Primary provides Artist Development provision that actively and strategically supports artistic and professional development through activity, platforms and paid opportunities.
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A series of inspiring activities, created by artists, for you to try at home. Suitable for kids and adults of all ages to experiment and enjoy!
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The first instalment of a new and evolving work of performance, audio-visual installation, and experimental text, dealing poetically with urgent themes around finance, housing, the body, the voice, and the porous nature of selfhood.
May - July 2021
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An expansive and celebratory exhibition marking three years of Making Place, our long-term community programme looking at how we learn from the city and how we use public space. Join us as we reflect on past projects and generate ideas for the future.
May - July 2021
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Our long-term programme focusing on learning from the city and use of public space, comprising of a number of commissions and ongoing projects, including regular event series’ Social Practice Social, Skillshares, and Tell Me Something I Don’t Know.
2017 - present
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If lockdown was a rhythm, what would it be? A group of local young people aged 16-25 will produce a podcast or radio show focused on stories, thoughts, and reflections about the lockdown, led by digital storyteller Jaya Gordon-Moore and creative practitioner Parmjit Sagoo.
September - October 2020
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Primary have been archiving and releasing Tell Me Something I Don't Know recordings as a podcast.
May 2020 - present
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A new video installation developed through collaboration and discussion with UK-based immigrants, exploring the entanglement of love, power, and administration.
October 2019 - January 2020
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Three new commissions by Kobby Adi, Celia-Yunior, and Suzanne van der Lingen, curated by Emily Gray, responding to the history of New Contemporaries and exploring the transition of the artist from education to professional.
November 2019
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Commissioned by New Art Exchange and supported by Primary, Does Anybody Leave Heaven? by Ibrahim Ahmed is a commentary on the mythology of the US as a place of desire and opportunity, particularly amongst young men living in Cairo who are unable to travel outside of Egypt.
September - October 2019
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A public artwork, created by Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad in collaboration with local residents, responding to the question 'What is Lentonness?' at a time when the neighbourhood has undergone significant changes.
April - September 2019
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Our long-term programme to develop a dye and pigment garden, working with Primary resident artists and local communities to design, build, grow, and process plants, and to learn new skills together.
Summer 2018 - present
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A project led by maker duo Effy Harle and Finbar Prior to design and build bespoke furniture for the Reading Room at Primary.
August 2019
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A series of short residencies that encourage artists to experiment with different ways of working – either testing out a speculative idea, or developing new collaborations. This year, we're working with Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Richard John Jones, Roy Claire Potter, and Voices That Shake!
July 2019
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A collaborative project between artist Chiara Dellerba and children at Edna G Olds Academy to design a public mural in a newly developed area of Lenton.
July 2019 - present
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A series of projects, designed by third year BA (Hons) Architecture students from the Kingston School of Art, which present ideas for the modification and expansion of Primary.
June 2019
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Primary presents Dividednation, a solo exhibition by Larry Achiampong which layers video, installation, performance, sculpture, and text-works - the most comprehensive exhibition of Achiampong’s work in the UK to date.
April - June 2019
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A project led by Nottingham Black Archive and Primary to document the experiences of members of the Windrush generation, and their descendants, who worked for Raleigh Industries.
May 2019 - present
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A new solo exhibition by Hardeep Pandhal which confronts post-colonial traumas with testing humour, taking place across both Primary and New Art Exchange.
January - March 2019
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Primary are delighted to host Emma Smith’s 5Hz in the first stage of touring project with HOME and Wysing Arts Centre. 5Hz is a sound installation centred around the invention of a new singing language which can be learnt in 15 minutes.
November 2018 - February 2019
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