Curating Radioactive Sites and Non-Sites: Towards a Practice of Curatorial Sympoiesis Around the Nuclear Landscape of the Blackwater Estuary

This practice-based research project develops and employs a practice of 'curatorial sympoiesis' to investigate the relationship between the nuclear landscape of the Blackwater Estuary, its communities and technologies. Starting with the premise that contemporary art contributes to academic and public discourse in the field of nuclear culture, I examine how the nuclear is visually represented and perceived by local communities, gaining an insight into how it permeates the daily experiences of its co-inhabitants. Informed by this I will produce a project that commissions and collaborates with artists and others to explore the Estuary, its legacy and future nuclear programmes. The result will be a curated programme of contemporary art and events informed by in-depth field research including interviewing local stakeholders, visiting local archives and documenting the impact of the nuclear industry. A written thesis will critically contextualise the curatorial approach and projects within an interdisciplinary framework drawing from sociology, anthropology, visual art, cultural and curatorial studies, focussing on nuclear landscapes and communities.