Model resistance: A trans-format endeavour with Dr Sarah Franklin

The role of the model village in reflecting and refracting modern life - a talk by Dr Sarah Franklin

‘Resistance and change often begin in art’ - Ursula le Guin.

This talk is about making art from art, and about framing resistance within the context of art. It will focus on creative-practice research conducted in and about the phenomenon of the British model village. Part-alternative to soft play, part nostalgia factory, part meditation on society: What can the model village tell us about contemporary Britain through the reenactments and rerepresenting of experience? Dr Sarah Franklin's research has led to a novel set in a model village, in which unknown protestors are enacting resistance by means of guerilla tableaux depicting alternatives to fossil fuels, the closure of libraries as well as celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community and of immigration. These scenarios are smuggled in to nestle amongst the olde-worlde fun fairs and market squares and provide both intra-fiction and extra-fictional opportunities to consider what it takes to reimagine a possibility for British life. In translating the visual format of the model village to a written format, she reflects upon the possibilities and limitations of form, and on the ability of fiction to extend imaginative realms.

This event is part of the 6th International Creative Industries Festival organised by the Creative Industries Research and Innovation Network at Oxford Brookes University, it is FREE and OPEN TO ALL!