WHEN: Friday 23 May 2025 | 10:30–16:30
WHERE: NN Contemporary Art, 24 Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP
BOOKING: Booking essential. Free to attend, lunch included.
ABOUT THE FORUM
Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands (CVAN EM) and NN Contemporary Art (NNCA) present a day-long forum exploring the growing role of artists as active agents in shaping our built environment and civic life. As artist-led practices extend beyond traditional exhibition formats into long-term engagements with architecture, public infrastructure, and systems of governance, this event convenes practitioners, commissioners, and communities to ask:
What does it mean for artists to make space physically, socially, and structurally in today’s landscape?
Hosted at NNCA’s newly redeveloped home at 24 Guildhall Road, this gathering considers how artists are increasingly working with developers, architects, councils, and communities to co-create public realm and reimagine civic infrastructures. Through embedded processes, artists are transforming the ways buildings are conceived, used, and shared. Speakers and contributors will share projects that recalibrate institutional structures, repurpose civic and cultural space, and propose artist-led frameworks for community engagement and spatial justice. From interior commissions that reflect shared cultural identities to long-term embedded roles in design teams, this forum celebrates the artist as both catalyst and co-architect of more equitable, imaginative futures.
Recalibrating Space is delivered in partnership with Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands (CVAN EM), as part of their Annual Forum programme.
CVAN EM’s Annual Forum:
CVAN EM’s Annual Forum is a key event in the region’s cultural calendar bringing together artists, curators, organisations, and cultural workers to explore current issues shaping contemporary visual arts. Each year CVAN EM works with a different regional partner to spotlight activity in a different locality and focuses on timely themes, amplifying diverse voices and fostering a more inclusive and sustainable arts ecosystem in the East Midlands. This year’s Annual Forum has been organised by NNCA.
PROGRAMME:
Presentations, screenings, lunch and contributions from: Sean Griffiths (University of Westminister/ Modern Architect) / Gavin Wade (Eastside Projects) / Emer Grant (AD & CEO NNCA) Safiya Robinson (Sisterwomanvegan) / Maysa Phares (Studio Egret West) / Mat Jenner (TACO) / Ashley Samuels-Mackenzie (Coconut Paradise Cafe) / Colette Griffin (CVAN EM & CVAN WM).
A full agenda will be shared shortly.
SPEAKER BIOS:
Mat Jenner
Artist-curator working across art making, curating, studio and the institution. Mat is the founder of TACO! an artist-led space in SE London that centres artist practices in the way it works and grows, and supports a dialogue between artists, audiences, community, and place. His practice challenges conventional hierarchies of cultural value, advocating for curiosity and play as critical methodologies. He is deeply involved in supporting artist development across the UK
Gavin Wade
Artist-curator and Director of Eastside Projects in Birmingham. Gavin Wade’s work rethinks the role of the gallery as a site of production, collaboration, and civic engagement. A long-standing advocate for artist-led models, Wade’s curatorial approach embraces sculpture, writing, and radical frameworks for reimagining cultural institutions. Gavin is Senior Research Fellow at Birmingham City University. He co-leads Eastside Projects with Ruth Claxton. His (co)curated exhibitions include ‘Sonia Boyce: In the Castle of My Skin’ (2020), ‘This is the Gallery and the Gallery is Many Things X’ (2018), and ‘Display Show’ (2015–16), Temple Bar Gallery/Eastside Projects/Stroom den Haag. Gavin makes/has made art in public squares, hospitals, shopping malls, naval frigates, cathedrals, Commons, Parks, The London Underground, Dudley Zoo, on social media and the future Smithfield Market in the centre of Birmingham (2028). His books include ‘Is this the way the universe works? (555/77 Verses)’ (2023) published by Set Margins’, ‘Upcycle This Book’ (2017) and ‘Has Man A Function In Universe’ (2008), both published by Book Works. He is a Company Director and one of Eastside Projects’ founders.
Safiya Robinson
Safiya Robinson is a self taught vegan chef, podcaster and writer exploring wellness through food. Inspired by her Black American, Jamaican and English heritage she creates modern, plant forward dishes, using food as a tool to foster community, connection and collective healing. By marrying the rich flavours and traditions of her mixed heritage with the principles of intentional nourishment, she creates a dynamic culinary experience that introduces something new, but intentionally referential. Her work is not just about what we eat, but how, why, and with whom we eat, and celebrates the legacy of Black diasporic and ancestral foodways and rituals.
Inspired by the likes of Vertamae Smart – Grosvenor and bell hooks, Safiya’s philosophy of Intentional Nourishment is not just a culinary practice but a social mission. Her work seeks to rethink what it means to nourish your body and spirit, to honour your ancestors, and to approach food and life with curiosity, intention, joy and gratitude. Through pop ups, supper clubs, writing and workshops, Safiya seeks to create space for critical food and wellness conversation. Her first restaurant residency garnered critical acclaim, being recognised as one of the best vegan restaurants in London by Time Out. Safiya was nominated one of Code Hospitality’s Top 100 Women in Hospitality 2021 and 30 under 30 2024 and has been featured in British Vogue, Time Out, Bloomberg and The Guardian, among others.
Ashley Mackenzie-Samuels & The Coconut Paradise Café
Ashley Samuels-McKenzie is the founder of Coconut Paradise, a vibrant Caribbean café rooted in community, culture, and connection. With a deep love for food and heritage, Ashley took on the mantle of Coconut Paradise after building a strong relationship with the original owner of Coconut Grove. When the opportunity came to continue its legacy, he stepped forward, not just to run a café, but to preserve a cultural hub for the Northampton community. Ashley brings a unique blend of creativity, leadership, and purpose to everything he does. With a background in music, video production, podcasting, and youth development, his journey has always centred around uplifting voices and creating space for stories to be shared. This spirit now lives on through Coconut Paradise, which hosts everything from quiz nights and vegan buffets to anti-isolation cafés and cultural events.
Sean Griffiths
Architect, educator, and co-founder of FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste), Sean Griffiths is known for his innovative, often playful approach to architecture that challenges mainstream aesthetics and orthodoxies. FAT’s legacy includes iconic projects that merge ornament, narrative, and spatial politics, while Griffiths’ solo practice continues to interrogate architecture’s social and cultural roles. Sean led the design team of artists and architects for 24 Guildhall Road
Maysa Phares/ Studio Egret West
Maysa Phares is a Senior Associate at SEW, where she brings a holistic and people-centered approach to urban design. Since joining the practice in 2018, she has led on a range of complex public and private projects across the UK and internationally, working with ambitious clients and collaborators to shape resilient environments that people can connect with, nurture, and adapt over time. Her work focuses on reimagining undervalued and overlooked parts of cities and urban fringes, with a particular interest in identifying strategic opportunities for transformation. Maysa is known for her ability to bridge design, communication, and engagement—crafting compelling narratives and fostering relationships that help drive meaningful change. Whether exploring the drivers of urban evolution or uncovering the potential of liminal spaces, she thrives when working “from the outside in.”
Emer Grant
Emer Grant is the Artistic Director and CEO of NN Contemporary Art, a National Portfolio Organisation based in Northampton and supported by Arts Council England. She is a curator, producer, and researcher with academic training from CCS Bard College (USA), the University of York, and the University of Brighton. Emer was previously a Fellow of The Recalibrated Institution (Miami) and Curator at Art Center South Florida (now Oolite Arts). She has curated for institutions including the Hessel Museum (NY), ISCP (NY), Stroom den Haag (NL), Void Gallery (NI), and Pollinaria (IT), among others.She has held visiting roles at the Royal College of Art, Bard College MFA, University of Minnesota BFA, and Florida International University’s Architecture program. Her writing appears in Nero, Electronic Beats, The Editorial, The Miami Rail, and Rhizome. Emer was a 2013 Fellow with Independent Curators International (ICI) and an Associate Curator at Left Gallery (Berlin). She currently leads NNCA’s £4.7 million capital redevelopment of 24 Guildhall Road, transforming a historic town hall into a permanent artist-led cultural hub redefining institutional models for the 21st century
Screening: Considérant qu’il est plausible que de tels événements puissent à nouveau survenir
Directed by Sébastien Thiéry (PEROU)
2013 | 28 minutes | HD video | French with English subtitles -Screening courtesy of frac franche-comté
Considérant qu’il est plausible que de tels événements puissent à nouveau survenir (2013) is a critical and poetic filmic intervention by Sébastien Thiéry and the PEROU (Pôle d’Exploration des Ressources Urbaines), which addresses the ethics and politics of displacement, citizenship, and urban exclusion. Set in France, the film takes as its starting point the systematic destruction of makeshift camps housing migrants and refugees spaces that, although often considered illegitimate, become sites of survival, community, and resistance. Using a performative approach, the film stages a fictional municipal council session in which the demolition of a camp is considered through a haunting, speculative speech that acknowledges it could happen again. Blurring documentary and fiction, Considérant… functions both as an indictment and an invitation: an indictment of policies that criminalize the homeless and stateless, and an invitation to rethink the civic space as a site of hospitality and repair and to imagine urban space as something more just, more humane, and more responsive to the realities of those forced to its edges.
About NNCA
NN Contemporary Art (NNCA) is a pioneering centre for contemporary art that has been shaping the cultural landscape of Northampton for two decades. Established in 2004 by the Northampton Arts Collective at the Fishmarket, NNCA was founded with a bold vision: to amplify artistic voices outside of London and create new platforms for experimentation, risk-taking, and community-driven practice. As a registered charity, NNCA has been part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio since 2018, demonstrating its commitment to ambitious artistic programming and deep-rooted engagement with the communities it serves.
NNCA has evolved from its grassroots origins, transforming abandoned buildings into thriving creative spaces, into a leading centre for contemporary art. Now, it stands on the cusp of its most significant transformation yet: the £4.56 million redevelopment of 24 Guildhall Road. This major cultural retrofit, delivered in partnership with West Northamptonshire Council, set to reopen in Autumn 2025. The newly renovated NNCA will feature state-of-the-art galleries and spaces offering a dynamic environment where artists and the public can engage in collaborative and creative practices. At its core, NN Contemporary Art is a platform for experimentation, dialogue, and change. It supports artists who challenge conventions, face systemic barriers, and take creative risks. As a hybrid institution, NNCA offers infrastructure for artists working across site-responsive, socially engaged, and interdisciplinary practices. Rooted in Northampton yet connected to wider urban and rural contexts, it provides a unique environment for rethinking what contemporary art can be locally and internationally.
About CVAN EM
CVAN EM is the free-to-access Contemporary Visual Arts Network for the East Midlands. We celebrate and support arts and culture in the region, fostering an inclusive long-term future for the sector, emphasising equity and access for all arts workers. Alongside 8 other regional networks we amplify voices, debate, and democratic change as part of the Contemporary Visual Arts Network England. Our strength lies in our network. CVAN EM is hosted by New Art Exchange(NAE).
Accessibility
NN Contemporary Art is committed to ensuring the CVAN UK Forum 2025 is accessible to all. The venue is wheelchair accessible, and accessible toilets are available. If you have any specific access requirements (e.g. BSL interpretation, audio description, quiet space needs, or assistance with mobility), please get in touch with us in advance so we can support you. Please contact: emer@nncontermporaryart.org
We will do our best to accommodate all requests.
Image Credit: The Northampton Rooms by Giles Round, 2024
