Dr Nicholas Ferguson
Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Art
Contact
About
My research combines art practice, pedagogy, urban theory, and various outreach events to understand the relationship between art, space and power.
My doctoral thesis (Goldsmiths, 2015) examines the legacy of classical liberal thought in contemporary art commissioning. Through a series of cross readings between aesthetics, political science and political geography, it traces a relationship between place-making art practices and classical liberalism's conceptualization of how territory might function in market societies.
My current research is within the the field of art & mobilities, and centres on Heathrow. The expectation is an exhibition, publication and trans-disciplinary programme of events investigating the political economy of Heathrow airspace. Proposals for collaboration are welcome.
Teaching expertise includes:
- Art and policy, including the role of contemporary art in international relations
- Artistic approaches to knowledge, particularly photography and sculpture
- Cities, especially London and its peripheries
Applications for study are welcome.
Areas of specialism
- Contemporary Art
- Spatial Politics
- Art and Urbanism
- Artistic Research Methods
- The Social Impact of the Arts
- Aesthetic Theory
Qualifications
- PhD. Art. Goldsmiths, University of London
- MA Art. Chelsea College of Art and Design
- BA Hons. Practice and Theory of Visual Art. Chelsea College of Art and Design
- BA Hons. Theology, Oxford University
Industry links
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research
My Doctoral thesis, Indifference. Art, Liberalism and the Politics of Place (2015), examines the legacy of classical liberal thought in contemporary art commissioning. Through a series of cross readings between philosophy, aesthetics and political geography, it traces a relationship between place making art practices and classical liberalism's conceptualisation of the way territory might function in a market society. In tandem with this enquiry, and by way of methodological tool for the interrogation of spatial politics, the thesis develops a philosophy of indifference. It contends that indifference, alongside disinterestedness and objectivity, should be understood as part of an historical attempt to develop a critical modern subject that might transcend the self and disrupt both public and private power. By extension, it asks whether he artist's indifference to place might contribute to an artistic strategy to negotiate and contest the cultural forces that market place for the consolidation of private advantage.
Publications
Number of items: 7.
Article
Ferguson, Nick (2017) The monuments of Kings Cross : a visit to the new ruins of London. Journal of Cultural Geography, 34(1), pp. 93-114. ISSN (print) 0887-3631
Book Section
Ferguson, Nick (2015) Speedscaping. In: Mackay, Robin, (ed.) When site lost the plot. London, U.K. : Urbanomic. pp. 41-59. (Redactions) ISBN 9780957529564
Conference or Workshop Item
Ferguson, Nick (2015) Country End/Town End. From Surbiton to Kings Cross. In: sensingsite 2015 : In this Neck of the Woods; 04 Jun 2015, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)
Ferguson, Nicholas Patrick and Kim, Kyoung (2015) PuB-Topos. Art research, the public house and the dialectics of knowledge. In: Transvaluation: Making the World Matter; 21-22 May 2015, Gothenburg, Sweden. (Unpublished)
Exhibition
Ferguson, Nick (2015) Futuro Estate. Futuro Estate. .
Moving Image/Broadcast
Ferguson, Nick (2015) The mobile landscape. (Slideshow).
Performance/Live Event
Ferguson, Nicholas (2015) The Mobile Landscape. Performance at Stanley Picker Gallery. The Mobile Landscape Performance Lecture.