After being accepted onto this residency, I began to research The Meadows online.  My initial findings were of an area with a negative reputation.  However, further research and speaking to residents, community groups and leaders l found a welcoming community that more than challenged that reputation.  This research motivated me to concentrate on the 'New Meadows' area.

The 'New Meadows' was built in the 1970's after the existing houses in that area were deemed to be unsuitable.  This new development of modern council housing was based on the Radburn Concept for planning housing estates.  This model for planning was originally used in 1928 in the Radburn Community within the borough of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, United States.  The main principle of the design is to separate pedestrians from traffic, build homes facing central green areas and provision of community facilities for self-sufficiency.  This meant the construction of feeder roads, cul-de-sacs, underpasses, shopping centres and communal green spaces.

These images are a response to the strong architectural forms that I feel characterise the housing design within the New Meadows.  The standardised designs repeat throughout the neighbourhood which provides a sense of uniformity against the backdrop of individuals within a community. The presentation of the work, at this point, has a loose connection with Hilla and Bernd Becher's objective style and use of typologies within the photographic grid system.

For me, the project was a way of getting to know the Meadows. I'm a Nottingham newbie, and although the Meadows is a place that I get the bus through or cycle through often, until the project it had been a liminal space for me - somewhere that existed on the way to somewhere else. I loved this opportunity to discover this part of the city and get to know some of its people. What struck me most was the strong sense of community I found here, as well as the immense humour of its residents. The more I got to know the area, the more I began to feel the faint absurdity of receiving such a warm welcome that was so much as odds with the Meadows' somewhat dodgy reputation. It's this sense of community, humour and absurdity that I tried to capture in my images. I found the Meadows to be an intensely interesting and rewarding place to photograph, and the perfect place for me to learn to use my camera.

This project is focused on the author's neighbourhood, and explores the current relation between community and physical spaces.

Rita is a photographer and researcher originally from Lisbon, Portugal and now based in Nottingham, UK. Rita approaches photography as a personal sensemaking tool. Her work centres themes of community, nature and belonging and their intersection with physical spaces.

The MIE x UoN Residency has been an incredibly fulfilling experience both from an artistic and personal perspective. The residency provided a space for each of the residents to explore and push their creative photographic practice in new directions within a very supportive and welcoming environment. 

As someone without any arts education, the contextual and theoretical sessions, as well as, the critique sessions were of special importance. In the future I hope there is an ongoing collaboration between the University and the MIE ran Photo Socials to help local photographers without an arts background like myself breach the gap to the current academic discourse on photography.

Furthermore, the residency served as a very needed stepping stone into the world of long-term photography projects, which I will continue working on after the residency. This highlights the vital role that initiatives like these play in the local artistic community.

The residency at Make It Easy Lab has provided me with so much, surprisingly, the thing that has been the most enriching is the new sense of community it has given me, the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends who have a shared passion for photography.  I had previously felt quite isolated creatively but this is no longer the case.

As a result my confidence has grown with regard to meeting new people and sharing my work.  Everyone involved within the residency has been so supportive of one another and this has fostered an environment where it feels safe to experiment with ideas and forms of expression, without fear of harsh judgement.  It has been invaluable (albeit scary at first) to have the opportunity to receive a critique of my work and creative process and welcome constructive criticism alongside this support.

It has been wonderful for me to have access to the resources at the lab, such as the darkroom and the knowledge of Dan, Mark, Ashley and the staff at Make it Easy.  The scheduled sessions provided a good structure and valuable context and background knowledge.  I have never studied photography or any creative art form before and it was helpful to gain this insight and encourage further research and to be introduced to some wonderful photographers and their work throughout history, inspiring and offering different ways to do things.

 

The residency program has been an incredible experience from start to finish.  As someone who has always considered their creative outlets as "hobbies "only, it has given me the push to begin looking at my work and the images I make in a new light. 

The mentorship that has been provided throughout has been invaluable, both through my fellow residents but particularly through the guidance and teaching at Make It Easy. Without this residency, it is more than likely that I wouldn't have had the funds to access some of the facilities and learning that I have been able to thanks to this program. 

I am incredibly grateful to have been given this opportunity, which has inspired my practice, enhanced my knowledge and skills, and given me much more confidence in myself as a photographer.