Art Night
June 2019
First public event of the Constellations programme; a 10 month research & development residency with 7 other artists investigating social-political issues, collaboration and activating public space.
Drawing on the history of the gasholder sites in King’s Cross, we presented a series of participatory activities that explore ideas related to public /private space as part of Art Night, June 2019. Built in the 1850s, Gasholder No. 8 formed part of Pancras Gasworks, one of the largest gasworks sites in Britain. Reflecting on its transition, from iconic 19th Century industrial structure to residential leisure site with landmark status, the event invited audiences to consider and engage with a location (and it’s surroundings) that is simultaneously public and private.
Life Rewired Hub, Barbican
29-30 October 2019
Over the course of two days the Constellations group was based at the Life Rewired Hub exploring ideas of collaboration, co-creation and peer-to-peer learning through a workshop with Topher Campbell and a series of participatory activities.
Audiences could attend 3 unique workshops with the Constellations team where collaboration, co-creation and peer-to-peer learning were explored.
My workshop 'show me the face of your digital voice' - in collaboration with artists Dunya Kalantery and Hannah Kemp-Welch - investigated the digital voice in public space.
From virtual assistants to supermarket checkouts, the digital voice is embedded in our cities. But who does it belong to, who does it speak for and what imprint does it leave on us? We listened together in a practical workshop that tested out the strategies of these machines, participants were encouraged to create their own public announcements, placing them in specific areas of the Barbican and then observing public reaction.
Flat Time House
18 January 2020
‘doing your homework – eating your dinner – drawing a picture’
An event hosted by the Constellations group 2019/20. Included a screening of films from the London Community Video Archive introduced by Ed Webb-Ingall, a meal for participants and a publication launch.
Children from Belham Primary, the school opposite Flat Time House, recently visited John Latham’s studio home. In explaining Latham’s thinking to the group, Curator/Director Gareth Bell-Jones focused on how, to an eight year old, each of the rooms of the house relates to different states of being: rational, instinctive and intuitive; ‘ doing your homework – eating your dinner – drawing a picture’
We decided to follow the same approach.
Marking the end of ten months working together, we considered modes of collaboration in relation to public and private space within the context of FTHo as both a living sculpture and a domestic setting. Films from the London Community Video Archive were screened, a communal meal served, and a publication, launched on the day, dealing with themes of public/private, the domestic and socially engaged practice, was assembled. Ed Webb-Ingall of the LCVA introduced the archive.
Contributions by Amanda Ramasawmy, Angharad Davies, Dunya Kalantery, Edwin Mingard, Hannah Kemp-Welch, Katie Fiore, Mai Omer and Miki Holloway.
