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We produce and curate great art and ambitious projects
Looking Forward develops interdisciplinary projects that move across exhibitions, research, publishing, residencies, digital platforms, and public programmes. We work with institutions, artists, and communities to explore how curating can respond to contemporary cultural, ecological, and social urgencies.
Our work is structured around long-term collaborations, flexible formats, and shared authorship, adapting to different scales, contexts, and challenges. From field-based projects and experimental pedagogies to strategic consultancy and critical publishing, each strand contributes to a wider commitment to rethinking how culture is created, organised, and shared.
Slow Disasters in Oaxaca: Thinking and Cooking for the Soil
Launched in Santo Domingo Tomaltepec in Oaxaca , Pensar y Cocinar represents the Mexican chapter of Slow Disasters, a long-term, multi-continental project and methodology by British artist Andrew Merritt. Since August 2025, the project has been applying Merritt's methodology of using art and food to respond to "slow disasters", the gradual, often invisible processes of socio-ecological degradation. In the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, these processes manifest as soil erosion,
SHCG Journal: Engagement, Outreach or Participation?
We are pleased to share that a new journal article by our Community Engagement Curator, Sylvia Keck-Soler, has been published in the Social History in Museums Journal. Titled "Engagement, Outreach or Participation? Reflections on Community Work and Creative Health in London Art Institutions", the article builds on the insights gathered during last year's Feedforward Series on Creative Wellbeing. Sylvia's investigation offers a timely insight into how major London arts organis
Soft Ground: Textiles and Self-Soothing
Soft Ground is a four-month programme of free weekly drop-in textile-based art sessions designed to support mental wellbeing through creativity, routine, and communal making. Drawing from neurodivergent practices and trauma-informed methodologies, the sessions are open to all but particularly welcoming to neurodivergent participants. What: Drop-in textile-based art sessions designed to support mental wellbeing When: Every Friday, 2–4 pm, from 20 February to 19 June 2026 Whe
Report of Food for Landscapes: Recipes for Slow Disasters
During Design Week South Africa (23–26 October), Food for Landscapes: Recipes for Slow Disasters unfolded in Cape Town as an exhibition and meeting point for thinking, tasting, and talking about how landscapes and people might heal. The project marks the first South African activation of a long-term, multi-continental project and methodology by British artist Andrew Merritt , which uses art, food, and ecological research to address “slow disasters” , a term coined by Mer
"Food for Landscapes: Recipes for Slow Disasters" at Design Week Cape Town
An exhibition and public session in Cape Town, resulting from a Field Kitchen activation in the Lynedoch Valley, South Africa. Exhibition Venue Church House, 1 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town Exhibition Opening Hours 23 - 25 October 2025 10:00 - 17:00 26 October 2025 10:00 - 16:00 Interactive Session with the Public 26 October 2025 14:00 - 15:30 ( RSVP here ) Field Kitchen is part of Field Hospital, a methodology being activated across three continents. It uses art, food,
SHCG Conference 2025: Curating Communities
We’re pleased to announce that Looking Forward’s curator, Sylvia Keck will be speaking at the Social History Curators Group (SHCG) Conference 2025, taking place on 25–26 June. This year’s theme, Curating Communities , brings together practitioners exploring how museums and cultural organisations engage with the publics they serve. Sylvia’s talk, titled "Programming Community: Creative Health Practices in London’s Art Sector ," offers a critical reflection on the rise of crea
Feedforward: Creative Well-Being
On the 24th of January and the 7th of February, we brought together curators and community engagement leaders from across London to explore the intersection of art and mental well-being in a two-part Feedforward session titled Creative Well-being: Cultivating Mental Health through Artistic Collaboration . Feedforward: Creative Well-being seeks to uncover best practices, foster collaboration, and identify new opportunities for integrating mental health and community-focused a
Open Call for Self-Portraits
This is a call for all 18-30-year-olds who want to add their own wake-up self-portrait to our online gallery part of the project My Echo, My Shadow and Me . Deadline: 30 March 2023. My Echo, My Shadow and Me is our project within Esch European Capital of Culture 2022. It consists of a physical show at the University of Luxembourg (ended 31 December 2022), a book, and a virtual show. The online version of the project includes a selection of the material produced through the
My Echo, My Shadow and Me at University of Luxembourg
Our project within Esch European Capital of Culture 2022. The project takes place at the University of Luxembourg and involves over 50 young people, more than half refugees in temporary accommodation and camps. The exhibition My Echo, My Shadow and Me at Maison du Savoir, University of Luxembourg, is the outcome of regular autobiographical workshops led by artist Cristina Nuñez in 2021 and 2022, involving more than 50 people from three groups: a class C.O.P. (students who ha
Deptford Film Club #04
Deptford Film Club is a regular monthly event organised by Empathy & Risk and Looking Forward and in collaboration with ACAVA. Join us for the fourth instalment, which features videos by Yamile Calderon, Jesse Roth, and Blue Ren. Event curated by Carolina Lio and Katerina Matheson. 18 March 2022, 6 pm Empathy & Risk, 1 Borthwick Street, London SE8 3GH 6.15 pm Yamile Calderon Domestic at Large Calderon's film approaches the drug trafficking problem in Colombia from a grounded
Deptford Film Club #03
Deptford Film Club is a regular monthly event organised by Empathy & Risk and Looking Forward and in collaboration with ACAVA. Join us for the third instalment, which features videos by Helen Cammock, Keith Piper, and Joyce Treasure. This event, curated by Carolina Lio, is dedicated to British Black History and coincides with the launch of our partnership with MoSAF London (Museum of Slavery and Freedom). Event supported by SHAPESLewisham, Lewisham’s Creative Enterprise Zone.
Deptford Film Club #02
Deptford Film Club is a regular monthly event organised by Empathy & Risk and Looking Forward and in collaboration with ACAVA. The second instalment featured videos by Francis Almendárez, Zain Al Sharaf Wahbeh, Carla Geronimi. Curated by Carolina Lio and Katerina Matheson. 11 January 2022 Empathy & Risk, 1 Borthwick Street, London SE8 3GH 6.20 pm Francis and Anthony Almendárez Navigating the Archives Within 'Navigating the Archives Within', a film by brothers Francis and Anth
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