terra incognitaterra incognita projects aim at challenging audiences, the status quo, the definition of art - all things 'art' that are worth doing and that aren't being done or supported by anyone else.

 

terra incognita is a street-level, non profit-making arts organisation dedicated to producing and promoting art, publications and exhibitions of the highest quality. We also hope that our projects are accessible to a wide range of audiences despite tackling difficult subjects in a rigorous fashion.

We have now set our sights on literature with our new imprint <1% because it has become increasingly clear that the mass-market, while a relief from the elite market of the artworld, does not have all the answers. In fact, it seems to have created a great many problems for the support and promotion of excellence in art. We aim at encouraging access to contemporary art, literature and ideas, and we particularly support work that is challenging and that strives towards artistic excellence in all its variety of forms. Our area of particular interest is in work that engages with widespread concerns and lived experience though from a critical, reflexive approach.

Co-founded in 1997 by Alana Jelinek and Juliette Brown, terra incognita works with artists, academics, writers, architects, community activists, and many others from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. This process inspires future projects and directions.

The majority of projects are locally-based and relevant specifically to London or Tower Hamlets, a borough of London. Because issues that are relevant here are also often relevant elsewere, there is a broader art and non-art following for our work. Our projects are often critically and socially engaged and interventionist in approach. We aim to be at the leading edge of art practices and critical engagement with a strong foundation in ethical engagment.

Funding
Large projects which employ freelancers or commission new work are funded by Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, or local authorities as well as smaller public funding bodies and grant-giving trusts. Recently, terra incognita have been determined to self-fund where possible. This is against a worrying trend we have identified where art is not made in its own terms. Fewer professional artists are willing to make artwork without public money or without an obvious market. We suspect this is ultimately bad for art, reducing art-making to the whims of the market or the whims of state bureaucracies so we are attempting something else whenever this proves possible.

For further information about any project, please contact terra incognita
Phone or fax: (London) +44 (0) 207 790 1864
Email and other contact information on contact page : Contacts Page