Primary talks about their new open exhibition and visual arts in the Lenton and Radford community

Housed on Seely Road, Primary is a building that’s sometimes easy to miss, as a repurposed school building that sometimes blends in, especially if you’re in a rush. For the lucky few, however, who take a left-turn or right turn in the neighbourhood bordering Radford and Lenton, there’s a whole host of delightful cultural treats to discover: a community garden, bakery, coffee shop, bookseller and collection of art studios and showcases, all in one location. 

As an artist-led contemporary visual arts organisation and charity, Primary is home to over fifty artists with a mission to create art that connects local and global communities and affects meaningful societal change. It’s a big mission, one that some might think is impossible given the current climate. But Primary knows its audience and exactly how to engage the community in ways that are both artistically ambitious and comfortingly familiar. 

With its location and inclusive attitude, Primary’s art programme offers residencies and exhibition opportunities for emergent talent from the global ethnic majority and other less-represented sectors. With that range of artists, Primary does a lot to break down some of the barriers that can exist between contemporary art and the rest of us. 

It’s not just artists furthering Primary’s mission of driving change – they invest in artistic research through participation and engagement. Founding artist Michael Forbes says that by using a cycle of theory, practice, and reflection, Primary can “create genuinely collaborative relationships between artists, audiences, and the wider community that surrounds us, to further shape our work.” 

That two-way conversation around community needs and wants is vital. In March 2024, the Department for Work And Pensions found that 51% of children were living in poverty in Radford, which neighbours Primary. There was a need for practical, accessible, and free community spaces – Primary evolved with that in mind.

At Primary’s gorgeous, accessible garden, volunteers – often from local families – are involved in growing, harvesting, and cooking produce, while also just dropping in to hang out as part of creative workshops, food distribution and family activity days. 

Everything that Primary does is part of a public process – not just a finished product – so they’re inviting us all to an Open Exhibition this October so we can see for ourselves. 

A number of artists (some with the help of their kids!) will open their studios to the public, offering a behind the scenes look at their creative practices and joyously “transforming Primary Open into a vibrant, community-led exchange of ideas.” 

There’ll be an exhibition of contemporary art in the gallery spaces, beautiful work available to buy, music performances throughout the day, an ‘odds & sods’ stall, food, a bar for the adults and a lemonade stand for the kids, plus an ‘in conversation’ talk with one of the artists and Primary’s curator. It promises to be a jam-packed day of family-friendly art and community.   

The event has also been called ‘a celebration of creative energy’. When asked what that means, Michael Forbes explained: “to me it means a wholehearted commitment to an idea or an action with an experimental, often playful, mindset to see what can be done. It means pushing through the boundaries of what is seen as usual, normal and possible to be open to what might be new, different and unexpected.”

The words “pushing through the boundaries of what is seen as usual or normal” stood out to me, so I asked Michael how important that is, particularly with what’s happening in the world right now. “More than ever we need people to help us think out of the box, see the familiar from a different angle – ask questions rather than take what we’re being told for granted. We need to be alive with all of our senses to the world we’re living in.”

But how can those of us that aren’t alive with all our senses or aren’t as, ahem, creatively minded (!), get inspired and experiment with our own creative energy? “We can each take a moment to breathe deeply and slowly, to look around – what colours stand out to you right now? What sounds can you hear? Reach out and gently touch something with your fingertips – what do you notice? What can you smell? What do you feel curious about? What do you want to do next?” 

Or, perhaps even more easily, visitors to the Open Exhibition can purchase a card and collect an artist’s stamp from each studio they visit to make their own unique piece of artwork – all of the creativity – none of the effort. 

It’s sad to hear how difficult it is right now for arts organisations and to see the significant cuts to funding, especially in the East Midlands which Michael says “sometimes struggles to attract its fair share.” So it feels more important than ever to support organisations like Primary, do what we can to help them stay true to their mission, and continue to transform their neighbourhood into a valuable cultural resource.

From fundraising to volunteering, there’s plenty of different ways we can help – but let’s start with their open day. We’ll see you there. 

Primary Open 2025 takes place on Saturday 25 October. Find Primary at 33 Seely Rd, Nottingham NG7 1NU.

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