Dr Becky Shaw reflects on the first month as Artist-in-Residence at Sarah Wigglesworth Architects

Fine Art reader Dr Becky Shaw has been invited to share her reflections in a series of blog posts at Sarah Wigglesworth Architects (SWA) as she settles into her new residency. The residency, as part of SWA’s 25th year celebrations, allows Becky to inhabit their physical space as well as their working practice at the firm’s headquarters at Stock Orchard Street in London.

As Shaw settles in, she reads publication ‘Around and About’ about Stock Orchard Street; its design, construction, its position ten years on. Becky says “The essays and images are helping me think about how to view the building and the practice and lives it holds.” She reflects on shared practices, and explore some of the firms current projects. Becky talks about the tentative experience of beginning work in a new space while also looking for forms, materials she can work with.

Sarah Wigglesworth Architects (SWA) celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2019 and are marking this occasion by sponsoring a visual artist in residence. SWA announced in March that it had chosen Dr Becky Shaw as artist-in-residence from over 150 applicants, noting “We were immediately impressed with Becky’s poetic approach to what is traditionally considered as the purely practical. For example we loved her recent work exploring the emotional attachment of the citizens of Calgary to their water infrastructure.”

SWA aim to host an exhibition or event in October 2019 for which Shaw will produce work as well as writing a monthly blog post for the SWA website.

Dr Becky Shaw is Post Graduate Research Tutor in Art and Design, and researcher at the Art and Design Research Centre at SHU. Find out more about Becky’s work here.