UP Projects

📢 Public Art Open Call UP Projects and John Hansard Gallery are seeking expressions of interest from artists for ‘Play the Campus’, an exciting new public art commission for University of Southampton’s North East Quadrant. This new development aims to create welcoming green spaces that increase biodiversity and provide a sense of arrival for staff, students, and the public. ‘Play the Campus’ will embed a series of playful interventions across the Highfield Campus. This opportunity is aimed at socially engaged artists with experience of producing high quality work in the public realm. We particularly encourage expressions of interest from artists who have a connection to or existing knowledge of Southampton. 🗓️ Deadline: Monday 8 December 2025, 12 noon. Find more information about this opportunity and how to apply: 🔗https://lnkd.in/eQTYZFJM

Last week, I had the privilege of presenting a paper on Rethinking Memorialisation at the Placemaking Conference convened by the Henry Moore Institute and the Twentieth Century Society, as part of the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture  programme. My presentation explored UP Projects' work on two related commissions: ➡️ The National Windrush Monument by Basil Watson, at Waterloo Station — commissioned by the UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities in 2022.  ➡️ ‘Rush Me’ by Sonia E Barrett — commissioned by UP Projects as a digital counterpoint to the physical monument. Together, these projects invite us to reconsider how we commemorate, who is represented, and whose voices shape the narratives of collective memory. Our approach to developing these commissions was guided by three key considerations: 1️⃣ How can we commemorate the past and honour tradition, while also creating space to imagine new and hopeful futures?  2️⃣ How can we improve the representation of diversity in the public realm?  3️⃣ How can we meaningfully involve the communities for whom these commissions are created?  Through an extensive community engagement process with the British Caribbean community, Basil Watson’s proposal emerged as the resounding choice. Participants expressed that it embodied pride and courage — and that its ambitious bronze form offered the gravitas and respect the Windrush Generation deserves. In parallel, Sonia E Barrett’s ‘Rush Me’ was developed through intergenerational online workshops with British Caribbeans both in the UK and those who had returned to the West Indies. These workshops became more than just creative sessions — they were safe spaces for dialogue, reflection and truth-telling. Participants shared reflections on grievances and injustices – highlighting the racism they had encountered, the Windrush scandal and the mistreatment of family members - as well as sharing proud moments and memories. Where the National Windrush Monument captures a singular, historic moment — a family arriving in the UK — ‘Rush Me’ opens up a multiplicity of perspectives, weaving together converging narratives and lived experiences, where people could speak freely, be critical and voice grievances in the context of Windrush but also relating significantly to issues for migrants globally. Yet both works are profoundly political. The physical permanence of the Windrush Monument demands attention: it proclaims that Caribbean immigrants are here, are important, have a right to be here, and are here to stay. As we rethink memorialisation in public space, we need to consider how monuments can move beyond commemoration to become platforms for dialogue, community action, imagination, and shared futures. 

Last Chance to Apply! The Royal Parks charity and UP Projects’ Constellations ° Residency Open Call closes this Sunday, 2 November. We’re offering a 6-month paid residency for an early to mid-career artist with a socially engaged practice, starting January 2026. 📍Residency studio: St Mary’s Lodge, Greenwich Park 💷 £22,000 artist fee + on-site studio 📅 Applications close: Sunday 2 November This is a unique opportunity to develop your practice through creative community engagement and build connections with Greenwich Park’s diverse local communities across Greenwich, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets. We’re looking for artists who: 🌿 Have a socially engaged practice 🌿 Understand barriers faced by underserved communities 🌿 Have a close connection to Greenwich, Lewisham or Tower Hamlets 🌿 Recognise the social and cultural value of urban green spaces 🔗 Apply by Sunday 2 November https://lnkd.in/ei4Zgm3H

⭐Programme and Partnership Manager (Enfield of Dreams) ⭐️ Fixed term: Two years, 4 days a week  £40,000 (pro rata)    UP Projects is looking for a dynamic Programme and Partnership Manager to lead the ambitious ‘Enfield of Dreams’ project.    We’re thrilled to have secured Place Partnership funding from Arts Council England for a transformative two-year project that connects Enfield’s Cultural community in a shared vision – placing its young people at the centre. We’re looking for someone who has experience:   ➡️Working on significant creative programmes with public participation  ➡️ Managing young people focussed initiatives  ➡️ Leading on projects that involve a diverse set of partners and stakeholders Get in touch if you’d like to join a small, collaborative team specialising in socially engaged public art commissioning. 🗓️Deadline: Midnight, 23 November 2025.  🔗https://lnkd.in/eUkD3M7K

⭐Programme and Partnership Manager (Enfield of Dreams) ⭐️ Fixed term: Two years, 4 days a week  £40,000 (pro rata)    UP Projects is looking for a dynamic Programme and Partnership Manager to lead the ambitious ‘Enfield of Dreams’ project.    We’re thrilled to have secured Place Partnership funding from Arts Council England for a transformative two-year project that connects Enfield’s Cultural community in a shared vision – placing its young people at the centre. We’re looking for someone who has experience:   ➡️Working on significant creative programmes with public participation  ➡️ Managing young people focussed initiatives  ➡️ Leading on projects that involve a diverse set of partners and stakeholders Get in touch if you’d like to join a small, collaborative team specialising in socially engaged public art commissioning. 🗓️Deadline: Midnight, 23 November 2025.  🔗https://lnkd.in/eUkD3M7K

The latest report by RIBA and the Fawcett Society, exposes a harsh reality - women in architecture are still paid significantly less than men, with inequity widening at senior levels. More than 50 years after the Equal Pay Act, it’s sobering to see how persistent this gap remains - echoing the same struggles that the Ford Dagenham sewing machinists fought against in 1968. That’s why UP Projects’ commission with artist Ruth Ewan feels so timely. Launching next year, her work celebrates the women whose strike action helped bring about the Equal Pay Act of 1970 as well as equal grading for their work. The findings of this report are a stark reminder that progress towards equity demands constant vigilance and that true equality for women and girls remains an unfinished fight. 👉 Read The Guardian coverage here: https://lnkd.in/eQNzUiCq) Adriana Marques Olivia Connelly Victoria McCracken Jack Newbury UP Projects

💫 Introducing: Enfield of Dreams 💫 We're launching a major new place partnership arts project in Enfield to put the borough’s young people at the heart of its cultural scene. Backed by £500,000 from Arts Council England (with additional support from Local Motion Enfield), Enfield of Dreams will unfold over two years and culminate in a new cultural strategy for the London borough.  Together with Enfield’s vibrant creative community, young people will reimagine the borough’s cultural landscape through: 🎨 Ambitious public art projects co-created with a network of local artists and organisations  💡 A Young Cultural Leaders programme that will nurture the next generation of arts leaders 📚 An artist-led creative learning programme in Enfield’s secondary schools UP Projects are excited to be leading Enfield of Dreams in collaboration with our fellow local organisations including Border Crossings, Chickenshed Theatre, FaceFront Inclusive Theatre, HighRise Entertainment & Platinum Performing Arts. 🔗 Find out more https://lnkd.in/eNeTp8rb Image: This Is Us Festival, Millfield Theatre, July 2025. Photo: Rudy Farragher

Greenwich Park is one of London’s eight Royal Parks: a mix of 17th-century landscape, stunning gardens and a history dating back to Roman times.    There is a rich tapestry of existing artistic and creative communities local to the park, and of public art and monuments previously commissioned for the park’s landscape.    The Constellations ° Residency offers a socially engaged artist the opportunity to situate their practice within the park whilst engaging with its communities.     UP Projects and The Royal Parks charity are offering one socially engaged, early to mid-career artist:  🌿 Free and exclusive studio space at St Mary’s Lodge in Greenwich Park  🌿 £22,000 artist fee  🌿Tailored support to engage with Greenwich Park’s diverse local communities    🔗 Applications are open until 2 November 2025 - apply here https://lnkd.in/ei4Zgm3H     📷Greenwich Park, The Royal Parks.