In World 209, the Nottingham Independent Arts School is a thriving institution focused on people, planet and possibility. It offers space: space to think and space to make and share skills. The school is deeply integrated with the local community and guided by a focus on care and cross-disciplinarity.
Its origins lie in 1845, when local people came together to build a revolutionary institution, Nottingham Artizans Institute of Craft, which was open to all. Throughout its history it has maintained this inclusive ethos and adapted to changing times, welcoming discussion, debate and disruption in the pursuit of social and environmental justice and creativity for the people of Nottingham.
What if …
the origins of Nottingham School of Art & Design lay in Nottingham’s radical past, rather than a government scheme to support industry?
Issue targeted:
the longstanding relationship between fashion and textile design education and capitalist industry
Inspiration:
A City of Light: Socialism, Chartism and Co-operation – Nottingham 1844; materials in the Sparrows’ Nest library and archive; the real-life history of Nottingham School of Art & Design; degrowth ideas; and many other sources of inspiration
Related Explorations
This World was contributed by Elsa Ball, Sally Cooke, Tom Fisher, Rick Hall, Fo Hamblin, Joyce Lee, Joshua Lockwood-Moran, Alex Vincent Turner, Amy Twigger Holroyd, Sue Walton and Lorraine Warde, with input in the preparation phase from Amanda Briggs-Goode, Toby Ebbs, Tom Godfrey and Simon Holroyd (located in Nottingham, UK) using a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence which allows others to share and adapt the work in any medium and for any purpose, providing that they credit the author and share their material using the same Creative Commons licence.
Does this World remind you of something?
I am keen to hear about any historical or contemporary real-world examples – whether individual practices, subcultures or mainstream activities – that this fiction brings to mind.
Please share any such examples using this form. Thank you!