emplacements was an artist-led, cross-cultural collaborative project initiated in 1997 by Françoise Dupré and myself. The project involved artists and writers from the UK, Western Europe and Russia who work in response to their experience of the history, environment, architecture and community connected to the location of their events. From 2001 to 2003 the Komitet for the Preservation and Use of Monuments of History and Culture (GIOP), worked with us to identify significant sites of industrial architecture to act as the subject and location of each event, aiming to raise issues integral to current debates around the protection of historical industrial buildings.  In 2000 the emplacements project enabled access to the historic site of New Holland for the only time in 300 years and earned a mention in the Rough Guide.

There were two exhibitions in London and workshops,  exhibitions and events in St Petersburg over four years, culminating in 2003, the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg:

 

• Encyclopedia of Knitted Stories, participatory event at the State Museum for Urban Culture, part of the official British Council programme of events during Manchester Week in St Petersburg celebrating the city’s 300th anniversary. 2003


 

• The Red Banner Factory, St Petersburg, a three-week residency with two-day public exhibition involving artists from the UK, Germany and St Petersburg, in a building designed by the internationally renowned German architect, Erich Mendelsohn. 2002  
 

• Exhibition and public discussion with the Russian organisation Pro Arte in the British Council Galleries, St Petersburg. 2001    

 

• New Holland, St Petersburg, ten days in residence with six UK and twelve Russian artists at the historic test tank for ship building, culminating in a one-day vernissage with over 4000 visitors.. 2000    

• relocation, Museum House, London E2, 48 hour event with eighteen artists and writers from London, the West Midlands, Scotland and Shetland disEMplacements, four UK artists, the Woodlands Art Gallery, London. 1999    

 

• disemplacements, Woodlands Art Centre, Blackheath, London. Four-person exhibiton - Naomi Dines, Françoise Dupré, Michelle Lewis-King and Roxane Permar. 1998