This session brought together three speakers to discuss their experiences of working in the public realm.

Vanessa Boni, Elizabeth Rowe and Kate Self discussed previous public art projects that they’ve initiated or contributed to, that include performance programmes, festivals, permanent commissions and more. Artists Simon and Tom Bloor also be added to the evening from afar, by sharing written anecdotes from past projects.

We heard about what happens when you work with the public, how to work in collaboration with parties from non-art backgrounds, and what you need to think about differently when you're working outside of the gallery; and all from the different perspectives of artist, curator, co-ordinator, commissioner and organiser.

This was the first in a series of events looking at how to make art in this way, to be followed by 'Making proposals for Art in the Public Realm', in early October.

Vanessa Boni Vanessa Boni is a curator interested in formats for presenting contemporary art beyond conventional exhibition spaces. She has as MA in Curating from the Royal College of Art, London, and studied History of Art as an undergraduate with a particular focus on performance practices and interdisciplinary art forms. She has applied these interests to a range of international institutional contexts, holding curatorial positions at: Galerie fur Zeitgenossische Kunst, Leipzig; Serpentine Gallery, London; Liverpool Biennial, and her present role as Offsite Curator at Eastside Projects.

Elizabeth Rowe General Public (artists Elizabeth Rowe and Chris Poolman) devise daring and humorous propositions that invite communities to participate in reimagining their local areas. Between 2011 and 2013 they developed ‘The Balsall Heath Biennale’, a multi-faceted project in the inner city suburb of Birmingham where they lived. This consisted of exhibitions, artworks, events, talks, a newspaper delivered to all 5000 homes in their local area, area-wide competitions and a local contemporary art school. In 2014 General Public were commissioned by public art agency WERK to develop and curate the inaugural ‘Longbridge Light Festival 2014’. The festival’s ‘Back to the Future’ theme used the metaphor of science fiction to explore how regeneration might operate in a context such as Longbridge. Over 2014 and 2015 they developed a project at Soho House Museum, Birmingham as part of New Expressions 3, a major nationwide Arts Council initiative encouraging collaboration between contemporary artists and museums. This commission involved producing a set of new Handsworth coins featuring the profiles of local people, thousands of which were disseminated into the local community in May 2015, thereby writing migrants’ stories into the history of the site. The coins’ value - free museum access - was positioned within the context of city-wide cuts to cultural funding and reduced access to museums in Birmingham. In June 2015 they secured ACE strategic touring funding to deliver a major contemporary art project that will tour Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Birmingham and the Black Country in 2016/17. Using the historical migratory movements of hop-pickers as the basis for a touring exhibition, the project tours to 15 venues across the West Midlands including mac Birmingham and the Courtyard Arts Centre, Hereford.

Kate Self For over ten years Kate Self has worked in cultural institutions and both formal and informal learning environments, she is passionate about encouraging access to art and creativity. Kate is currently Producer of 'Radar', Loughborough University’s contemporary art programme, inspiring participation and debate through cross disciplinary working between artists, academics and research. Kate worked for many years at Ikon gallery, establishing Ikon’s young people’s programme (known as IYP). Highlights included the flagship off site projects Slow Boat (2011-13) and Black Country Voyages (2014 – ongoing). These centered around changing, year-long artist commissions, extensive off-site programming and partnership work on-board a touring converted canal boat.