Join us online on 25 June 2025 at 14:00 - 15:15 for A Right to Feel Safe: Amplifying the Voices of Women, Girls and LGBTQI+ Communities in Public Space, the first in a series of three Constellations ° Assemblies curated by UP Projects exploring spatial justice and the role that art and artists can play in advocating for more inclusive cities.
A Right to Feel Safe will focus on the spatial injustices experienced by women, girls, and LGBTQI+ communities, discussing how public art and community-led activism can engage, amplify, and reflect diverse voices within the public realm. Countless studies have highlighted the safety concerns faced by these communities in urban environments. A recent report commissioned by the Greater London Authority, Safety in Public Space: Women, Girls and Gender Diverse People, defines safety through three lenses: freedom from violence, harassment, and intimidation; usability; and sense of belonging.
Featuring artists, Sahra Hersi and Julian Prairie, the event will explore how methods of co-creation and engagement can enable commissioners to better understand the needs and lived experiences of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ communities. The event will be moderated by Eliel Jones, Curator (Performance and Time-based Media), Kanal – Centre Pompidou.
Sahra Hersi will showcase the Marshgate Lane Wayfinding Commission she is currently working with UP Projects, developed in collaboration with a cohort of women Community Collaborators. Commissioned by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) on the fringes of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, this work responds to the LLDC’s ongoing commitment to creating spaces that work for women and girls. Sahra will also draw upon her most recent work for the Women’s Museum to amplify the experiences of women in East London.
Julian Prairie, based in New York, will bring an international perspective drawing on their experience of installing a bust of the gay liberation activist and trailblazer, Marsha P. Johnson, in Christopher Park, which became the first public sculpture of a trans person in New York City. Julian will also draw on their work with queer and trans youth through QT Art Camp.
Through this conversation, we will explore how methods of co-creation and public art can reflect the lived experiences of women, girls and LGBTQI+ communities, leading to them feeling more empowered and safer in our cities.
UP Projects is committed to ensuring diversity is reflected in the public realm, believing it is essential that our public spaces reflect and feel relevant to the diversity of the communities they serve to create safe and welcoming places. A Right to Feel Safe continues a line of inquiry that explores how public art can contribute to better representation of diversity in the public realm, a topic also explored through previous Constellations ° Assemblies, including Dread Scott: How can we harness political energy? and How can we rethink the memorial?
This event will take place ahead of the anniversary of Stonewall on 28 June and the year that the UK Pride theme is Activism and Social Change. It is also part of the London Festival of Architecture 2025, whose theme this year is Voices.
The event will be accessed via UP Projects’ digital participation space, The Hall, and will take place on Zoom.
To enable access to this high-quality programme, UP Projects operates a “Pay What You Can” ticketing policy for Assemblies, with a suggested donation of £5 per event. You can book by entering a minimum of £1.
Constellations ° Assemblies are curated by UP Projects and supported by Arts Council England.
Accessibility
Live captioning and British Sign Language interpretation will be available during all Constellations ° Assemblies. If you have any specific access needs, please email constellations@upprojects.com in advance of the event, and we will assist where possible. Alternative interpretation and access needs are generously supported by Arts Council England.
