About |

In Certain Places is a programme of artistic interventions and events, led by curators Elaine Speight and Professor Charles Quick with the support of associate Rachel Bartholomew, in the School of Art, Design and Fashion at the University of Central Lancashire. Based in the City of Preston, in the North West of England, the project examines how artists can contribute to the form and functions of a place, by exploring new approaches to art, culture and urban development.

Recently celebrated by the publication of the book Subplots to a City. Ten Years of In Certain Places, the project has worked with regional, national and international artists including Jeppe Hein, Becky Shaw, Blast Theory, John Newling and Magda Stawarska-Beavan. Subplots to a City is a resource for those interested in place-based art, while also contributing to the critical discourse around such practices. Alongside images, project outlines and reflections from artists, audience members and collaborators, the book includes texts by Speight and Quick, and contributions by specialists from various fields, including Owen Hatherley, Lubaina Himid, Sophie Hope, Paul O’Neill and Jonathan Vickery.

ICP 2015 projects include: The People’s Canopy, an international collaboration with the People’s Architecture Office in Beijing, on the theme The City as a Meeting Place; Practising Place a programme of conversations exploring aspects of place, bringing artists together with people from different backgrounds who share a common interest; Rural Mythologies, a series of events looking at notions of the rural as part of a wider focus on the ‘expanded city’; Preston Remembers, artist Jen Southern looks at Lancashire soldiers’ experiences over the world through military service; The Complaining Body, artists and researchers Sophie Hope and Jenny Richards (AKA Manual Labours) look at modern place-based working practices. In addition ICP hosts ongoing residencies with north-west artists Rebecca Chesney, Cherry Tenneson and Steph Fletcher.

To view documentation of all In Certain Places projects since 2003, including videos of public talks and Practising Place events, please visit www.incertainplaces.org