About us
UP Projects curates and commissions public art. The organisation was founded in 2002 by Emma Underhill, with a mission to support artists to make new work that has social relevance, engages communities, encourages learning and enriches the public sphere.
We work collaboratively with artists, communities and partners to create extraordinary projects. Our outlook is international, activating spaces across the globe and in the digital domain. Our work explores the multitude of ways in which people can encounter and connect with contemporary art in unexpected places.
UP Projects reaches millions of people through ambitious public commissions by a diverse selection of artists, informal learning activities, artist-led community engagement and events.
We believe art and artists play a vital role in stimulating debate, shaping our environment, encouraging participation, and effecting social change. UP Projects is therefore committed to nurturing artists’ and curators’ socially-engaged practice through our learning and development programmes as well as through our projects.
We work with a broad range of public and private sector partners including major public bodies such as the Greater London Authority, local authorities and government ministerial departments, cultural institutions including Barbican Centre, Welcome Collection, Touchstones Rochdale and Flat Time House, corporations such as Crossrail and London Legacy Development Corporation, cultural festivals including Art Night London and Creative Folkestone Triennial, and education faculties such as Queen Mary University and Kings College London. We support our partners to be bold and innovative, bringing a breadth of experience and skills covering strategy writing, public art commissioning, digital commissioning, artist selection processes, community engagement, evaluation, and public event programming.