An exciting programme of public art is in development to mark UCL’s 200th anniversary in 2026. Through artworks, residencies, workshops and events, the UCL200 public art programme will be inspired by UCL - its research, teaching, and communities - and bring together staff, students, researchers, local partners and artists to reflect on UCL’s history and identity and to help shape the next chapter of our story.
We caught up with Public Art Producer Liam Green, who is leading on this programme with Sam Wilkinson, Director of Public Art and Director of Culture and Community Engagement (UCL East Campus).
What can we look forward to from the UCL200 public art programme?
The UCL200 Public Art Programme is divided into three strands. The first is a newly commissioned Legacy Artwork, a permanent artwork that will be integrated into one of UCL’s campuses. This artwork will be celebratory, but also reflect on the legacy of UCL, looking back at the past to inform the future.We are currently shortlisting candidates for our Legacy artist. We received so many impressive nominations, coming from key figures in the art and design world and representing national portfolio organizations, city authorities, major arts festivals and independent curators and critics. These nominations were then whittled down to a shortlist by our UCL200 Curatorial Group - no easy task!
The second strand is an Artist in Residence programme, which has just opened for applications. Three artists will each be embedded in a distinct area of UCL life across the bicentenary year - UCL Bloomsbury, UCL East and the student community - and create work that responds to these areas in relation to the institution’s history, culture, and future ambitions.
The third strand relates to the redevelopment of the Wilkins Building and an exciting opportunity for an artist or creative practitioner within UCL to create an artwork, as part of our physical legacy.
How do you think this programme will benefit UCL200 and UCL more broadly?
I think the legacy artwork is a vital addition to the UCL200 programme. Nationally and globally there has been a lot of discourse around permanent artworks, statues and memorializing. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for an artist to deeply embed themselves in UCL and respond genuinely and thoughtfully to our history, challenges, and legacy. A permanent artwork will not just signpost to our future, but will sit, observe and witness our aspirations come to fruition.Celebrating any anniversary is a chance to reflect, take stock and look forward. The Artist in Residence programme is a brilliant way to creatively activate space to reflect on UCL’s core values, bring in new perspectives, and reframe our story. This isn’t necessarily about a final output, but more about a process of meaningful engagement with our communities. While we have some initial ideas about how these projects might take shape, the true excitement lies in giving artists the freedom to imagine both the process and the outcome. After all, it’s this openness that often leads to the most powerful and unexpected work.
For Sam and I this work is happening at a pivotal time, as the campus is undergoing a period of renewal. UCL’s public art programme is fundamentally about broadening audiences and making the campus more transparent and open. This very much aligns with UCL’s wider vision, and the programme will play a key role in helping to bring this to life.
What do you want people to take away from this work?
I hope that it will create moments of reflection and celebration. For me, cultural programming has an important role in removing barriers and blurring thresholds - democratizing our physical and conceptual spaces.I believe these projects will showcase the power of creativity to go beyond areas of specialism and instead create more inclusive spaces for less heard voices, where people can share ideas and find common ground.
I also hope that it will create moments of the unexpected, to resituate or reframe your everyday.
Meet the team
Liam Green (pictured) and Sam Wilkinson , who are leading on the public art workstream of the UCL200, sit within the Public Art and Cultural and Community Engagement teams, part of the UCL Office of the Vice-Provost for Strategy.Liam’s work at UCL concerns the development and delivery of creative projects which exist within the public realm - this could be ephemeral things like workshops or performances, or tangible things like public artworks and exhibitions or other fun spatial interventions.
Sam commissions, curates and programmes public art across the Bloomsbury and East campuses, with a focus on developing collaborative relationships between artists, UCL academics and staff, and communities, to reflect the character and research of the institution.
The Public Art programme is supported by the UCL200 Curatorial Group: Matilda Blackwell (Exhibitions Manager, UCL East) Lucy Briggs (Programme Director Bicentennial), Mary Evans (Director, Slade School of Fine Art), Liam Green, Sam Wilkinson. The Group is supported by two external members Louise Benson (Director of Digital, Art Review) and Jo Baxendale (Senior Policy Officer, Visual Art and Public Realm, Greater London Authority).
The Curatorial Group is supported by the wider UCL200 Public Art Working Group: Professor Stella Bruzzi (Dean of Arts and Humanities), Kate Birch (Head of Development Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), Professor Ben Campkin (UCL200 Faculty Champion, The Bartlett), Professor Dame Hazel Genn (Pro-Provost Bicentennial), Professor Paola Letteri (Vice Provost Strategy, Brodie Ross (Head of Art, Students’ Union), Dr Michael Sulu (Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering and Co-Chair RESG), Neil Turvey (Assistant Director Capital Projects), Eda Yildirimkaya (Equity and Inclusion Officer).
UCL staff: Get involved and apply to create a new artwork
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