Place imprinting and the arts: A case study of the Amber Collective

Abstract

Drawing on an empirical case study from the North East of England, the Amber Film and Photography Collective, we develop the idea of ‘place imprinting’ to advance our understanding of the complex relationship between art and locality. In doing so, we emphasise the need to draw together three elements of place: geographical location, material form, and place as meanings and values, to develop the idea of ‘place imprinting’ which is meant to encompass both the geographic and social effects of place (‘place-doing’), and how it is made and re-made (‘place-making’). The way in which these processes apply particularly to the arts is also explored by looking at the literature on artistic clustering, how place works to shape artistic identities and networks, and how artists have transformed the urban fabric. In the empirical section of the paper, we utilise ideas central to place imprinting to frame the case study of the Amber Collective, with an emphasis firstly on factors explaining their relocation to the North East, and secondly on the way in which place impacted on their early organisation, artistic practices and social networks.