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Project archive

Find out about previous projects, events and knowledge exchange programmes we have collaborated on.

View work on art, creativity and culture in the context of:

As well as work we have done through the Evolve programme


Technology and artificial intelligence

Emerging technologies and art: Roundtable conversation

This online event in July 2021 explored how artists have incorporated new technologies in their art practice. The artists also explored how they critically assessed the benefits, ethics and consequences of incorporating these technologies in their art.

Read more about the Emerging technologies and art event.

UCL and Serpentine partnership: Innovation across art, law and technology

The long-term partnership, founded in June 2021, brings together Serpentine’s acclaimed Art Technologies programme and UCL’s world-class research and innovation. It facilitates innovative exchange across art, law, science and technology.

Read announcement of UCL and Serpentine partnership.

AI for People & Planet

In June 2020, Art Futures led a roundtable discussion to "identify mechanisms for leveraging the UK’s creative strength via AI’s transformational effect on society." The event was part of a series of roundtable discussions on the topic of AI. These events brought together leading voices in policy, industry, third sector and academia with the aim of stimulating dialogue and forging consensus on how to deliver 'AI for People and Planet'. 

A booklet with policy insights from the series is available on the AI for People & Planet website.

Art (I)relevance: AI and Art Futures symposium

This event in September 2019 brought together international speakers, and companies and startups from a broad spectrum of disciplines. Discussions spanned historical and emergent digital arts practice, art market trends, and data-driven innovation for makers and public and private audiences.

Read a write-up of the Art (I)relevance event.


Law and intellectual property (IP)

Creative IP: Monetising creative content

This roundtable discussion in December 2020 considered the processes of value generation and capture in the creative digital economy. It brought together artists, activists, academics, policy makers and industry representatives.

For more information, download the Creative IP discussion policy report (Word).

Creative IP workshop

The Creative IP workshop, held in November 2021, brought together experts from a diverse range of disciplines to identify novel and pressing issues facing the creative sector. Focusing on fair and equitable policies, the aim was to identify potential mechanisms to advance systems for artists in line with the government's ambition to place the UK “at the forefront of the AI and data revolution”. 

Read more about the Creative IP workshop event and speakers.

Creative IP COIN Event: Monetising creative content across the scale

Following the success of the Creative IP workshop, organisations were invited to respond to a brief regarding the protection of IP, the monetising of IP for the benefit of creators, and how to ensure an appropriate balance between private benefit and public good. The policy roundtable event and report brought together over 50 participants to design, highlight and further foster innovative legal mechanisms for emerging creative genres.

Defining legal terms for creative professionals

Our CreaTech glossary provides practical definitions of key legal terms that are relevant to the creative sector. The glossary was created through a unique, multi-disciplinary collaboration of UCL staff, students and industry partners.

Find out more about the CreaTech glossary.


Art markets

Future of the art market (FOTAM)

A series of events hosted at Somerset House and Edinburgh (online) in 2019 and 2020. The FOTAM series picked up on shifts and challenges identified in an initial FOTAM report, with many gaining new relevance in light of the disruptions and developments which took place over the course of 2020. The programme set out to address these challenges by proposing that we need to redefine value in the art market.

Access The Future of the Art Market report.

Read write-up of the FOTAM event on Creative United website.

Expanded formats: Reimagining art economies online

This panel discussion on alternative future art market economies took place in October 2020 as part of FOTAM 2020: Redefining Value in the Art Market. The panel was convened by Lucy Rose Sollitt and Jo Townshend, co-founder of Art Futures.


Creative ecosystems and practice

Creative Education Coalition

The Creative Education Coalition is a large, cross-sector initiative designed to advocate for a new approach to equip the arts and creative sector with the right skills for the future. The Creative Education Manifesto was launched in September 2023 by 12 major organisations, including UCL, University of the Arts London, Royal College of Art, Craft Council, CVAN and London Higher.

The initiative involved launch events with engagement with the Department of Education, as well as numerous conference proceedings and roundtable events including: CHEAD (The Council for Higher Education in Art & Design), V&A Dundee, Lincoln University, and ELIE.

The Creative Education Summit took place in Birmingham in July 2024, bringing together 100 participants to discuss policy implications, next steps and the creation of the Birmingham Compact.

Download Creative Education Manifesto (PDF).

Read more about The Creative Education Summit on the University Alliance website.

Res Artis conference

The international artist residency community convened in London in September 2023 for the conference: 'Mind the gap: Designing residencies for everyone'. The conference was hosted by Acme Studios in partnership with UCL and Res Artis.

The conference addressed pressing issues in the artist-in-residency sector and emphasized co-creation and collaboration as strategies to overcome global challenges faced by residency providers and the artists they support.

Find out more about the Res Artis conference on the Acme website

COVID-19: Impact survey on the arts residencies field

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, UCL and Res Artis collaborated on a series of surveys to assess the global impact on artists and arts residencies. The surveys, conducted in 2020 and 2021, revealed a significant disruption to residency programming worldwide. Over 90% of responding organisations reported cancellations or postponements, along with severe financial, professional and reputational consequences for both hosts and artists. 

The survey findings encouraged the sector to rethink sustainability, equity, and digital engagement. It also emphasised the importance of adaptable funding models and enhanced support structures to future-proof artist residencies in a post-pandemic world.

For more information access the surveys and analytical reports on the Red Artis website


UCL Art Futures Evolve Programme

The UCL Art Futures Evolve Programme was conceived to represent a commitment to growth, adaptation and transformation. These values were demonstrated through a series of more focused events: 

  • Panel discussion on the metaverse. On 27 June 2022, UCL Art Futures and Serpentine hosted a virtual panel discussion on art, architecture and the metaverse.
  • Unlocking touch. A participatory audio experience and research-based creative project that offered profound insights into human connection during the isolation of the COVID-19 lockdown. The project drew on a set of touch diaries kept by 14 participants during the lockdown in 2020. The project culminated in a piece centred around four touch zones, and some of the diarists’ experiences, which inspired a fictional script.
  • Rethinking maintenance. In a world where technological innovation fuels artistic practice, this panel discussed the possible future of art and its transmission through the perspective of maintenance.
  • Stories from CreaTech start-ups and business leaders. One 8 July 2021, four inspirational speakers took part in a panel exploring the startup journey within the creative industries, from graduate enterprise through to successful business leadership.