It’s the season of new beginnings and at Collective Wisdom that means new exciting announcements, launches and events for a lot of our clients. From Texas to Bradford, we’ve been busy making noise about the best in culture.
We were thrilled to see Saad Qureshi on the front page of the Bradford Telegraph & Argus newspaper for his new commission ‘Tower of Now’ for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. We’ve been working with Bradford raised and internationally acclaimed artist Saad to share news of this bold new 15 metre sculpture opening in the heart of Bradford on the 26th April. The artwork, set to transform the city skyline, is a celebration of the city’s rich history and diverse cultural communities. Read more here.
Over in Austin Texas at SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST ®, British Underground launched their 2025 Future Art and Culture showcase with a programme full of pioneering creative talent. This year’s events included multiple world premieres, collaborations and panels provoking new thoughts on the future of culture, creativity, technology and humanity. Congratulations are due to Ting-Tong Chang and Blast Theory, whose Proof As If Proof Were Needed won the XR Special Jury Award. This is the fourth year running that Future Art and Culture have picked up an award! Find coverage from Arts Professional here.
Croydon marked International Women’s Day with a month of events spotlighting local female artists. Inspired by her exploration of feminist issues Holly Searle, AKA the Subversive Stitcher led a creative masterclass session ‘Lunch and Sew’ where women came together to transform over 100 vintage tea towels into pieces of art embellished with powerful statements. The outcome was ‘The Wendy Project’ which is now on display at the Riesco Gallery, Museum of Croydon. Holly was interviewed about the project on BBC Radio London. We also hosted influencers who shared stories on the day, two also posted on their grids, see Jennifer Li’s carousel post here and Elle and the Stitches’ Reel here.
In keeping with the season of new beginnings, we were delighted to announce Chiswick House and Gardens Trust new artists studios opening in May 2025. Developed in partnership with affordable workplace providers ASC (Artist Studio Company), the studios will form part of the Trust’s ambitious new Community and Creative Campus, an exciting project that will boost cultural and creative activity in the Hounslow area and cement CHGT’s championing of local arts and community. Read more about the announcement in this FAD Magazine article.
In collaboration with the Opera Gallery, the OmenaArt Foundation’s London announced news of a new exhibition at the Royal Wilanów Palace in Warsaw. Hosted by Polish Ghanaian TV presenter, entrepreneur and philanthropist Omenaa Mensah, guests were invited to hear about the most ambitious exhibition to date for Europe’s largest charity art auction. OmenaArt Foundation will transform the palace into a sculpture park curated by Isabel de Vasconcellos (author of Fourth Plinth: How London Created the Smallest Sculpture Park in the World) and Natalia Bradbury (Head of OmenaArt Foundation). Also on display at the Palace in Warsaw will be works from the OmenaArt Foundation’s collection of African art and auction items for the award-winning TOP CHARITY Auction.
Another highlight for us this month was marking the ten year anniversary of the Battersea Arts Centre fire. Over the past decade, BAC has reaffirmed itself as a bold, inclusive and internationally renowned home for creative innovation. Through showing resilience and leading on bold artistic innovation and social change, they have cemented their place as one of the UK’s most dynamic cultural institutions. Look out for interviews with BAC Artistic Director Tarek Iskander.
We launched James Stanford’s The Atomic Kid at the Photographers Gallery. The book explores James’ unique sensory and visual experience and aesthetic approach as a Las Vegas native who grew up in a nuclear testing landscape. If you’re interested in finding out more, take a look at this excellent New Scientist review here.
Our client English PEN’s annual Literary Salon returned to the London Book Fair. They hosted six sessions of thought-provoking discussions focused on the intersections of literature, equity and freedom of expression. One session ‘The Ethics Of Funding’ brought together festival stakeholders and activists for a discussion of funding for festivals, you can read more in this Guardian article. Also in attendance was Mahmoud Muna, a Palestinian bookseller whose bookshop was raided for a second time in London Book Fair week. Look out for an interview in The Bookseller about his experience.
