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Alex Culshaw

@alexculshaw_

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Artist, filmmaker, live visuals
Blue Lagoon @filmvidumbrella

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📢 Open now in Middlesborough! @alexculshaw_'s newly commissioned work 'Blue Lagoon' is premiering at @middlesbroughartweek until Saturday 3 October 2026 ✨

'Blue Lagoon' is a new moving image work exploring the links between industrial extraction, ecological care, and somatic release through the lens of a post-industrial North East England coastline. The film features a stretch of coast near Seaton Carew, locally known as the 'Blue Lagoon', which shares its name with an infamous 1970s nightclub located just down the road. This twinning of coastal landscape and nightclub space fuses these distinct environments, leaning into overlapping layers of site, memory, and imagined geography. In connecting these references, the film reflects on how nightlife culture so frequently inherits industrial geography, turning spaces built for heavy extraction and manufacturing into sites for music and movement. In doing so, the work examines the friction between the necessities of labour, leisure, and latent threat, exploring how industrial terrain is reconfigured into a sanctuary for restorative and collective joy.

Alex joined us over the summer as part of her FVU:LAB Research and Development Residency, where she focused on developing 'Blue Lagoon'. As part of this, Alex worked with staff at Nottingham Trent University's Design and Digital Arts Building to experiment with Foley and 7.1 Surround Mixing, as well as in the Virtual Production studio to create a simulated club scene with Notts-based performers.

🎟 Free entry!
📍 Little Boro, Centre Square, Middlesbrough
📆 On view until Saturday 3 October 2026
🔗 Find out more on our website under 'what's on', link in bio!

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Co-commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and supported by an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice grant.

Supported by FVU:LAB a research and development residency for artists supporting access to new technology in moving image.

FVU:LAB is a Film and Video Umbrella initiative delivered in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University.

FVU:LAB is supported by The Fenton Arts Trust. FVU is supported using public funding by Arts Council England. by @alexculshaw_

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20 days ago

Introducing Alex Culshaw 🎬

We are excited to announce that @alexculshaw_ has been selected for FVU:LAB — a residency from Film and Video Umbrella delivered in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University @nottinghamtrentuni. The residency provides opportunities for four emerging moving image artists to work with cutting edge technologies at NTU’s new Design and Digital Arts building.

→ Alex Culshaw is an artist filmmaker working across moving image, sound, and live performance to investigate the unstable relationship between the cinematic record and lived experience. Moving between the intersections of labour, site, and collective memory, her practice employs strategies of restaging, image degradation, and live narration to examine how personal histories are constructed, mediated, and retold. By manipulating digital material and introducing performative elements to her screenings, she challenges traditional cinematic conventions and explores how presence is held or lost.

"I'll be using my time during FVU:LAB to expand my new film 'Blue Lagoon', working with Foley sound, 7.1 surround mixing, and virtual production to recreate an imagined club scene. The name 'Blue Lagoon' refers to a locally known stretch of coastline beside the Hartlepool nuclear power station and a legendary nightclub in Seaton Carew. The film examines the intersection of memory, celebration, and survival with shifting economies and fragile ecologies."

👀 We'll be sharing more about Alex's FVU:LAB residency soon!

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Identity by @weareplan.b✨

FVU:LAB is an FVU initiative delivered in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University. Supported by The Fenton Arts Trust and using public funding by Arts Council England.

#filmvidumbrella #filmandvideoumbrella #thefentonartstrust #nottinghamtrentuniversity #artsopps by @alexculshaw_

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3 months ago

Some stills from ‘Blue Lagoon’!

On show today and tomorrow @middlesbroughartweek
Just outside MIMA & There’s an amazing program of events and exhibitions to see so if you’re in the area go see!

Blue Lagoon
4k video with sound, 12 minutes 34 seconds
Blue Lagoon explores the links between industrial extraction, ecological care, and somatic release through the lens of a post-industrial North East England coastline.

It’s been a real pleasure making this film over the last… 18 months! And I’ve many people to thank for making it possible… more to come on that!

Co-commissioned by @filmvidumbrella 💙

Director: Alex Culshaw
Producers: Alex Culshaw, Niki Harman - Film and Video Umbrella @nikiharman
Performers: Stefano Ciaffoni, Angela Dennis, Bridie Douglas, Luana Duvoisin Zanchi, Chelsea Gordon, Beth Kettel, Charles Shellard, Natifah White @bodiesinmotion.angela @steve_cornett @bethkettel @douglasbridget
Field Cinematography: Alex Culshaw, Henry Smith - Northern Goose @northern.goose
Virtual Production Cinematographer: Adam Whitehouse @a_white_house
Virtual Production Technicians: Dan Turner, Jake Eden, Matthew Robertson
Camera Assistants: Dean Culshaw, Dorothy Culshaw
Editor: Alex Culshaw
Score & Sound Design: Alex Culshaw, with additional composition and production by Jake Biernat and samples from Demuja
Field Sound Recording: Alex Culshaw, Bridie Douglas
Foley Technician: Owen Baxter
Colourist: Fox Bamber Barron @foxbamberbarron by @alexculshaw_

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17 days ago

See these works from the RCA community at @middlesbroughartweek - the largest annual contemporary arts festival in the North East of England!

Artwork you can see includes a film by @alexculshaw_ (MA Sculpture, 2017) entitled "Blue Lagoon", an exploration of the connections and conflicts between labour and leisure, taking as it's geographical subject the coastline of Seaton Carew in County Durham.

Katie Tomlinson @kt_tomlinson (MA Painting, 2023) will show a series of paintings exploring the figure of the female bather in art, a figure she re-situates in a post-apocolayptic landscape.

Kicking off this Thursday, 24 Sep, the exhibition coincides with Turner Prize 2026 launch week at Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art @mimauseful, which features the work of RCA graduate Marguerite Humeau @marguerite_humeau (MA Design Interactions, 2011) and her fellow finalists.

At #MAW26, see work from ⬇️

Alex Culshaw @alexculshaw_ (MA Sculpture, 2017)
Liz Wilson @_liz_wilson_ (MA Print, 2017)
Andy Holden @andyholdenphotos (Associate Lecturer, MA/MFA Contemporary Art Practice)
Morag Myerscough @moragmyerscough (MA Graphic Design, 1988)
Katie Tomlinson @kt_tomlinson (MA Painting, 2023)
Sarah Cooney cooney_sarah (MA Painting, 2008)
Mia Wilkinson @mia__wilkinson (MA Painting, 2025)
Charlie Murphy @charliemurphy_artiststudio (MA Fine Art, Photography, 1999)
Sandra Lahire (MA Film & Environmental Media, 1986)
Chris Dobrowlski @chrisdobrowolski (MA Sculpture, 1996)
Lucy Joyce @lucyjoycestudio (MA Sculpture, 2013) by @alexculshaw_

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a month ago

FVU : Lab part 2! 3 glorious (and simultaneously very hazy) days in the virtual production studio @nottinghamtrentuni 🩵🩵🩵 Very very grateful and owe huge thanks to Adam Whitehouse and the crew Dan Turner, Jake Eden, Matthew Robertson who helped all this come together and guided me through it! Wouldn’t have been the same without an amazing group of performers either - looking so effortlessly stunning on camera! Stefano Ciaffoni Angela Dennis, Luana Duvoisin Zanchi, Beth Kettel, Chelsea Robyn, Gordon Charles, Shellard, Natifah White - thank you and Niki for producing this r&d shoot ! Again, learned loads during this time, an amazing experience and came out with some v stunning footage, that I’m now editing into a version of Blue Lagoon that will show @middlesbroughartweek … which is very soon! … opening on the 24th Sept… more to come on that! 🙏💙

@filmvidumbrella @nikiharman @a_white_house @bodiesinmotion.angela @bethkettel @steve_cornett taken in Nottingham Trent University by @alexculshaw_

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a month ago

FVU: Lab (part 1)! Truly had the best time experimenting in the Foley studio and test mixing ‘Blue Lagoon’ in 7.1 big thanks to @filmvidumbrella and @nottinghamtrentuni in particular to Owen Baxter for teaching me so much and @nikiharman for producing such a brilliant experience. It’s a real pleasure having time, space and amazing facilities to develop this project … more to come… ie part 2 😉 🙏🙏🙏🩵🩵🩵 In a blue and wooden studio, Alex, white female sits on a swivel chair infront of a mixing deck looking at the camera. A screen shows images of offshore wind turbines taken in Nottingham Trent University by @alexculshaw_

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2 months ago

Alex Culshaw
'𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴'
2026 Kitto Art Prize Finalist

Alex Culshaw explores the unstable relationship between the cinematic record and lived experience, working across moving image, sound and live performance.

Through restaging, image degradation and live narration, Culshaw examines how personal and collective narratives are constructed, mediated and retold.

Featured artist @alexculshaw_

Kitto Artist Prize in partnership with @the_koppel_project

#KittoPrize #ArtPrize #LondonArtists #EmergingArtists #TheKoppelProject by @alexculshaw_

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2 months ago

And eventually, a trailer… 👀👀

Studio Dialogues, 2025
12 min 57, 4k video with sound

In Studio Dialogues two artists navigate the unspoken tensions of shared space, ambition and gendered balances of power. Amid a cavernous studio that contrasts the minutiae of their concerns, the film captures moments of stilted dialogue and abstractly manipulated footage, building a sterile, heightened atmosphere. Through choreography, banal exchange and palpable silences their relationship becomes a quiet battleground of subtext. Studio Dialogues explores the nuanced dynamics of friendship, rivalry, and everyday strains of artistic pursuits, revealing how much can be left unsaid between those closest to us.

Starring Benji Jeffrey and Penny Klein @benji_benji_benji_benji_benji
DOP Elliot Millson @elliotmillsondop
Score Jake Biernat
Grading Sebastian Büerkner
Sound Mix Merijn Royaards
Sound recording and production assistants, Kathryn Addis and Will Sipling @kathrynaddisart @william_sipling by @alexculshaw_

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2 years ago

Thank you to everyone who came to @mezzanine_studios to see Studio Dialogues last week! 💙

Humongous thank you to @jazbos and Mezzanine, for being so generous with hosting. Really felt like the perfect place to show this work.

Also to everyone who contributed to the publication, @stewarthardie & @folium_publishing @malcolm.bradley @e_lla_b_ @jackicatling @kenji_lim_ @goiamujalli @remcraycray @annaillalba @neil_raitt @calcio.ldn @rvkceramics @jazbos @tape_2046 @yasminvardi @benji_benji__benji_benji_benji @ritaolivesilva Oliver Griffin, Luana Duvoisin Zanch.

& of course to stars @benji_benji__benji_benji_benji & Penny Klein and crew @william_sipling @elliotmillsondop @kathrynaddisart, score by Jake Biernat, grading Sebastian Büerkner & sound mix Merijn Royaards.

If you’d like to see the film or a copy of publication let me know, happy to share & post. A copy of the publication will be in @biblioteka_library too at some point ✨

Link in bio to more info. (In short, imagine a film about two artists in a somewhat surreal and beautiful studio having a somewhat charged conversation, and a publication about studio life)… 💙 taken in London by @alexculshaw_

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a year ago

Really delighted to be showing ‘Studio Dialogues’ at mezzanine between 6-9 Nov! Starring the brilliant Benji Jeffrey and Penny Klein and thanks to a fab crew and friends who helped me make this over a period of… let’s say 4 years! Details are below, hope you can make it! 💙

MEZZANINE
STUDIO DIALOGUES | Alex Culshaw

MEZZANINE is pleased to present STUDIO DIALOGUES, an exhibition premièring a new short film by Alex Culshaw.

In the film, two artists navigate the unspoken tensions of shared space, ambition, and gendered balances of power. Amid a cavernous studio that contrasts the minutiae of their concerns, the film captures moments of stilted dialogue and abstractly manipulated footage, building a sterile, heightened atmosphere. Through subtle choreography, banal exchange, and palpable silences, their relationship becomes a quiet battleground of subtext.

The exhibition is accompanied by the launch of the limited-edition publication, Plinth and Kettle, featuring contributions from artists who explore their own studios through text and image, creating a contextual dialogue on the realities of the working studio.

MEZZANINE is an artist-run non-profit art space located in the Bermondsey Triangle. Established as a Community Interest Company in September 2024, MEZZANINE was founded to support artists through the provision of affordable studio, exhibition, and event spaces. With eight enclosed multi-occupant studios, a shared multipurpose workspace, a music studio, and a newly renovated gallery, we provide a much-needed space for artists to develop and showcase a diverse range of creative practices.

Opening: 6 Nov, 6 - 9 pm @mezzanine_studios
Continues: 7-9 Nov, 12 - 6 pm
Unit 15, Orion Business Centre, SE14 5RT, London

Film Credits:
Written, Directed, Edited: Alex Culshaw
Starring: Benji Jeffrey @benji_benji__benji_benji_benji and Penny Klein @penel_klein
DOP: Elliot Millson @elliotmillsondop Score: Jake Biernat, Grading: Sebastian Büerkner Sound Mix: Merijn Royaards,
Sound recording and production assistants: Kathryn Addis @kathrynaddisart and Will Sipling @william_sipling
Publication contributions: TBA ! by @alexculshaw_

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a year ago

Studio Dialogues, 2025
12 min 57, 4k video with sound
[Still]

V happy to have finished editing this… for now at least!

In Studio Dialogues two artists navigate the unspoken tensions of shared space, ambition and gendered balances of power. Amid a cavernous studio that contrasts the minutiae of their concerns, the film captures moments of stilted dialogue and abstractly manipulated footage, building a sterile, heightened atmosphere. Through choreography, banal exchange and palpable silences their relationship becomes a quiet battleground of subtext. Studio Dialogues explores the nuanced dynamics of friendship, rivalry, and everyday strains of artistic pursuits, revealing how much can be left unsaid between those closest to us.

Starring Benji Jeffrey and Penny Klein @benji_benji_benji_benji_benji
DOP Elliot Millson @elliotmillsondop
Score Jake Biernat
Grading Sebastian Büerkner
Sound Mix Merijn Royaards
Sound recording and production assistants, Kathryn Addis and Will Sipling @kathrynaddisart @william_sipling

Very grateful for those who kept listening to me talking about making this for a good… let’s say 2 years…

Not sure where or how I’m showing this so feel free to slide into my dms if you’re interested 😉 by @alexculshaw_

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2 years ago

Studio Dialogues, 2025
12 min 57, 4k video with sound
[Still]

V happy to have finished editing this… for now at least!

In Studio Dialogues two artists navigate the unspoken tensions of shared space, ambition and gendered balances of power. Amid a cavernous studio that contrasts the minutiae of their concerns, the film captures moments of stilted dialogue and abstractly manipulated footage, building a sterile, heightened atmosphere. Through choreography, banal exchange and palpable silences their relationship becomes a quiet battleground of subtext. Studio Dialogues explores the nuanced dynamics of friendship, rivalry, and everyday strains of artistic pursuits, revealing how much can be left unsaid between those closest to us.

Starring Benji Jeffrey and Penny Klein @benji_benji_benji_benji_benji
DOP Elliot Millson @elliotmillsondop
Score Jake Biernat
Grading Sebastian Büerkner
Sound Mix Merijn Royaards
Sound recording and production assistants, Kathryn Addis and Will Sipling @kathrynaddisart @william_sipling

Very grateful for those who kept listening to me talking about making this for a good… let’s say 2 years…

Not sure where or how I’m showing this so feel free to slide into my dms if you’re interested 😉 by @alexculshaw_

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3

2 years ago