Fairytale or horror story - urban designer and artist collaborations: what value do they bring?

Collaborative practice between artists and urban designers has been promoted as a means of producing creative solutions for urban environments; enhancing the quality of urban design and creating imaginative environments that reflect local identity and meet communities' needs. Recent funding and policy initiatives have encouraged collaborations, presenting greater opportunities for the professions to work together as part of a design team. But what is the real added value of these working partnerships and how do they work in practice?

RUDI and Public Art South West (PASW) are organising this one-day conference with the aim of informing, challenging and debating collaborative practice in the realm of Contemporary Art and Urban Design. The event will not only explore the process and experience of collaborations in terms of final outcome but, perhaps more importantly, will consider the integration of artists and their ideas into urban design teams and programmes.

Highlights include:

Opportunities and obstacles for successful working practices

Experiences of leading edge collaborations

The real added value of involving an artist in design teams

The future for urban designers and artist collaborations

Participants include:

Jon Rowland - Urban Designer and Director, Jon Rowland Urban Design

Wolfgang Buttress - Artist and Designer

Diarmaid Lawlor - Urbanist and Associate Director, Urban Initiatives

Natalie Woolf - Artist

Mark Luck - Urban Designer, North Somerset District Council

David Cotterrell, Artist

Anna Minton - Writer and Journalist

Rob Aspland - Director, LDA Design

For more information about this event email tom@rudi.net