Modes of Assembly

 I contrbute to Critical Practice, here is an invitation to an event we are working on.

Dear ******

We are writing to inform you of Parade, an upcoming event facilitated by Critical Practice.

Critical Practice is a cluster of artists, researchers and academics hosted by Chelsea College of Art and Design, a constituent

college of the University of the Arts London. We have a longstanding interest in public goods, spaces, services and knowledge, and a track record of producing original participatory events. For instance, in 2004 we organized Open Congress at Tate.

Chelsea College is opposite Tate Britain on Millbank, and has a large contemporary courtyard at its heart, the beautiful Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground.

We have worked with our Polish partners over the last year to develop a program of events that will explore different, contested and vital conceptions of being in public. These events will unfold over Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd of May 2010.

We will investigate the history of public space and the public sphere, along with differing cultural perceptions of 'being in public', the politics of public assembly, the socialization implicit in 'publicness', the architecture of public knowledge, and much more besides.

In a spectacular, bespoke temporary structure - assembled in public - we aim to produce a landmark event, in an amazing location with a host of international contributors.

This cannot be a standard 'conference' - with speakers addressing a passive audience - we will explore participatory and ‘public’ forms of knowledge production, including a Market of Ideas and a series of Barcamps. The modes of assembly, our forms of address and the knowledge we share will be intimately bound.

We would like to invite you to participate in our Market of Ideas on Sunday 23rd May 2010.

Loosely based on the model of the ancient bazaar, the Market of Ideas consists of 'stalls' (tables and chairs) staffed by invited contributors who will exchange their knowledge with a milling crowd of participants.

Our previous Market of Ideas proved popular and productive, with a lively series of discussions enjoyed by all. We would be happy to help you with your 'stall', and will try and facilitate any technical needs you might have. We imagine the Market will run from 2pm - 6pm.

We hope you are able to contribute to this exciting event, and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely,

See how the research became in public, or read about the research trip, the public-body or the PubliCamp