Dread Scott: How Can We Harness Political Energy?

Slave Rebellion Reenactment was a community engaged project that reenacted the largest rebellion of enslaved people in US history. The project, which according to the New York Times has indirectly influenced the Black Lives Matter movement, was also featured in Vanity Fair, Artnet and on CNN.

Scott’s presentation was followed by a conversation with Chisenhale Gallery Director, Zoé Whitley, who drew on her experience of sitting on the Greater London Authority’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm and her recent involvement in the development of the Memorial to the victims of transatlantic slavery. Together, they explored how public art can catalyse change (whether directly or indirectly) at policy level and how it can contribute to creating spaces that amplify diverse histories and foreground underrepresented voices.

This was the first of our Constellations ° Assemblies 2024, a series of three online events open to all artists, curators, practitioners, commissioners, communities, and those working across public art, social practice and regeneration.

Online resources were produced as part of the Constellations ° Assemblies programme and are hosted on UP Projects’ Resource Library. These include accessible event recordings with BSL interpretation and captions.

Constellations ° Assemblies 2024 was curated by UP Projects and supported by Arts Council England.