Kestle Barton Tent Talks

Tent Talk I: Food systems, farming and land use // Tent Talk II: Creative practice, photography and the land

Udy, Oliver ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9669-6983 (2024) Kestle Barton Tent Talks. In: Kestle Barton Tent Talks I & II, Kestle Barton.

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Abstract / Summary

Rural areas are not static or uniform but are shaped by socio-economic changes, global policies, migration, and environmental challenges like climate change. The Anthology of Rural Life (A.R.L.) offers a visual exploration of these themes, contrasting traditional rural practices with modern influences.

By engaging with issues such as sustainability, tourism, and cultural heritage, A.R.L. contributes to understanding rural spaces in a rapidly globalising world. In this context, photography serves as both documentation and a method of inquiry, offering insights into the lived realities of rural communities and their response to broader sociopolitical forces. The project aims to challenge romanticised views of rural life and provide a nuanced representation of rural Europe.

Key research questions explore how photography captures socio-economic, environmental, and cultural shifts in rural areas. A.R.L investigates how global forces such as migration, technology, and ecological crises reshape rural landscapes and traditions, and how rural identity is constructed and perceived visually.

The project seeks to advance visual methodologies in academic research and expand discourse on rurality in the face of globalisation. It highlights how rural communities adapt to modern challenges and offers fresh perspectives on rural identity, belonging, and resilience across various European regions.

A.R.L uses ethnography and fieldwork to place the researchers in communities to build an understanding of social practices and cultures through flexible, open-ended methods. Visual ethnography helps convey rural contexts, with photographs facilitating discussion or serving as standalone inquiries. A participatory approach fosters collaboration, allowing researchers and participants to co-construct knowledge about rural life. This multidisciplinary method integrates narrative, visual, and contextual research, offering a deep, holistic understanding of rural environments and creating a nuanced portrayal of the subject matter.

This particular output creates the basis for a dialogue between various stakeholders related to life in rural areas. Most notably, those that would build policy around the countryside, and those that live and work in these places.

My role in this is as convenor and host of the event.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Lecture)
Subjects:	Creative Art & Design > Photography Natural Sciences History, Geography & Environment Creative Art & Design
Courses by Department:	The Institute of Photography
Depositing User:	Oliver Udy
Date Deposited:	24 Oct 2024 14:06
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 13:21
URI:	https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/id/eprint/5692

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