On ten days during May ten new artworkswill appear unannounced in Granary Square. The audience will be anyone present – those passing through on their commute, eating lunch, playing in the fountains, having an office break, making deliveries, cleaning the square, on their way home from dancing all night – who will encounter the works as part of everyday life. After each day has passed, nothing of the act will remain in the square.

Unannounced Act of Publicness intends to probe the meaning of ‘public’ in privately owned public spaces, offering fluid, poetic and dynamic alternatives to the contemporary conditions of public space, where commercial operations drive mood and programme. Granary Square is part of the Kings Cross Estate, a 67-acre area of land developed by Argent. Unannounced Act of Publicness takes on the spectacular scale of the square, introducing elements of the unexpected, the reflective, the local and the fleeting. This series of works has been negotiated on an agreement of trust between CSM and Argent. Only the project curators know the what, who, where, and when.

The commissioned artists are from within and beyond Central Saint Martins, including recent graduates and internationally renowned practitioners, some making works in collaboration with local people. For each work one person, who lives or works in the area, will be invited to witness an act and make a written response.