Constellations ° Assemblies: Pushing for Spatial Justice

A Right to Feel Safe: Amplifying the Voices of Women, Girls and LGBTQI+ Communities in Public Space

25 June 2025, 14:00 – 15:15 BST

A Right to Feel Safe is the first of two online Assembly events exploring spatial justice and the role of public art in advocating for more inclusive cities. This event will centre on the experiences of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ communities, examining how public spaces can be made safer and more representative of diverse voices. Featuring artists Sahra Hersi and Julian Prairie. The event will be moderated by Eliel Jones, Curator (Performance and Time-based Media), Kanal – Centre Pompidou.

A Right to Determine Value: Ibrahim Mahama in conversation with Thomas Aquilina

4 February 2026, 14:00 – 15:15 GMT

A Right to Determine Value will explore the artist's role in building cultural infrastructure in the absence of formal public space, enabling communities and young people to shape fertile environments for creativity, education and civic engagement. Featuring artist Ibrahim Mahama as keynote speaker, followed by a conversation with Dr. Thomas Aquilina, Co-Director of Spatial Justice at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, who will draw on his extensive research and experience of embedding a human rights-first approach into public space both locally and globally. The event will consider Mahama's framing of art as a basic human right and explore how his experimental approach towards regeneration, restitution and repatriation involves communities from the outset to inform future generations’ engagement with art practice.

Constellations ° Assemblies is a series of online events involving a cohort of pioneering UK and international speakers and open to all artists, curators, practitioners, commissioners, communities, and those working across public art, social practice and regeneration.

Taking place between June 2025 and March 2026, UP Projects’ latest Constellations ° Assemblies programme will explore spatial justice and the role that art and artists can play in advocating for more inclusive cities. The programme will explore ideas about who has rights in the development of public spaces and highlights the importance of community voices in determining whose rights and what rights are centred in urban development narratives.

Further events and speakers will be announced shortly.

Assemblies 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 “Pay What You Can” ticketing for Assemblies, with a suggested donation of £5 per event. You can book by entering a minimum of £1. Your registration for the event is a donated amount. Your donation allows us to continue to keep delivering the programme as an ongoing learning and development programme. Refunds will only be issued if the event is cancelled.

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

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.