Primary, key artist space in Nottingham, re-opens
Photo by Julien Lister
Primary re-opens to the public following important changes to its recently acquired building focusing on visitor welcome, accessibility and sustainability. A free event on Friday 7 July, 6-9pm, is open to all and offers the opportunity to see new exhibitions across Primary’s galleries.
Primary is an artist-led contemporary visual arts charity providing studios, development for artists and free public events, exhibitions and workshops. Primary recently acquired its characterful, Grade II listed, former school building on Ilkeston Road, Nottingham. Home to over 50 resident artists alongside spaces for making with clay, weave and design, outdoor and garden spaces, independent galleries, a bookshop, and the Small Food Bakery, Primary invests in artistic research.
2023 is an important year in Primary’s evolution as it reopens offering more free public events and activities. A significant element of the developments ensures Primary’s site better engages the public, with a new main entrance and facilities improving accessibility and greater visibility.
Videography by Freddy Griffiths
Primary’s re-opening programme presents a diverse range of projects inside and outside as it continues to focus on new artwork that enable public collaboration and production. A significant new commission by artist Sam Keogh includes large-scale figurative collages inspired by The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries, transformed through performance.
Primary’s longer-term programmes enable different ways for the people of Nottingham to participate. Nourishment explores food justice through a seasonal programme of artist residencies and public events that create space for imagining and implementing different food systems, whilst Build Create Play offers local families the opportunity to influence the development of a local playground with Nottingham City Council.
Events in 2023 and 2024 include a series of artist residencies Work in Common with Nwando Ebizie, Chiemi Shimada, and Matthew Arthur Williams (Summer 2023), a participatory project with Roo Dhissou Courses for Discourse(s), and new exhibitions by Ruth Angel Edwards & Chloée Maugile (Autumn 2023) and Sonya Dyer (Spring 2024).
Architectural design by Pricegore.