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2024-2025
Alina Akbar | Nazia Sultana | Sophie Mahon | Andy Abbott | Red Plenty Games | Ellie Barrett and Nora | Aliyah Hussain | Rob St John | Zehra Aziz | Dana Olarescu | The People Speak
Nazia Sultana
Nelson-based artist Nazia Sultana is artist in residence exploring her faith and connection to nature. Throughout the summer she has been working in our project space and out and about with artist-mentors exploring ceramics as a new part of her practice.
She has learnt how to construct large ceramic 'prayer balls', imprinted with natural materials, and is hosting workshops with a group of ten local women to do the same. These mindfully created objects of contemplation will be glazed and fired and form part of an immersive group performance and profession of faith in a cave in nearby moorland.
Alina Akbar
Alina is working as artist-in-residence on the Hillo Hub programme. Hillo Hub provides weekly social, active, growing and wellbeing activities for women experiencing chronic pain, mental health difficulties, social isolation and language barriers.
Alina is working with the women to create a film that documents their journey, including evening walks, learning to ride bikes and growing and preparing food and herbal remedies.
'Hillo' means 'movement' in Urdu
Andy Abbott
Our longest running artist in-residence to date, Andy Abbott is guest-curating Nelson Re-imagined, an artist-research programme within This is Nelson. Andy has invited artists to Nelson to research possibility and local networks, discover opportunities and to leave us with provocations to follow up in the wider programme. Read more on these artist research residencies, with Dana Olarescu, Sam Jones, Michael Powell, Kristina Borg, Rob St John and Red Plenty Games.
Alongside these Andy has hosted a series of talks bringing in artists leading exemplary socially engaged projects, including Owen Griffiths, Kathrin Bohm, bringing them in dialogue with local experts in communities, culture and place.
In addition, Andy has continued his longterm VR investigation into the Future of Work in Pendle, working with students at Nelson and Colne College as part of This is Nelson.
Sophie Mahon
Working longterm with In-Situ on our art and ecology strand, Sophie is currently artist-in-residence at Harwes Farm CIC in Colne. As part of this work, Sophie is establishing a programme connecting In-Situ, Hillo Hub and the farm to enable communities to visit on day trips and camping visits to immerse in the rural environment and connect with nature. Sophie is also facilitating climate education activities in the farm's teaching cabin, linking with Climate Lab Pendle.
Sophie recently hosted an Equinox Weekend first time camping trip for locally based families, in collaboration with artist duo Super/Collider who facilitated star gazing and microscopic ground-based discovery.
Ellie Barrett and Nora (2 yrs)
Ellie Barrett and her pre-school daughter, Nora, worked in-residence in Brierfield to introduce creative play between parents and their toddlers at local play groups. Working in our project space, Ellie and Nora worked and played experimentally with everyday materials that can be bought at the supermarket, creating 'bundles' (pictured) and also a toolkit for sculptural creative play.
Image: Ellie Barrett
Read texts by Ellie Barrett and Anna Taylor, about the artist and the organisation's experiences of this mother-child residency
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