Charles Quick
Lecturer (Reader in Art in Public Places)
School of Creative and Performing Arts
Hanover Building, Room 208
+44 (0)1772 893957
cquick@uclan.ac.uk
Biographical Notes / Qualifications
Charles Quick has 30 years experience of working as an artist/researcher and curator in the public realm. As an artist/researcher he has contributed permanent and temporary works for cities across the United Kingdom. A large number of these projects have involved close collaboration with architects and architectural practices at the strategic design team level.
Through his practice he engages with the social and physical networks within the context of particular sites and places. He has a particular interest in the influence that art has within regeneration and his work often examines the hidden undercurrents and infrastructures that underpin the function of the Urban
In 2003 he was part of the exhibition Other Criteria, Sculpture in 20th century Britain, at the Henry Moore Institute, which also holds the complete archive of one of his permanent projects The Navigator. His current projects include a large scale work titled Flash@Hebburn for South Tyneside Council funded by ACE and has recently completed a permanent work for Berwick upon Tweed Borough Council.
He is the co founder and a project manager/curator for the ‘In Certain Places’ http://www.incertainplaces.org/ programme. In Certain Places is an initiative that has been running since 2003 in Preston, Lancashire. It was developed in response to the imminent regeneration of Preston City Centre and consists of three mutually supportive elements: the Lead Artist scheme for the Tithebarn development, Here + Now a curated temporary public art program, and Speaking of Art a series of debates and talks
In 2004 he was appointed as the Lead artist for the Tithebarn masterplanning process, working with the New York based artist Alfredo Jaar. The combination of his detailed local knowledge, awareness of the regional and national context combined with Jaar’s international perspective is seen as a unique partnership to undertake the role of Lead Artist within the city’s development.
Recently he has completed a major commission for Berwick-upon-tweed Borough council titled Red Pass that uses new technologies to create an independent art lead infrastructure powered by renewable energies.
Current Research and Supervision
Teaching
My main teaching is within the subject area of art in public places and the role that professional development can take in the practice of undergraduate and graduates Fine Art students.
I contribute to the MA in Site and Archive Intervention, and currently supervise eight students undertaking external projects. I also co ordinate professional development elements in the Fine Art BA and MA courses
Research Projects
In Certain Places
In Certain Places is a contemporary art initiative, based in Preston, Lancashire, which actively explores how artists can work in the public realm, particularly in the context of urban regeneration, and how such activity can contribute to the creation of vibrant and exciting cities. Charles Quick has been a curator and project manager since helping to found it in 2003
In Certain Places was developed to actively explore these ideas in the context of Preston’s Tithebarn Scheme, a multi-million pound redevelopment, for retail and leisure use, of almost a third of the city centre. Building work is planned to take place between 2009 and 2012, and In Certain Places has been designed to influence the development’s early planning and construction stages.
The project offers the chance to involve artists from the beginning of the redevelopment process and to create contexts for them to shape Preston as a city in a fundamental and positive way. Since 2004 In Certain Places has delivered a number of high profile events which have engaged a large number of people and initiated debate within the city about art, regeneration and community. The project consists of three mutually supportive elements: the Lead Artist scheme, Here + Now and Talks and Debates. This holistic approach to working with artists in the public realm is unique amongst public art schemes and In Certain Places is fast gaining a national reputation for its diverse programme.
In Certain Places is a joint initiative between Preston City Council (PCC), through the department of Arts and Heritage, and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Both organisations recognise the extraordinary opportunity the Tithebarn Scheme and future redevelopment schemes in the city present to involve artists in shaping Preston’s regeneration and to define a new, holistic methodology for engaging artists within regeneration.
In Certain Places has raised over £250,000 to date and is supported by Lancashire County Council, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Granada Foundation and the CABE/ Arts & Business PROJECT award scheme.
‘Engaging Communities Through The Arts’
Charles Quick is Project manager for ‘Engaging Communities Through The Arts’ which is a knowledge transfer partnership project involves the 4 universities of Manchester Metropolitan, Salford ,Northumberland and Uclan funded by HEFCE Urban Regeneration making a difference.
This is a multidisciplinary project which involves the implementation, evaluation, and knowledge exchange of two contrasting arts based community cohesion projects. One of them is a creative evaluation project of the In Certain Places programme working in partnership with, Preston artist Chris Davis of ‘Alison’ and the Moores Family on the Brookfield estate in the North of Preston. The project has been running since May 2007, and through the use of new technologies the Moores have been able to video chat with artworks, officers of Preston City Council, artists and participants involved in the In Certain Places programme. The family has been able to witness and have a direct input into a range of temporary public art projects that have taken place in the Preston city centre during the time frame of the project. This opportunity has enabled the Moores family sited on the periphery of Preston to have an active discourse about the planning and the implications expected of temporary art projects in the centre of Preston. They has been able to raise issues about their needs and how they perceive the project to affect their cultural, social and physical world in relationship to the development of the public realm in the city centre. The dialogue has formed a cultural exchange which has broadened the understanding of the issues which both parties have to address on a daily base. The family project is an innovative form of cultural conversation which in itself contains a component of public consultation and commentary. So far over 20 conversations have been recorded these will be presented in an edited form to create an evaluation of the ICP programme. The other is an innovative project to support and develop create writing as a way of expressing the present and history of a community in Salford, and builds on links in the community that the arts unit at Salford University has been developing. Both projects have contributed to the community cohesion of their respective communities through creative processes resulting in public outputs. Running along side both of these projects will be a meta evaluation which will result in the forming of innovative evaluation tools appropriate to community based arts work. The project is led by Charles Quick from UCLan in collaboration with Gaynor Bagnall of the university of Salford with Lynn Froggett of PRU Leading on the meta evaluation of both projects.
External Affiliations / Roles
Curator and project manager for In Certain Places
Member of the North West Design Review panel, RENEW
Member of the Lighting strategy group Preston City Council
Co Lead Artist Tithebarn Development Preston City Council
Grants
2001 Yorkshire and Humberside Arts award
2004 Arts Council Yorkshire, Greater Northern Curators Visit to Sao Paulo Biennial
2006 HEFEC Urban Regeneration Making a Difference
Selected Publications
Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery, Towerscan, Publication to Project 2001
South Tyneside Council, Flash@Hebburn, Publication to project 2006
Commissions North, Red Pass, Publication to project 2007
Selected Projects
2001 Design: Orchard Tunnel, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Urban Design Team
2001-07 Commission: Flash@Hebburn Art on the Riverside South
Tyneside MBC
2002 Design: Computing and Technology Building University of Central Lancashire
2003-07 Curator: of Here + Now, temporary art for a transitional City, Preston
2003 Project: Regulator, Marshall Court Building, Marshall Mills. Leeds
2004 Design: Cleveleys Promenade, collaboration with Bauman Lyons Architects, Wyre Borough Council.
2004 - 07 Lead Artist: Tithebarn Master Plan Design Team, BDP Architects, Preston
2006-07 Commission: Red Pass, Ramparts Business Park, Berwick-upon- Tweed Borough Council
Selected Exhibitions
2001 Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery, Leeds
2003 Artranspennine 03
2003 Other Criteria, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
2007 Prestival, Preston
Conference Papers
2006 The City in Transition, The 2nd National Public Art Conference.
