The Expanded City

For 10 years In Certain Places has focused on and shaped developments within the city centre of Preston. The Expanded City extends the methods and approaches refined over the last decade to new contexts and locations; the city’s edges. What are the contributions artists can make to the external perceptions and internal experiences of inner city and suburban places? How can that inform debate about the imminent future of these places in terms of urban planning and cultural provision? The Expanded City has been developed in response to an invitation from Preston City Council, to inform a programme of infrastructure projects on the outskirts of the city proposed by a £430m City Deal scheme. The City Deal scheme aims to deliver new jobs and housing, by addressing strategic transport, environmental, community and cultural infrastructure challenges. In the first stage of The Expanded City project commissioned artists Olivia Keith, Gavin Renshaw, Emily Speed and duo Ian Nesbitt and Ruth Levene have investigated the physical and cultural topography of the outskirts of Preston, ‘deep mapping’ the areas marked for growth. The artists share an interest in boundaries, routes, edges and the urban/rural binary, and work across a range of media, including film, photography and performance. The commissions will explore the social and physical aspects of the places, their relationships with the city centre and the potential implications of planned developments. Writer and curator Lauren Velvick has contextualised and provided a critical narrative for the development of the work of the artists in a regular Expanded City blog.