Field | Art Projects

21 | 05 | 2021

Are curators still relevant?

Join us for Are curators still relevant? the third of a series of events as part of Assembly, an online learning and development programme for curators, producers and public art practitioners that explore issues and good practice in relation to the expanded field of public art.

In a field where activism, community involvement and participation play an increasingly important role in the way projects are developed, do curators need to rethink their roles?

If we consider the expanded field of public art (including performance, experimental writing, and digital projects), are curators equipped with the tools to do their job imaginatively and practically? How is the burgeoning growth of curating courses affecting the sector?

This event will be made up of five short presentations by invited curators, who will reflect on how their role has changed, and how they foresee it changing in future years.

Are curators still relevant? is chaired by Jes Fernie, independent curator and writer. Speakers include Laurie Peake, Director: Super Slow Way; Kiera Blakey, Head of Exhibitions: Nottingham Contemporary; Bolanle Tajudeen, Independent curator and art adviser; Rachel Anderson, caretaker: Idle Women and Cedar Lewisohn, Curator, Site Design: Southbank Centre.

All Assembly events will take place in The Hall, UP Projects’ digital participation space.  Sign up for free to book a space by following the link.

Assembly has been developed by UP Projects in collaboration with Public Art Network UK (PAN) and is generously supported by The Art Fund. The programme has been put together by Jes Fernie, Elisabeth Del Prete, Theresa Bergne and Emma Underhill.

29 | 04 | 2021

What is Collaboration?

Join us for What is collaboration? the second of a series of events as part of Assembly, an online learning and development programme for curators, producers and public art practitioners that explore issues and good practice in relation to the expanded field of public art.

The further we move into a sphere of practice that places collaboration and co-creation at its heart, the more urgent questions relating to ethics become. Is it ok for curators and artists to receive a fee for a collaborative project that is co-authored with members of a community, while those members remain unremunerated? Is our work empowering or tokenistic? Who is the ‘author’ of these projects and what do we mean by ‘participation’, ‘collaboration’, ‘engagement’ and ‘co-creation’? How murky are these terms and who do they serve?

What is collaboration? is chaired by Matteo Lucchetti, Curator, art historian and writer at Visible Project. Speakers include Samra Mayanja, artist and writer whose work spans writing, performance and film and Kerry Campbell, Sheffield based independent contemporary art curator.

Assembly has been developed by UP Projects in collaboration with Public Art Network UK (PAN) and is generously supported by The Art Fund. The programme has been put together by Jes Fernie, Elisabeth Del Prete, Theresa Bergne and Emma Underhill.

All Assembly events will take place in The Hall, UP Projects’ digital participation space.

19 | 03 | 2021

Who has agency?  Whose voices are heard?

Delighted to announce the first in our series of four discussions as part of Assembly, presented by Public Art Network UK and Up Projects, an online learning and development programme for curators, producers and public art practitioners that explore issues and good practice in relation to the expanded field of public art.

Diversity, access and inclusion have become buzzwords in the field of public art, but it remains stubbornly undiverse and alien to many.  How can we change this to ensure that the work we produce is inclusive and relevant to a diverse public?

This event will be chaired by Amanprit Sandhu, and includes Linda Rocco and Roseanna Dias.

Amanprit Sandhu is a London-based curator and educator with a focus on commissioning, performance-based practices and collaborative approaches to working.  Linda is a contemporary art curator and PhD researcher at the Royal College of Art.  Roseanna Dias is a Bristol based producer, curator and facilitator and works with the youth-led creative agency Rising Arts.

For more information go to the Up Projects website.  You can join the discussion on March 30th at 12 by registering for a ticket here.

09 | 02 | 2021

UP Projects and the Public Art Network UK launch Assembly

UP Projects and the Public Art Network (PAN), UK launch Assembly, a programme of four online events exploring critical issues and methodologies in the expanded field of public art.
Assembly places a strong emphasis on the role public art can play in raising awareness and effecting change on issues around racial discrimination, political polarization, and community cohesion.
The programme is aimed specifically at curators, artists, commissioners, and people working in public contexts, but will also be open to members of the general public.

To find out more please go to the Up Projects website.

Public Art Network (PAN), UK is an emerging network for contemporary visual arts curators, managers and producers working in the public realm in the UK.  It offers a sector-specialist network with a wide reach and convening power. It aims to be inclusive with equal emphasis on curators, managers and producers; and recognises the diversity of practitioners who have arrived at commissioning from varied situations. Its focus on internal professional development will be balanced by external advocacy and connections to artists, commissioners and the public. 

This programme is generously supported by the Arts Fund

25 | 01 | 2019

Join Bristol’s DIY Arts Network

DIY Arts is a peer to peer network for people in Bristol who work in the cultural sector to share thinking, advocate our needs to funders and policy makers and support each other.
DIY is formed of working groups where knowledge is shared and shaped. The groups focus on different areas of the sector, from advocating for work and making space for artists, to international working and networks.
We gather together for two group meetings a year, for networking, updates on working groups and to look at how we can do more collectively than on our own by joining up activity and to address any urgent needs for advocacy and there is an annual DIY summer gathering to celebrate the cultural sector.
A committee exists to ensure the network functions as efficiently as it can and to interface with Bristol City Council and its cultural strategy and the wider WECA (West of England Combined Authority) Cultural Strategy.
The committee is made up of volunteers including representatives from each working group.  Theresa Bergne of Field Art Projects is a member, and if you’d like further information please contact her.

If you’d like to sign up to the DIY Arts mailing list and be alerted to future meetings and events, please follow the LINK.