The Atomic Arts Foundation
My project aims to transparently integrate nuclear energy into Cumbria, focusing on economic growth, community involvement, and reshaping public perception. By embracing coexistence with the natural environment, the project aims to destigmatise nuclear energy production.
The Atomic Arts Foundation serves as a platform for producing, exhibiting, and outsourcing local artwork. We invite young artists to live, interact, and create in the heart of the natural landscape, encouraging exploration of the interface between nature and technology. Generating dialogue as a means of sparking a change in the representation of nuclear power. To further enhance the project’s impact within a wider societal context, I developed a research brief investigating the recycling of irradiated water for reintroduction into the ecosystem. This challenge led to the creation of the Radioactive gardens, which act as both a tourist attraction and test subjects for radiation research. Blurring the line between nature and nuclear, the Radioactive gardens further emphasise the project’s narrative.
At its core the project is an assimilation between structure and landscape. The scheme sits within the bank of Lake Windermere, serving only to enhance its natural surroundings. The project is fuelled by the misleading propaganda of the 1950s which used artwork to normalise and minimise the impact nuclear power would have on the world. The Atomic Arts Foundation is a ‘re-introduction of the arts’ to Cumbria, using honest and communal values to advance the position of nuclear power within the territory and by proxy boost the local economic performance.
