Jai on Leeds Leverhulme Residency

Since January 2009 I've been working in Leeds at the University on a 9 month residency, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

It's been quite a radically different learning experience for everyone at the School of Geography, where I've been working with geographers from the research cluster 'Urban Cultures and Consumption' as well as campaigners from the 'Leeds, Love It, Share It' network.

To give a bit of background - I wanted to use the residency to look at how we artist/designers can produce visual materials and events that present (what can be) hard to penetrate academic work to a wider audience. This is of course a bit of propagandizing - but wholly in keeping with the geographers' activist research style.

Photography by Tom Bing.

Up until the Easter holidays, I've been attending the module lectures, which have been happening outside the School in a variety of interesting venues, including: The Leeds Library, the Design Innovation Centre, Bauman Lyons architect's offices, Tower Works in Holbeck and the Commonplace social centre. During the sessions we heard presentations from John Thorpe (Leeds' City Architect) and Andy Goldring from the Permaculture Society.

The sessions have also been attended by Tom Bing, student photographer at the university, who has now become something of a regular at UHC events - documenting the allotment project, Barrow-in-Furness events and soon to join us in Liverpool on the Scouse Soul Stew project. Please credit the photos to Tom if you want to reproduce them!