UP Projects are working with London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to deliver a new public art commission in the Marshgate Lane area, adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London.
The project responds to community feedback around safety in this particular public throughway particularly felt by girls, women and gender diverse individuals and has been conceived to align with LLDC’s Handbook: Creating Places that Work for Women and Girls.
Informed by a process of co-creation, proposals for the public art commission will be developed through a collaboration between artist, Sahra Hersi and a group of eight female Community Collaborators each of whom were selected via an open call process and have a direct relationship to the Marshgate Lane area.
Over nine curated workshops, Sahra Hersi and the Community Collaborators will explore notions of safety and what this means within the context of the Marshgate Lane area and consider how art and wayfinding interventions could contribute to making this place more welcoming and inclusive. Collectively they will inform the development of the artwork including deciding on where it should be located, what it should look like and what it should be made from.
It is envisaged that the final artwork will be launched in summer 2025. This project advances UP Projects’ ongoing learning and experience of co-creating projects equitably with communities and builds on knowledge shared during our 2023 conference: Co-Creating Public Space: How Can We Thrive? It also supports UP Projects’ ongoing commitment to creating projects that reflect diversity in the public realm.
