curriculum vitae

Nikki Pugh (UK, 1977).

Download an abridged version of this CV (PDF format, updated 11/2017). For an overview of individual works, please see the projects page.

Statement

Instigating enquiry-led processes that are often participatory in nature, I’m primarily interested in issues around interaction: how we interact with spaces and landscapes; how we interact with each other; and how we interact with objects. Typically I will instigate a starting point and a mechanism to support exploration, discussion and criticism.

My practice encompasses locative and digital media, walking, performative actions in public spaces (in turn including pervasive games), installation, physical computing and collaboration.

I co-founded and worked extensively with BARG (pervasive games network) and fizzPOP (hackspace). As
founder of the Many & Varied collective, I worked to establish networks, develop audiences and manage events to support an ecosystem of boundary-pushing, interdisciplinary, collaborative, creative projects.

Education:

09/2012 – 08/2015	University of the West of England, Bristol. MA Art, Media and Design by Project (part time), Merit. My final project—Where the Sky Widens—was an investigation of the making and use of spatially-aware paper pods and how this facilitated discussion about our strong emotional connections to distant places.
09/2000 – 06/2006	Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, University of Central England in Birmingham. B.A. Art and Design (by Negotiated Study) First Class (Hons). Foundation diploma in Art and Design, Distinction.
09/2004 – 06/2005	Dudley College of Technology. Professional Development Certificate in Sculpture.
09/1997 – 06/2000	University of Birmingham. B. Eng Materials Science and Technology, First Class (Hons).

Residencies:

02/2018 – present	Artist in residence at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University.
Spring 2017	Residency at The Wordsworth Trust / Duddon Valley with Lancaster University.
08/2016	Residency at Sudborough Green Lodge for Fermynwoods Contemporary Art.
07/2016	Colony Live Lab at Birmingham Open Media, Birmingham.
Spring 2016	Residency developing Colony at the Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol.
09/2015 – 06/2016	Artist in Residence, Wolverhampton School of Art.
06 – 09/2014	Residency developing Colony at the Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol.
12/2013 – 04/2014	EC-Arts administered residency relating to the regeneration of Longbridge, Birmingham.
Summer 2013	Many & Varied, residency exploring maker culture and DIY technology at The Public
09/2012	Artspace Research Commissions (ARC) HIJACK, residency at Coventry Artspace
05/2012	Residency and commissions for Fermynwoods Contemporary Art, near Corby.
03/2012	Residency at the Phoenix film and digital media centre, Leicester.
02/2011	Ministry of Rules with City Gallery at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester.
01-16/05/2010	fizzPOP residency at The Lombard Method, Birmingham.
30/10 – 01/12/2008	Almost Perfect, Banff New Media Institute, Canada.
11/2005 – 07/2006	Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, University of Birmingham. Supported by VIVID’s Interdisciplinary Support Programme.

Grants:

04/2019	STEAMhouse Grant. Support to buy tooling for bicycle framebuilding.
01/2019	Arts Council Developing Your Creative Practice. Support to learn the craft of bicycle framebuilding.
08/2018	Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant for further development of Colony
05/2017	Artists’ International Development Fund, Tokyo Interactions research trip, various locations around Japan
01/2017	Grants for the Arts, By Duddon’s Side Working with Lancaster University to support The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere.
04/2016	Grants for the Arts, Orrery for Landscape, Sinew and Serendipity.
12/2015	Grants for the Arts, Colony R&D activities.
03/2015	Grants for the Arts, Creative Enterprise (Coventry University) and Birmingham City University. Many & Varied Community-building events: Bees in a Tin conference and series of monthly Salons
01/2015	UWE Bristol Santander Masters Bursary Scheme 2014/15 (support for research and dissemination).
04/2014	Grants for the Arts, Colony residency at the Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol.
06/2013	Inkvisible prototyping, Arts and the Digital Ideas Lab (part of King’s Cultural Institute’s Creative Futures programme, produced in collaboration with Caper).
05/2013	Grants for the Arts, Many & Varied pilot activities.
09/2011	Artists Access to Art Colleges, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design.
08/2011	Grants for the Arts, Professional development activities.
Spring 2011	Platinum 2. Professional development scheme run by Fierce.
06/2010	Grant from Hide&Seek to develop sonar goggles and The Bloop game.
10/2009	Hello Digital fringe event: fizzPOP Howduino hackday.
10/2008	Grants for the Arts, Almost Perfect residency.
07/2008	Grants for the Arts, Emergent Game in Japan.
06/2007	Grants for the Arts, Research trip to Japan.
07/2006	Springhill Institute Project Development Grant.
08/2005	Interdisciplinary Support Programme: R&D grant for collaborative research and cross-disciplinary activity through risk-taking and experimentation.

Solo Exhibitions:

09/2013	Ride (Birmingham – York), Bournville College, Birmingham. Network-connected sculpture moving in response and near-real-time to a 240-mile cycle ride.
8 – 9/09/2012	Interactive installations available for discovery, Coventry Artspace & Heritage Open Days.
03/12	Documentation of residency, Phoenix Square film and digital media centre, Leicester.
10/2009	Documentation of Invigilator: Malvern, collaboration with Paul Conneally, commissioned and exhibited by Malvern Exhibition of Contemporary Art.
06/2006 – present	Day Science/Night Science: site-specific installation at the University of Birmingham. (Now in the University’s permanent collection.)

Group Exhibitions:

05/2019	Flux Artists in Residence exhibition at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University.
04/2018	Transitions Artists in Residence exhibition at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University.
11/2017	Mobile Utopias, Lancaster University.
01-09/09/2016	Artists in Residence work alongside the MA Show, Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
02-03/2016	BOM Fellows: Live R&D, Birmingham Open Media.
11/2015-3/2016	Right Here Right Now, The Lowry, Salford Quays.
03-05/2015	BOM Fellows: Live R&D, Birmingham Open Media.
02/2013	Re:Call, part of Art has Left the Building, BIAD, Birmingham.
26/04 – 11/05/2012	And Miles to go Before I Sleep…, ARTicle, Birmingham.
02/06/2011	Fierce’s Platinum showcase, Birmingham.
14/05/10	Territorial Play, part of Radiator’s Tracing Mobility programme, Nottingham.
06/03 – 02/05/2010	West Midlands Open, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
07-11/07/2009	Pieces of Eight, City Gallery, Leicester
07/2009	BNMI exhibition at Botega Gallery, Banff, Canada
07/2008 – 04/2009	2°. Weather, Climate, Man, Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden, Germany. Selection of items from theweatherproject.
28/06/2008	GOODS In, Birmingham. Curated by Harminder Judge and Charlotte Levine. One day exhibition in a disused warehouse.
03 – 15/12/2007	Artgos, artsparkle/theartmarket, Leeds. Artists working with multiples.
05 – 31/03/2007	c.art.ed in Ansdell: 14 artists’ interventions in Ansdell, Lancashire.
01/09/2006	Volume 0 for the Peer-to-Peer Sketchbooks project, Springhill Institute, Birmingham.
06 – 12/2006	Open, MILL-WORKERS, Manchester.
12 – 17/06/2006	Degree show, International Project Space, Birmingham.
12 – 14/03/2004	threshold, exhibition in a vacant shop space, Birmingham.

Texts:

05/2019	46% Bad: some thoughts and observations about infrastructure, a 20 page, A5 black and white zine to accompany a sculptural manifestation of a pictogram from a cycle lane.
12/2015	L.A. Re.Play: Mobile Network Culture in Placemaking, Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Volume 21 Issue 1, More Than Just a Pinpoint: Locative Media and the Chorographic Impulse, Kim Sawchuk & Samuel Thulin.
12/2015	L.A. Re.Play: Mobile Network Culture in Placemaking, Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Volume 21 Issue 1, Locative Awareness: A Mobilities Approach to Locative Art, Jen Southern.
In preparation	Chapter for Envisioning Networked Urban Mobilities.
08/2015	Where the Sky Widens: An exploration of slow making and spatially-aware prototypes as methods for considering emotional connections to distant places. Evaluative document (equivalent to a dissertation) for an MA final project.
02/2013	Libre Graphics Magazine, Issue 2.1, Localisation/Internationalization.
07/2012	Using Games to Enhance Learning and Teaching: A Beginner’s Guide. Nicola Whitton (Editor), Alex Moseley (Editor), Routledge. Interview.
09/03/2011	Interview by Nina Simon about Ministry of Rules for Museum 2.0
12/2010	Uncertain Eastside – Document One: 2009. Project documentation.
08/07/2010	Coverage of The Bloop, Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
10/2008	Half A Brick In A Carrier Bag, Conneally and Pugh /seconds issue 9: vanishing point, the vicious and virtuous circle
09/2008	Emergent Play. An essay by Dr Sadie Plant in response to the first iteration of Emergent Game,a commission for New Generation Arts.
07/2008	ContentsMayVary Issue 2. Artists’ publication.
09/2006	ANTI TALENT ZONE: Curated space within the TEN4 Magazine.

Professional Experience:

03/07/2015	Reflections on Communicating Research, presentation at How to Play Knowledge, Birmingham, City University.
29/01/2015	Mentor for Hoipolloi’s Stories from… A Digital World, Junction, Cambridge.
Throughout 2015	One of the ten inaugural fellows at Birmingham Open Media.
11/2014	Developing Colony: evolution of landscape-reactive creatures. Under the ‘art as mobile research: the journey of making’ thread at Networked Urban Mobilities, a Cosmobilities Network conference, Copenhagen.
06/2014	Consultancy for a playful experience at the National Trust property Croome Court.
03/04/2014	(re)form follows function: presentation at PKN Coventry.
03-04/2014	Researcher for Bikes and Bloomers sociological research project by Kat Jungnickel at Goldsmiths College, London.
22/03/2014	Talk the Walk: speaker on a panel of artists from the West Midlands who utilise walking within their practice.
02/2014	Bees in a Tin: Event organiser and co-curator for a 1-day interdisciplinary conference.
10/2013	29 Not-Quite-Random Walks Around Tokyo: presentation at PKN Coventry.
09/2013	Landscape-reactive sashes workshop, Global Conference On Mobility Futures, Lancaster.
25/08/2013	Presenter, If Wet…, Callow End, Worcestershire.
07/2014 – present	Collaborative Arts Triple Helix: collaborative co-creation of innovative digital prototypes by teams drawn from across three sectors. Igloo project with The Bone Ensemble and The University of Birmingham.
02/07/2013	Art + Satellites, Free Exchange talks programme, Fermynwoods Contemporary Art.
21/05/2013	Untitled presentation, Pecha Kucha Coventry.
23/11/2012	Lunchtime Talk, Pervasive media Studio, Bristol. Place interfaces – thoughts on bubblewrap, bees and lumps of clay
Spring 2012	Project Management, Still Walking festival, Birmingham (15th March – 1st April 2012).
08/02/12	Speaker, The Sanitised City: How public is public space?, Birmingham Salon.
17/11/11	Panel member for Mobile, Location and Games, Hello Culture conference, Birmingham.
09-10/2011	Research and production trip to New York City, USA.
07-08/2011	Project Management, Routes, Roles & Rules, The City Gallery, Leicester
09/06/2011	Consultancy for The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum
10/05/2011	Own this City presentation at Pecha Kucha Night, Volume 4, Coventry.
29/08/2010	Enter the Arena: games event commissioned by the Midlands Arts Centre.
15/08/2010	Taste the Game: games event commissioned by the Midlands Arts Centre.
09-11/07/2010	Delivery of The Bloop game at Hide & Seek Weekender, National Theatre, London.
26/06/2010	Playtesting The Bloop at H&S Sandpit, Warwick Arts Centre, in partnership with Fierce!
22-23/10/2009	Attendee and workshop leader, MuseumNext: innovative ways to create more engaging experiences for museum and gallery visitors.
13/10/2009	Arts+Media Cre8us Creative Partnerships Event.
28/06/2009	Presentation and participatory game at Mozcamp, Moseley, Birmingham
22/05/2009	Presentation at Post Digital event, Fazeley Studios, Birmingham
04/2009 – 10/2010	Core member of the fizzPOP hackerspce: oganising events and regularly contributing to www.fizzPOP.org.uk
12/2008	Co-founder (with pindec) of BARG: pervasive and social games network. Organising meetings, events and games through until October 2010
09/2008	Call and Return workshops in Japan and participating in Dislocate08
Throughout 2008	Mentoring programme with Eastside Projects, Birmingham.
10/2007 – 05/2008	Creative Apprentices training scheme run by Aliss and Creative Partnerships. Developing workshops for educational environments.
06/2007 – 07/2007	Research trip to Japan and attendance at Dislocate07 symposium.
04/2006 – 2009	Member of the Self-Service planning group, artist-led activities and criticism.
06/2006 – 04/2007	Regular participant in 100 Verses for 3 Estates for Alec Finlay and Gavin Wade: shared writing to document a community. 6 workshops in total.
09/2006 – 11/2006	Research trip to Japan.
06/2005 – 08/2005	Student Exchange Programme, Joshibi University of Art and Design, Japan
12/2004 – 06/2005	Internship Programme/ Professional Development Scheme: project management of a touring exhibition.

Schools and Workshops:

01/04/2014	Presentation to 2nd and 3rd year graphics students, University of the West of England.
11/2013	GPS Orchestra: workshops for the week-long Digital Producers’ Lab, Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol.
01/2013	Visiting Tutor, Creative Mis-fitting, BA Art & Design, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design.
25/08/2012	GPS Orchestra, workshop for Octopus Collective, Barrow-in-Furness.
Summer 2012	Various education projects for IKON Gallery, Birmingham.
10/05/2012	Gretton Explorers, Gretton Primary School, near Corby.
31/11/2011	What are the Splacists? Professional development day for MADE, Birmingham.
19/11/2011	Easy Circuit Bending, workshop for GLI.TC/H BIRM festival, Birmingham.
09/07/2011	Circuit bending 101, workshop at STATIC Trading Co., Liverpool.
Spring term 2011	Creative Partnerships project, Wyvern Primary School, Leicester.
February half term 2011	Ministry of Rules, emergent activities for the Play Ground exhibition curated by The City Gallery, Leicester.
27/11/2010	Circuit bending 101, workshop at Meshed Media, Birmingham.
06/11/2010	Circuit bending 101, workshop at Nottingham Hackspace, Nottingham.
Autumn term 2010	Creative Partnerships project, Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Leicester.
Summer term 2010	Creative Partnerships project, Mowmacre Hill Primary School, Leicester.
Summer term 2010	Creative Partnerships project, Breedon Hancock’s C of E First School, Tewkesbury.
Spring term 2010	Active learning in Maths project, Whitmore Park Primary School, Coventry.
Spring 2010	Flexible learning day planning and delivery, including design of a pervasive game, Cardinal Wiseman Secondary School, Coventry.
Spring term 2010	Come Alive with Science programme, King Edward VII Science & Sport College, Coalville, Leicestershire.
04/12/2009	Creative Learning Day at Mowmacre Hill Primary School, Leicester.
10/10/2009	Maps and Mechanics for Interacting with Space, day-long workshop for Joshibi Summer School, Birmingham City University
01/08/2009	Emergent Game at the Hide&Seek Weekender Festival, London
24/06/2009	Emergent Game at Sandpit 13, Royal Festival Hall, London
Summer term 2009	WOW! A song for Skatz, Linden Primary School, Leicestershire.
Spring term 2009	Come Alive with Science, Babington Community Technology College, Leicestershire.
19-21/09/2008	Call and Return at igfest (Interesting Games Festival), Bristol
13/09/2008	Call and Return workshop at Dislocate08, Yokohama.
08/09/2008	Call and Return workshop at hanare project, Kyoto
05/08-07/08	Our Discovery Project, Hawthorn School, Birmingham.
05/08-06/08	Where have the trees gone? Christ Church School, Birmingham.
04/2008	The Cocoon Project. Imperial Avenue School, Leicester.
10/2007 – 12/2009	Children’s Science Presenter, Mad Science West Midlands. Hands-on science experiments and demonstrations for children aged 3 to 12.