Harlow Art Trust is organising a one day symposium on The future of public art to be held on Saturday 14 September. For further details please see the information given below; there will be a wide range of excellent speakers.
Booking is now open at the following link. Click here for booking via Eventbrite.
A lot of interest is expected, so you are encouraged to book early. There is no charge for the event.
Still Out There: The future of public art in Harlow Sculpture Town
Saturday 14th September 2019 at Harlow Civic Centre
10.00-17.30, including a tour of town centre sculptures
A one-day symposium exploring new approaches to public art including commissioning, collaboration, and securing it for the future.
Click here for booking via Eventbrite
Harlow Art Trust will host a national conference on the future of public art as part of our National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project Access Harlow Sculpture Town. This one-day event will bring together representatives from the heritage and arts professions around the preservation and long-term future of post-war public art. It will explore key themes including: new approaches to securing the long-term future of public art; commissioning and supporting new work; and strengthening collaboration between different stakeholders.
We welcome delegates from a wide range of backgrounds including: heritage professionals, curators, artists and sculptors, archivists, academics and researchers, urban planners, regeneration professionals, and representatives of civic and amenity societies.
Harlow is a post-war New Town. Over the past 70 years, a collection of over 90 public sculptures has grown in and amongst the residential, civic and leisure areas, earning it the accolade Harlow Sculpture Town. The collection includes works by Henry Moore, Ralph Brown, Elisabeth Frink, Willi Soukop, William Mitchell, Barbara Hepworth and Auguste Rodin. There will be opportunities in the afternoon to explore some of the key works in our collection with a guide.
There will also be a chance to visit the Gibberd Gallery to see the current special exhibition on the history of Henry Moore’s iconicHarlow Family Group sculpture. The gallery is also home to a permanent collection of paintings and drawings including works by John Nash, John Piper, Elizabeth Blackadder and Edward Bawden.
Harlow is located 30 minutes North East of London and is easily accessible from Liverpool St Station and Tottenham Hale Station. We will be providing free transport to the event from Harlow Town station. The event will be held in the Civic Centre, which also contains the Gibberd Gallery.
The event is free and we expect it to be very popular. Early registration is recommended.
We have two keynote speakers:
- Sarah Gaventa: Curator of the exhibition ‘Out There: Our Post War Public Art’ at Somerset House in 2016
- Dr Siebe Thissen: public art director for the city of Rotterdam
We are also delighted to have contributions from:
- Tanya Britain: CEO of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association
- Dr Hannah Higham: curator at the Henry Moore Foundation
- Martin Jennings: sculptor and winner of 2018 Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture
- Laura Whiting: architectural designer/researcher and trustee of the Foundation for Essex Arts
- Jes Fernie: Curator of The Archive of Destruction, a project investigating lost public art.
- Kate Harding: Artistic Director, Harlow Art Trust
- Louise Trodden: Curator and arts consultant working on large scale projects
- Camille Yvert: Harlow Sculpture Town Artist in Residence
- Stuart Whipps: Artist, currently working on the New Geographies commission for New Towns
- Jonny Matfin: Organiser, the Recommission for New Towns events
- Louise Izod: public art officer, Milton Keynes Council
- Dr Dawn Pereira: Henry Moore Post-Doctoral Fellow, researching artist William Mitchell.