The Temporary Contemporary initiative is a partnership project of Queensgate Market, The Piazza, Kirklees Council and the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield.

Formerly situated within Grade II listed Queensgate Market, Temporary Contemporary now comprises meanwhile spaces within the units of The Piazza shopping centre. The project provides a platform for original and inspirational exhibitions, performances and research, and contributors to the first year of the programme included university lecturers, artists, local artisan producers, musicians, students and young people.

More recently the Temporary Contemporary spaces were host to the Cultures of Place research festival from 24th June to 4th July 2022. Hosted across three sites Queensgate campus (University of Huddersfield), Queensgate Indoor Market and The Piazza this programme of activities presented many different exchanges and engagements with local arts and cultural organisations, community groups, existing cultural institutions in Huddersfield and place-based initiatives. The programme invited members of the public and the University community to deepen their understanding and celebration of place.

Temporary Contemporary prompts conversations about place-based-making, public engagement and cultural and mixed ecologies. The ‘cultural ecologies’ concept, as outlined in the Arts and Humanities Research Council report The Ecology of Culture, includes everything around art and culture, including people, places, relationships, technology, food and drink. ‘Mixed ecologies’ extends this idea to interrogate how different artistic and non-artistic disciplines develop and negotiate with each other.

Many of the exhibitions, displays and festival programmes that have taken place under the banner of the Temporary Contemporary initiative have explored cultural and mixed ecologies directly. Temporary Contemporary supports the students and staff of the School of Arts and Humanities in their mission to articulate complex relationships, promote creativity, engage communities and solve problems.

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Cultures of Place

Cultures of Place was a celebratory showcase of exhibitions, installations, performances, workshops, podcasts, talks and discussion about place, taking place 24th June - 4th July 2022.

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Cultures of Sound

Cultures of Sound was the School of Arts & Humanities' contribution to Kirklees Year of Music, showcasing innovative collaborations and boundary-pushing experiments in sound by our researchers and staff.

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Cultures of Creative Health

Cultures of Creative Health is the place-based research festival from the School of Arts & Humanities for 2024. This new programme with include talks, collaborative community projects, research presentations, residencies and more.

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Cultures of Place: exhibitions, installations, performances, workshops, talks and discussion about place.

This book documents the projects involved and provides contextual essays offering new ways to think about the making of place through arts and humanities research.

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Temporary Contemporary: Creating vibrant spaces to support the conditions for creative and cultural activity

This is the first book that documents and reflects on an aspect of the Temporary Contemporary initiative. This book provides one contribution to the many discussions about the role of culture in towns and cities. 

 

The Temporary Contemporary launched in 2018. It is an ongoing project shaped by a board comprising Kath Davies Economic Resilience Project Manager for Kirklees Council, Chris Cotton Markets Manager for Kirklees Council, Professor Donal Fitzpatrick, School of Art and Communication at the University of Huddersfield, Professor Nic Clear, School of Architecture and 3D design at the University of Huddersfield and Dr Rowan Bailey, Head of Postgraduate Studies, Art, Design and Archicture University of Huddersfield.

Temporary Contemporary is grateful for the support of the external advisory board comprising Helen Pheby, Senior Curator at Yorkshire Sculpture Park,  Derek Horton, Artist, Writer, Curator and Consultant, the Directors of HATCH, Natalie Walton and Alison McIntyre, and Natalie Rudd, Senior Curator Arts Council Collection.

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Podcasts

Listen to podcast episodes featuring artists and researchers associated with Temporary Contemporary

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Creative spaces

Temporary Contemporary enlivens vacant spaces in Queensgate market as venues for music, visual art presentations, interventions, projects led by entrepreneurs and artisans, and the creative practices of young people from Huddersfield.

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Research exhibitions

The Market Gallery within Queensgate Market hosts research exhibitions delivered by research staff and postgraduate students from the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield.