Keep Constellations Free

Aim

UP Projects is raising money for Constellations, a free artist learning & development programme dedicated to socially-engaged art practice.

Keep Constellations Free

Please help us raise the last remaining funds we require to keep our learning and development programme, 'Constellations' free to all participating artists. 'Constellations' is a year-long research and development programme for artists who are either working with or have the desire to work with people in community or public contexts. The programme supports artists to develop their practice, collaborate with others and access new networks.

'Constellations' is the only free alternative learning programme in the UK for socially engaged artists conceived by UP Projects and delivered in partnership with Flat Time House. All donations raised through this fundraising campaign will ensure that 'Constellations' can remain free and therefore as accessible to all. 

Each year, a group of artists from across the UK are selected through an open call to come together and collaborate in monthly workshops. During the workshop sessions, artists can experiment with and refine existing models for co-creation and social practice or propose different models altogether.

UP Projects is committed to promoting a more diverse and inclusive arts and culture sector by offering opportunities to take part in 'Constellations' to artists from a variety of backgrounds that experience inequality and discrimination. We firmly believe that artists should not be charged a fee to participate in order to lower the barriers of access. With your support we will be able to Keep 'Constellations' Free when we launch our next open call this summer. 

'Constellations' has been conceived by UP Projects in response to an increasing need for support for artists interested in working in socio-political contexts. It forms a vital part of UP Projects’ programme which prioritises working with and supporting artists to open up questions, invite dialogue and explore the parameters of what public art is and can be in the 21st Century. 

UP Projects has worked in collaboration with Flat Time House on this programme since 2017, drawing on the history of John Latham’s house as a site of experimental art education where students, artists and the wider public can come together to test the boundaries of what is teachable and knowable. The programme builds on the legacy of Latham's work as a founder member of the Artist Placement Group, a pioneering organisation in the history of socially engaged practice initiated in 1966 by Barbara Steveni.   

With your help we can ensure that the next iteration of 'Constellations' - due to launch this summer - will remain free to all participating artists. Thank you so much for your support. 

About UP Projects

UP Projects commission contemporary art for public spaces. We support artists to make work that has social relevant, encourages learning, transforms places and activates the public realm. We believe in working collaboratively with artists, communities and partners to create extraordinary projects across the UK that respond to heritage, identity and place, bringing people together, stimulating debate, and supporting social change. Our work has been enjoyed by millions of people, including ambitious public commissions, imaginative cultural strategies, artist-led events, educational workshops and community engagement initiatives. We strive to be relevant to the places we work in, whether towns and cities across the country, the UK’s river and canal network, parks and green spaces, new urban developments or areas of regeneration. You can find out more about us here.

About Flat Time House

Flat Time House (FTHo) was the studio home of John Latham (1921-2006), recognised as one of the most significant and influential British post-war artists. In 2003, Latham declared the house a living sculpture, naming it FTHo after his theory of time, ‘Flat Time’. Until his death, Latham opened his door to anyone interested in thinking about art. It is in this spirit that Flat Time House opened in 2008 as a gallery with a programme of exhibitions and events exploring the artist's practice, his theoretical ideas and their continued relevance. It also provides a centre for alternative learning, which includes the John Latham archive, and an artist's residency space. You can find out more here.

This project successfully funded on 4th March 2021