New Monuments for Aldgate
MA Public Art and Performance

Public Art and Performance MA students produce a group exhibition and Anna Masters wins with ‘Something Good’ – space for reciprocal acts of generosity and gratitude.

Aldgate in Winter is an annual festival that takes place in December. It’s a loud and vibrant community event with a 400 people strong lantern parade and drum band making its way through the streets of Aldgate.

This year of course, it had to be held online, and consisted of online craft workshops, digital workshops, presentations and opportunities for comment.

Amongst these workshops, Public Art and Performance MA responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, the removal of ‘Cass’ from both our name and the Sir John Cass Primary School, to consider ‘New Monuments for Aldgate’.

MA students presented their research and proposals on ‘New Monuments for Aldgate’ at the Winter festival. These proposals will be collectively presented at the Summer programme in an exhibition at the Dorsett Hotel on Aldgate High Street.

The project also developed into a competition for one installation to be installed at the Summer festival, which was won by Anna Masters’ proposal ‘Something Good’. This will be installed at St Botolph Without Aldgate’s churchyard, just off Aldgate Square.

‘Something Good’ is “a participatory art intervention which creates a dedicated space for reciprocal acts of generosity and gratitude. A life-size pair of resin hands will protrude, offering gifts to passers-by.”

Following the online workshop, new partnerships are being developed between Public Art and Performance MA and The Monument to the Great Fire of London, and to St Botolph’s Without Aldgate church. So watch out for further live projects!