Martha Lineham
Senior Lecturer
Foundation
Martha’s research develops an artist-ethnography methodology that explores the sensory, affective and atmospheric affordances of places through interactions of fieldwork and theory. Her mixed methods approach makes use of lens-based media, soundwalking, object collecting and making, fieldnotes and creative-critical modes of writing up. Martha has particular interests in the layered histories and practices of enduring sites of entertainment, recreation and creativity in British culture, with expertise on sound, surface, light and dark. Martha has experience of working in exhibitions and archives at People’s History Museum, Manchester Art Gallery, The National Trust, Bridgeman Images, The Association of Illustrators and Imagination Ltd. She has an MA in Visual Culture and is currently working towards a PhD in Art and Geography on contemporary British seaside amusement arcade experience. Martha is a member of the MMU Visual Culture and Art Research Groups.
In her role as Senior Lecturer, Martha advances her art and design pedagogic and leadership roles at levels 3-6 in a number of education institutions. Martha is the Foundation Fine Art Pathway Lead, overseeing staff and students on the Fine Art pathway and timetabling an engaging programme of content, activity and assessment. Martha draws on her research practice and adopts a process approach to education that facilitates appropriately challenging and differentiated learning, working collaboratively with colleagues to create an inspiring, inclusive and valuable student experience.
Projects
The (Amusement) Arcades Project
The (Amusement) Arcades Project creatively and critically explores the contemporary British seaside amusement arcade as a uniquely sensory and affective space. The project sits at the intersection of art and ethnography, opening up ways of considering, creating and communicating under-represented qualities, experiences and atmospheres of seaside amusement arcades in their contemporary contexts. Details…
The Stones Project
Collaborative artistic research project between Dr Fionna Barber, Dr Beccy Kennedy-Schtyk, Martha Lineham and Dr Hannah Singleton. The Stones Project examines how we represent and experience ancient and modern British and Irish standing stones in their contemporary contexts, through a sensory and embodied research approach that focuses on themes of affect, materiality, mythology and temporality. Details…
Research
Martha Lineham is a member of the Art and Performance Research Hub.
Exhibitions
Singleton, H., Barber, F., Lineham, M., Kennedy, R.M.C., 2024. The Stones Project: ancient stones and contemporary art, Victoria Hall, Glossop, 19/7/2024 - 21/7/2024.
Lineham, M., Ali, K., 2021. Barber Shops of Levenshulme. Artists' film., Screenings/Exhibitions: Cinema in the City at FACT, Liverpool, 13/08/2021; Bankley Studios & Gallery, Manchester, 21/11/2021; HOME Manchester Open Exhibition, Manchester, 24/01-27/03/2022 and Cinema Screening 26/02/2022, 13/8/2021 - 27/1/2022.
Lineham, M., 2021. Coin Extraordinaire, A-N Assembly Conference 2021, Blackpool, 28/9/2021 - 30/9/2021.
Lineham, M., 2019. Coin-operated: seaside amusement arcades, The Fish Factory Art Space, Cornwall, 16/6/2019 - 28/6/2019.
Lineham, M., 2019. Images of Research, Grosvenor Gallery, Manchester, 4/2/2019 - 1/3/2019.
Artefacts
Lineham, M., 2018. 'The (Amusement) Arcades Project Soundwalk Archive (ongoing)'.
Book Chapters
Lineham, M., 2023. 'Between Illumination and Darkness: Blackpool's Contemporary Amusement Arcade Atmosphere'. In Steadman, C., Coffin, J. (eds.) Consuming Atmospheres: Designing, Experiencing, and Researching Atmospheres in Consumption Spaces, pp. 107-121, Routledge, London.
Internet Publications
Lineham, M., 2024. ''Seaside Pleasures', Exhibition catalogue essay for 'Super Fun Tyre' by Stuart Robinson.', https://stuartrobinson.net/super-fun-tyre-catalogue.
Non-Peer Reviewed Articles
Lineham, M., 2021. 'Slots of fun!', The Modernist, 38.
Conference Papers
Lineham, M., 2024. 'Let it WIP! Foundational Atmosphere', Foundational: Exploring the Legacies and Impacts of Foundation Art & Design Education, Royal College of Art, London, 29/8/2024 - 30/8/2024.
Lineham, M., 2023. 'Between the floors: art school atmospheres', GLAD (Group for Learning in Art and Design Higher Education) Symposium 2023: Gathering Ourselves, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London, 8/9/2023 - 8/9/2023.
Lineham, M., 2019. 'Rethinking seaside amusement arcades through sensation and affect', Royal Geographical Society Mid-Term Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, 24/4/2019 - 26/4/2019.
Lineham, M., 2019. 'Sensation and affect down at the seaside amusement arcade', Living Research: The Urgency of the Arts, Royal College of Art, London, 15/3/2019 - 15/3/2019.
Lineham, M., 2017. 'Reconsidering British amusement arcades in the 1980s through the sensory and the temporal', Recording Leisure Lives: Men's Women's and Children's Leisure in 20th Century Britain, University of Bolton, Bolton, 10/7/2017 - 11/7/2017.
Presentations
Lineham, M., 2024. 'The (Amusement) Arcades Project: Lit places at the land's edges', Institute of Place Management, Manchester.
Lineham, M., 2018. 'Sounding the seaside amusement arcade', Institute of Place Management, Manchester.