What Tea Does
Artists who offer alternative ways of
seeing places
What
- A mature, but still evolving, critical, spatial practice which explores how places can be seen and imagined.
- Going beyond obvious references of architecture and social history to make new representations of places. These reconfigurations critique single purposed portrayals and offer alternative, often witty, navigations of urban space.
- Investigations of the richly layered identities of places which are formed by the interweaving of everyday lives, ideas and the physical environment. Fragments of the past, present and speculation about the future mingle in the imagination.
Where
- The contemporary urban environment (e.g. dwellings, business premises, community and cultural facilities, public spaces, canals, areas of regeneration).
- Based primarily in the North West with a focus on Manchester.
- Work has been shown in UK, Russia, Finland, Germany, France, USA and Australia.
How
- An active, performative engagement grounded in the actuality of a place, which embodies what happens there and draws out less tangible stories and ideas.
- Timescales range from one day to many months of involvement.
- Outcomes can be a temporary intervention, installation, video, publication.
Who
- Commissioners include The South Bank Centre, Tate Liverpool, The Bluecoat, The Whitworth, The Lowry, Cornerhouse, LIFT, universities and local authorities.
- Collaborators have included local users and professionals from many disciplines.
- Tea welcomes discussions about potential projects and collaborations of any scale, duration and budget.
