About the Project

This project is a year-long collaborative experiment looking at the role of art in society and the role of sociology in art.

Dr David Nettleingham is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent, and teaches across the Sociology and Cultural Studies programmes. His research explores the politics of memory and narrative, and perceptions of class, generation and community. His current work includes projects on the experience social change in Thanet (where he grew up and has recently returned to), industrial heritage and processes of deindustrialisation in the ‘Garden of England’, and the role of cultural activities in the development of political alternatives.

From September 2022 to August 2023, David is spending as much time as possible working at The Margate School – a fine arts postgraduate school in Thanet that is partnered with L’école supérieure d’art | Dunkerque-Tourcoing (ESA) (and formally the École Supérieure d’Art et Design Le Havre-Rouen (ESADHaR)). The school is located in the old Woolworths building on Margate High Street with gallery and performances spaces, studios for students and resident artists, classrooms and workshops. They run exhibitions and events, manage a community garden, and run community services like the monthly children’s Tech Club.

As Sociologist-in-Residence, David will be putting on public events, working with students, and attempting to build collaborative relationships with artists. He will also just be around the place to see what comes out of dropping a sociologist into a building full of artists.