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Masterclass: Public Art & Site-Specific Commissions
Get inside a real public art commission and find out how to land your own.
Tuesday 17th March, 1pm–2pm (UK time)
This masterclass gives you something rare: an honest, behind-the-scenes look at how public art actually happens – from the artist’s perspective.
Pavlina Vagioni walks you through a real public commission from start to finish – the brief, the process, the challenges, and what she learned. No theory, just the reality of making ambitious work in public space.
Lucy Tomlins, founder of Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre, then shares how artists can genuinely break into public commissions – the pathways, the networks, and the practical first steps you can take right now.
Whether you’ve never considered public art or you’ve been curious about it for years, this session will show you exactly what’s involved and how to get started.
Speakers
Pavlina Vagioni is a Houston-based interdisciplinary artist whose work stages encounters between classical mythology and contemporary life through sculpture, painting, sound, mixed media, and digital forms. Her practice is strongly site-specific, shaped by her multicultural and diasporic background, and explores themes such as fear, protection, digital influence, and liminality. She studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts, graduating with honours in painting, sculpture, ceramics, and scenography, and trained for over a decade as a classical soprano – an influence that continues to inform her work. Her practice includes major public art commissions, international exhibitions, and works held in the permanent collection of MOMus–Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki.
Lucy Tomlins is an artist, creative producer and founding director of Pangaea. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art, MA Sculpture, Lucy has evolved a hybrid practice, curating and producing public art programmes developed through embedded research, participation and engagement; artwork conception and realisation; and managing sculpture design, fabrication and delivery for other artists, designers, architects and cultural institutions.
Unapologetically defining herself as a ‘sculptor’ in an era of dematerialised art practice, Lucy is deeply committed to both the craft of sculpture and its expanded role as a means of engaging with the world. Her work explores the interconnectedness of humanity, materiality and place, considering not only the physical and sensory dimensions of sculpture but also the invisible systems, structures and social conditions that shape our experiences. Encompassing socially engaged sculpture, public performances, participatory projects, ephemeral and experiential works, the act of making and permanent installations, her practice embraces both process and presence.
The session will be led by Artist Mentor Karen van Hoey Smith – an artist mentor, independent art broker, and curator with a degree in Fine Arts Valuation. She has worked across the arts and antiques sectors since 2001, including roles in gallery management, art consultancy, and auctioneering—becoming the youngest female auctioneer in the UK. A member of AWITA and a trustee of the Royal Crown Derby Museum Trust, Karen has also served as a consultant expert for the BBC, press and radio. With a successful brokerage history that includes works by Banksy, Picasso, and Bomberg, she brings deep expertise in artist representation, curatorial practice, and supporting artists to achieve greater sales and institutional recognition.
This masterclass is exclusive to VAA Members.
- Premium Members: Free access to all masterclasses
- Standard Members: £12.49 per session
To join the Visual Artists Association, visit: https://visual-artists.org/join
