Asad Raza to undertake public art commission at Granta Park in Cambridgeshire

American-Pakistani Artist Asad Raza has been selected to undertake a new public art commission at Granta Park in Cambridgeshire. The artist is known for projects such as Untitled (plot for dialogue) where he installed a tennis-like game in a deconsecrated sixteenth-century church in Milan; and Diversion which saw him reroute the Main River to flow through Kunsthalle Portikus in Frankfurt. Raza conceives of art as a metabolic, active experience - he creates participatory interventions which prompt visitors to interact with their environment and interrogate the relationship between nature and culture. 

CAS *Consultancy was appointed by BioMed Realty - a leading provider of real estate solutions to the life science and technology industries - to manage the artist commissioning process at Granta Park. 

Established more than 20 years ago, Granta Park is one of the world’s most dynamic life sciences developments. Home to leading pharmaceutical research and development companies including AstraZeneca, Gilead, Illumina and Pfizer, the current estate offers 120 acres of inspirational surroundings in rural Cambridgeshire for a population of nearly 4,000 people working at the cutting edge of biomedical research. 

The development is set to expand significantly, with BioMed Realty introducing new research facilities, increased green space, dedicated areas for socialising and relaxation; as well as Raza's bespoke public artwork. The latter will be accompanied by a linked programme of events and activities which will encourage local communities, including residents of Great and Little Abington and those working at Granta Park, to explore ideas around the site, its relationship to the River Granta, and the larger ecosystem it is a part of. 

Raza’s work at Granta Park began with a period of research, and earlier this month he spent time on site with pupils, parents and staff from Great Abington Primary School before meeting researchers at some of Granta Park’s biotech companies and touring research and development labs as well as holding talks with the Linton Friends of the River Granta. Ongoing conversations, alongside collaboration with the Granta Park design team, will inform the development of Raza’s proposal and ensure it works in harmony with the landscape and culture of the site as it continues to evolve. 

Asad Raza’s public artwork at Granta Park is due to launch in late 2024.

About the artist

Asad Raza creates dialogues and rejects disciplinary boundaries in his work, which conceives of art as a metabolic, active experience. Using actions and processes such as soil-making, tennis, and horticulture, his projects create encounters within and beyond the exhibition setting. They have been realized by institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Kaldor Public Art Projects, Sydney; Gropius Bau, Berlin; the Serpentine Galleries, London; Kunsthalle Portikus; Metro Pictures, New York; Urbane Kunst Ruhr, Essen; the Lahore Biennale; Museion, Bolzano; and the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.