Symposium: Each Summer Lodge had a focus or theme discussed during a one-day symposium. Typically, the morning would see a series of short talks on the thematic given by invited speakers, participants, student studio helpers, and PhD candidates. After a communal lunch, the afternoon focused on discussion, workshops, and group activities.
Thematics over the years include: The Artist - Teacher (2009), Part of Beacon Bi-monthlies (2010), The Inquisition (2011), Speculation (2012), Research in and Through Practice (2013), Process (2014), Attention : Detail (2015), The Wild (2016), Do Deceleration (2017), Autotelic / Towards Play (2018), Diagonal Practices (2019)
Summer Lodge grew out of an informal artist residency initiated in 2007 by Nottingham Trent University Fine Art tutor Danica Maier. The Summer Lodge then became formalized in 2009 by Danica and her colleagues on the Fine Art course. With the normal creative chaos of the studio cleared away for the degree show, which had now been taken down, the newly painted pristine walls and polished floors of the light, bright open spaces proved irresistible.
With permission from the Dean, initially, a small group of art faculty members took over the studios for a couple of weeks, being artists at work in the same spaces they had been tutoring students all year. No pressure for outcomes was exerted – this was simply a space and time to make work and to experiment creatively in a collegial environment.
Since this ad hoc beginning, Summer Lodge grew and developed. Typically, 30 artists were involved in this non-resident artist residency, making it a significant fixture in the art-world residency calendar. This included Fine Art staff and Hourly Paid Lecturers, NTU's PhD candidates, and selected national and international artists. - additionally, students could apply for Studio assistant roles.
An early decision was made to invite artists from beyond Nottingham Trent University (NTU) art department, including some from other institutions as well as collaborative partners. The burgeoning studio groups of emergent contemporary artists in Nottingham were invited to send participants. An important development was to invite NTU art students to apply to become involved as studio assistants – typically accepting 10-14 every year. During the final few years, there was an open call for submissions from artists to participate, and the selection of applicants is made by a panel of NTU art faculty members.
The focus of the Lodge was on experiementation, play, engagement with practice and reserach without the pressure of any expected outcomes. (though naturally many came!) It was an important time and safe container for working within the studio within a supportive enviomrment and community of other artists. SL supported staff development and practice as well as feed into the pedagogic imperatives for reserach-led teaching. It closely connected to a connected sprial curriculum enabling NTU pedagogy and reserach culture to be interwined.
Student Studio Assistants/Documentor(s): Fine Art students could apply to be either studio assistants or a documenter for the lodge. This was a mutually beneficial role in which participating artists could receive support in workshops, help in the studio, and general assistance if needed, while students learned much from the embedded experience of working with artists in the studio. Students who participated as studio assistants witness their tutors and external artists engage in their practice, witness their thinking, experimentation and making process as well as the uncertainties, mistakes, and doubts. Documenters acted as a reflection of the Summer Lodge through the lens of the student documenter.
Summer Lodge a research report: In 2016 a six-month research project was undertaken to explore the effects of the Summer Lodge on artistic research and pedagogy at NTU and beyond. The research and report were undertaken by Research Assistant Dr. Christine Stevens under the lead of Danica Maier.
Click on the titel below to open the full report.
The Summer Lodge (2009-2019) was a ten-day artist residency held within the Fine Art studios of Nottingham Trent University. Focusing on process rather than outcome, it was an opportunity to think through making by being able to work for a while without many of the usual constraints and distractions. It is a collective space in which to undertake experiments, pursue new ideas and allow unexpected leaps of imagination. Participants in the Summer Lodge included NTU staff and PhD researchers, selected artists working nationally and internationally, and studio assistants selected from NTU’s UG and PG courses. This group included around 40 individuals all engaging in critical exchange and dialogues through this period of sustained studio practice.
Writing Hut: Fine Art UG alumni and artist/curator Joe Rowley proposed and set up the Writing Hut as a residency within a residency. The Writing Hut was specifically focused on language-based artistic and creative practices. It had a separate application process run by Joe Rowley. The Writing Hut provided a physical space for one selected resident to utilise within the wider context of the Summer Lodge. Created from a garden shed the hut could be adapted by residents.
Potluck Meals: Coming together as a community for informal conversations and sharing was an important part of the Summer Lodge. The two-week residency was punctuated by shared “potluck” meals with food contributed by the artist participants. The student assistants attend but are not required to bring food or clear up afterwards, and the meals are seen as a way of appreciating their freely given time and effort. These occasions provide a rich opportunity for social and informal dialogue, and a contrast for some artists to the intensity of their time spent in production. As one participant said, “there’s something about food that opens up conversation”. The meals, “like a family dinner,” were seen as a particularly important part of meeting up and making connections.
Website: The Summer Lodge website was launched in July 2011 to document the activities which took place that year. Subsequently, each year was added, with more images of work from artists, details about each of the symposia, and the extensive collection of documentation captured during each day. During each SL one or more assistants were tasked with being the official documenter of SL as a process. With technical support from one of the NTU tutors, Andy Pepper, a record of the Lodge through the assistants’ eyes is uploaded and archived on a website.
See the website here: www.summerlodge.org