Launched in February 2016, ThinkSpace is a forum for cross-disciplinary discussion and debate at UCL curated by Jeremy Melvin, a renowned architectural historian, curator, writer and journalist (and now a Visiting Professor at The Bartlett School of Architecture). Events are free and open to members of the public, and have attracted audiences well beyond the bounds of The Bartlett and UCL. Over the last twelve months, discussions have centred on wide-ranging and topical themes – most recently, for example, the idea of ‘post-truth’. Contributors have included a diverse range of experts from academia, the law and medicine as well as the worlds of art, architecture and design. Speakers are encouraged to draw on their often considerable experience and expertise, with subjects explored in an original and thought-provoking way. Each event includes an opportunity for questions from the audience followed by in-depth answers from the panel, leading to some impassioned and enlightening debate.
Themes and speakers from 2016–17: Mazes and Labyrinths – Parts 1 and 2 Katy Soar Sam McElhinney Richard Sennett Matthew Gandy Simon Faithfull MaryAnne Stevens Corruption – Parts 1 and 2 Anita Berlin Greg Dart Richard Wentworth Geoffrey Bindman Jason File Truth, post-truth and culture Adrian Forty Jo Melvin Peg Rawes Image: one-ton corner piece ‘67 (1967) and heap 3’ 67 (1967) installed in Cullinan Richards, Vyner Street, 2015, © The Estate of Barry Flanagan, courtesy of Plubronze Ltd. From ‘Thinkspace: truth, post-truth and culture’