The Social Art Assembly is a free invitation to come together to reflect on the Social Art Summit and take part in conversations exploring where Social Art Network [SAN] can go from here. Using an Open Space process for groups to think, work and take action together in a self-organised, non-hierarchical way, we will work collaboratively to develop a collective vision for the future of SAN, including potentially developing a Social Art Biennial and answering the question: How can we develop the Social Art Network into the future?

The invitation is open to artists, activists, community groups, curators, students, academics, funders, those working in the social realm, and anyone interested in developing and expanding this new network around social art practice. (80 person capacity)

In partnership with a-n SAN will also be launching a Research Publication about the Social Art Summit.

Starting the day, artists who led Labs and Discuss & Exchange sessions at the Summit will share their learning. We will also hear from the new SAN Meetups that have sprung up across the country since the Summit and check in to hear about the hot topics in the growing national conversation. Brief presentations will be led by artists Harold Offeh, Anna Francis, Elsa James, Rebecca Beinart, Gil Mualem-Doron, Claire Mead, a place of their own and members from meet-ups in Newcastle, Stoke on Trent, Manchester, Brighton, Nottingham, Sheffield, and London.

During the second part of the day, Improbable will facilitate an Open Space event, where you set the agenda and nothing is censored. Open Space is a simple way for groups to think, work and take action together in a self-organised, non-hierarchical way. For more information on the process, see: https://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/about-open-space-technology

Invitation to the Open Space event:

* How should Social Art Network develop into the future? *

In November 2018, Social Art Network convenened over 300 arts practitioners and wider audiences at the Social Art Summit - an artist-led review of socially engaged arts practice - held over two days in Sheffield. The event surpassed all of our expectations in terms of numbers; the depth of conversations and the overall hunger to speak about many issues that concern artists working in the field of art and social practice.

The aims of the Summit were to:

• BUILD agency for social art practice

• DEEPEN critical discourse around it

• CREATE a network of artists

• TEST ideas for launching a Social Art Biennial.

The idea for the Social Art Network and Summit emerged from peer forum discussions with artists interested in building agency and improving peer to peer resources for socially engaged arts practice. SAN was collectively launched at the Summit and inspired SAN Meet-Ups now happening in 6 cities across the country and hopefully more. As we progress as a movement of artists, in order to keep SAN active, growing and building on our collective energy this ia an opportunity to have a say and a hand in shaping it's future.

Our dream is to grow SAN to really help support artists dedicated to social practice and to develop a platform whether it be a Summit / Biennale / Biennial / thing-that-happens-every-two-years as a platform for exploring new ways of sharing practice whilst building agency in the field. Alongside considering this, we need to work together to self-organise and support each other. Our field is rich with deeply impassioned and fiercely independent minds and together we can create a structure that gathers, nurtures and flourishes.

You might have ideas about how a network for social art might function or other examples of collective organising - successful and unsuccessful! Maybe you have views on the pros and cons of institution-building as well as ideas on the organisations we align ourselves with to help the movement grow. You might have spotted some issues that really need addressing so we can progress and learn together. You might have great ideas to propose or need some support to realise them. This is the time to harness the energy of the Summit and work together to make sure we can do more, do better and do it right!

Summit Co-conveners: Eelyn Lee, R.M. Sánchez-Camus, Ian Nesbitt
Think Tank Day planning team: Hannah Iheoma Place, Jasmine White, Claire Meade, Charlie Gregory, Gil Doron, Elsa James

Places are very limited. Please only book if you can commit to coming, and do let the organising team know if there are any cancellations so we can release your ticket to the waiting list.

Teas, Coffees and Lunch will be provided thanks to a partnership with Tate Exchange.

Thanks and looking forward to coming together again! Together we can achieve so much.