Situations was a leading Bristol-based arts organisation dedicated to producing and commissioning remarkable arts projects in the public realm and unconventional locations founded by Claire Doherty.
Their work began with the site, situation, people, circumstance, history, or untold story of a place, taking them to many different cities, towns and villages across the UK and overseas. As a leader in new thinking about site-specific and public art, Situations developed a commitment to sharing learning, gathering evidence and nurturing new skills in producing and engagement in order to improve the conditions for the production of new forms of public art. They did this through publications, events, lectures and workshops and by authoring new public art strategies, using what they learnt from their projects to shape more dynamic, relevant creative and cultural policies for arts commissioning internationally.
Situations began its story in 2002 as a public art commissioning programme embedded within the University of the West of England in Bristol, and with the support of the Breakthrough Award, it transferred out of the University and became an independent arts charity. Over the 15 years of its programme, Situations tested and developed a series of new approaches that can be summarised by a series of principles which became known as the New Rules of Public Art. In 2017, the Situations programme was completed. The Situations archive is held by Bristol Records Office and their website acts as a resource and digital one.
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