to art production.
The Kaleidoscope Network is a collaboration between Eastside Projects (Birmingham), Primary (Nottingham), Spike Island (Bristol) and The NewBridge Project (Newcastle). Formed in response to a need for mutual support, the network has come together as a way to share resources
New Midland Group (NMG) is a consortium of three artist-led organisations located in Nottingham. Backlit, One Thoresby Street, and Primary support the creative development of artists in the City and the wider region
THE EXCHANGE 2 is the second iteration of a project connecting artists and creative practitioners across the UK. Bridging the gap created by limited movement and opportunity to network The Exchange aims to create new exchanges and friendships between artists that wouldn’t otherwise be able to connect.
Inside the Studio Visits documents a fragment of the exchange that occurs between an artist and a curator. The series offers an insight into this less than public process and highlights Primary’s role as an artist-led space in Nottingham, providing studios and development for creatives.
Primary provides Artist Development provision that actively and strategically supports artistic and professional development through activity, platforms and paid opportunities.
