Work/Leisure invited 2 emerging artists, living and working in the UK, to create new work in 2020.

In its first iteration, Work/Leisure (2016), delivered 5 short-term, non-prescriptive artist residencies designed to enable artists to research and develop new work in the historically and culturally unique location of Blackpool.

In 2020 things were different because the world is different: occurring at a time to global pandemic, social distancing, restricted travel, remote working, and civil unrest the 2020 iteration of Work/Leisure was made possible through the support of Arts Council England’s Emergency Response Funding.

This funding allowed Abingdon Studios to continue its work supporting artists in Blackpool and  – through Work/Leisure – artists beyond the town boundary to develop new work.

Where Work/Leisure’s first iteration (2016) sought to address Blackpool as a site where ‘work’ and ‘leisure’ are intricately linked, Work/Leisure_2 occurred at a time when boundaries between location, space and time have softened and the borders between work and leisure space and time are harder to map.

Work/Leisure is is a project developed by Abingdon Studios Ltd and coordinated by Abingdon Studio directors, Garth Gratrix and Tom Ireland.

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Applications for Work/Leisure 2 are now closed.