Nostalgic Landscapes: Responses to the British Seaside

Jenny Steele in conversation with David Jarratt

Location: University of Central Lancashire
Year: 2016

Nostalgic Landscapes explored perceptions of the British seaside, through examples of artist Jenny Steele and tourism lecturer David Jarratt’s academic and creative research. Referencing traditional seaside locations, such as the North West resorts of Morecambe and Blackpool, Steele and Jarratt discussed the significance of such places within the creation of individual and collective identities, and the importance of reminiscence to their enduring appeal. In particular, they examined the role of nostalgia within cultural constructions of seaside places, and discussed how this may be considered to be a productive, rather than passive phenomenon.

Jenny Steele is an artist who is motivated by architecture that suggests a utopic hope for the future, corresponding histories and ideas of place, using the processes of drawing, printmaking and sculpture in her work. Past projects have investigated modernist, post-colonial and post-industrial architectural sites. Residencies include Manchester School of Art (2012) and 501 Artspace, Chongqing, China (2011).

Dr David Jarratt lectures in Tourism and Event Management at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). In recent years he has been researching sense of place as experienced by visitors to the traditional British seaside resort or, to put it another way, seasideness. This seaside environment lies at the heart of the visitor’s sense of place and facilitates a distinctive and often meaningful experience, which centres on the themes of nostalgia and wellness / spirituality. David is currently researching the role that nostalgia plays in the touristic experience and the increasingly well recognised role that sense of place plays in the visitor economy.

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