Kirsty Usher

PhD Project Title: Building Temporary Communities: The Mobilities, Geographies and Working Practices of the Festival Rigger

Looking to investigate the social and economic practices, work cultures, and spaces of mobile communities in festivals, circuses, and fairs. Specifically, the research will focus on mainly tent riggers and festivals. Drawing from my personal and professional experience as a festival tent rigger and background in human geography, I will conduct original in-depth qualitative research to address various research questions. These include the riggers' entry into their profession, their identities, social networks, and the regulation of the sector. The research also seeks to explore the riggers' mobility and immobility, their relations with other mobile subjects, and the impact of legislation on their life and livelihood.

This study will contribute to mobility research in social science by examining the social and economic practices of a marginalised group who are distinct from new age travellers and travelling circus workers. It will also investigate the role of mobility in their social and economic lives, identity, and familial relations. Furthermore, the research will contribute to the study of the production of space and architectural environments in human geography, specifically looking at the embodied and performative aspects of temporary, low-impact structures used in festival spaces.