Making Creative Use of Archives and Technology in the Reinvention of the Lace Market Area

Working in collaboration with Nottingham
Contemporary, Broadway Cinema, and the Galleries of Justice, this project explores new ways of combining historical material and new technologies to provoke reflection and creativity in the continuing reinvention of the Lace Market area.

The Lace Market has been designated as the ‘Creative Quarter’ of Nottingham, an endeavour that aims to further expand the breadth of innovative businesses and creative organisations based there. The once great, now almost invisible, lace industry is often used to suggest that this is an inherently creative place, and archives can play a strong role in local understanding of this story of reinvention. The past can inspire innovation in various ways, whether through learning lessons from history, drawing on dark events, or taking inspiration from forgotten styles or practices.

This project will explore how the built environment, archival material, and new technologies can be combined such that local organisations can understand, interpret and emphasise the evocative sense of a historical place undergoing reinvention. Rather than only providing a window into the past, the aim will be to support reflection and creativity by and for the local community. For example, exploring how technologies could support the evocative reuse of the past in renovation and decoration projects, installations, community events, construction, or urban planning.

Partners: Nottingham Contemporary, Broadway Cinema and Galleries of Justice