ACV is a collective of artists & designers documenting community and culture across the UK and further afield. The group’s medium is primarily a community-focussed publication released annually with each edition being centered around a different theme. The inaugural issue released in 2022 was centered around GROWTH, and the second issue released in 2023 is themed on TRADITION. ACV’s publications are available to read across 13 different countries worldwide. For each issue, the group also donates 50+ publications to local grassroots organisations exploring themes of social justice.
The name ‘ACV’ is coined from the term ‘Asset of Community Value’, a piece of policy in England. The term defines a building or piece of land that has been nominated because its main use or purpose is furthering the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community, or could do so into the future. When places like pubs or markets are successfully granted this status via application, it enables the community to enact a Community Right to Bid should the area be threatened by development. The collective always had this term at the front of their minds when researching and envisioning the publication, so much so that it became the group’s name going forward.
The majority of communities, artists & organisations featured in the groups work are operating on a local level. ACV are interested in what patterns emerge when these groups & individuals are collated and displayed together in the framework of design. They explore links and connections between features with a focus on building a network to aid people and organisations to sustain in their practices.
ACV have recently delivered a number of community-focussed events as well as public art projects with local organisations. They are currently building issue three of their publication, whilst questioning their overall practice, researching other mediums of design that they can practice within and exploring how they can develop further tools in the field of social justice.