We were thrilled with our annual conference this year – Public Art: Aesthetics in the Public Realm, held at RIBA on Friday.
Over 300 people joined us to talk about the history and impact of public art, how we engage with sculpture, iconic public artists, the challenges of commissioning public art, regeneration of historic spaces, plus public art as a tool for social justice and vibrant, characterful places for public health and happiness.
We had an amazing line up including contemporary artists Hew Locke and Anya Gallaccio, designer Thomas Heatherwick, Jason Gaiger from Oxford University, Godfrey Worsdale from the Henry Moore Foundation, historian Dawn Pereira, developer Richard Upton, Kirsten Dunne from the Mayor’s Office, George Kekatos from Future City, Stella Ioannou from Lacuna and Lisa Anderson from Black Cultural Archives. Panel sessions were chaired by Louisa Buck from the Art Newspaper and Honor Fishburn from MurrayTwohig.
Director Nicola Stacey spoke about HOLT’s work and Sir Laurie Magnus introduced Thomas Heatherwick.
With exhibitions, photography and a team of young volunteers from schools in Tottenham and Southwark, the conference was bursting with creative ideas about social impact, art and heritage.
Our huge thanks to our sponsor Richard Upton and all those who joined us on the day.