Anglia Ruskin University is bringing new public art to Cambridge from October 2011 to July 2012.

The V I S U A L I S E public art programme is commissioning a range of contemporary artists and curators to work with the University to create exciting public art projects, exhibitions, workshops and events across Cambridge.

Rather than taking the traditional public art approach of sculptures in public spaces, V I S U A L I S E is embracing the University’s centre of excellence in fine art, media arts and digital technologies to create projects that will enable us to explore the public spaces within Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University in new ways.

V I S U A L I S E  aims to brings together artists, students, Cambridge residents, science and technology industry specialists, academics, local business and the local authority to engage with the changing city and modern social life. V I S U A L I S E will explore questions such as “how does our interaction with each other affect how we use public space?” and “how can we redefine ideas of community and campus in a digital age?”

V I S U A L I S E consists of three types of projects:

  1. A public art commission by Circumstance (aka artist Duncan Speakman and collaborators)
  2. A set of artist & Cambridge industry collaborations between artists and innovative technology companies around the theme of public intervention
  3. A related exhibition / events programme across Cambridge

V I S U A L I S E will explore these themes in the context of the new building development at Anglia Ruskin University and the wider relationship between people and the city:

  1. ‘Legible Campus, Legible City’ – creating a sense of place that has coherence and impact
  2. ‘Social Networking’ – virtual and real space, bringing people together and redefining ideas of community and campus in a digital age
  3. ‘Soft City’ – people defining place. The physical city environment influenced by human relations and social activity. The legacy of the ‘soft’ on the ‘hard’.

V I S U A L I S E has been created to provide a valuable cultural contribution to Cambridge through the significant investment generated through the University’s Cambridge Campus redevelopment.

V I S U A L I S E is being project managed for the University by Futurecity and is being delivered with the support and collaboration of Cambridge City Council.