Temporary public art commission for Plymouth Art Weekender 2020 – Open Brief
Visual Arts Plymouth CIC in partnership with Theatre Royal Plymouth are seeking expressions of interest from national artists for a temporary public art commission as part of Plymouth Art Weekender 2020.
Artists are invited to
submit proposals for a commission to be realised in Plymouth as part of the
Weekender which takes place on 25th, 26th and 27th September 2020. In previous
years, Armada Way in the City Centre has been a strong hub for this kind of
activity.
The available fee is £5500. The fee is
expected to cover artist fees, design, production, materials, installation,
with at least one organised opportunity for local participation, and any travel
and accommodation expenses included within the budget. There is the opportunity
to apply for further funding with the support of the Plymouth Art Weekender
team.
Deadline for
applications: 2nd of
October 2019
About Plymouth Art Weekender
(PAW)
Plymouth Art Weekender is an
ambitious three day event that takes place annually across the city. The
Weekender confidently celebrates Plymouth, its people and the visual arts,
promoting the city as an exciting contemporary art destination. Initiated by
Visual Arts Plymouth CIC, a voluntary group of artists and organisers active in
the city, PAW showcases a wide and diverse range of activities for all ages,
with events and exhibitions throughout the city drawing large audiences and
artists from Plymouth & beyond.
About Theatre Royal Plymouth
(TRP)
Theatre Royal Plymouth is a
registered charity providing art, education and community engagement throughout
Plymouth and the wider region. TRP engages with and inspires many communities
through performing arts and aims to touch the lives and interests of people
from all backgrounds. TRP do this by creating and presenting a breadth of shows
on a range of scales, with their extensive creative engagement programmes, by
embracing the vitality of new talent and supporting emerging and established
artists, and by collaborating with a range of partners to provide dynamic
cultural leadership for the city of Plymouth.
The Commission Outline
On the 23rd of March 2019, Theatre
Royal Plymouth unveiled Messenger, a
large-scale public artwork by Joseph Hillier, which depicts actor Nicola
Kavanagh from Frantic Assembly in a dynamic crouching position. Speaking about
the work at the time of launch Kavanagh encapsulated some of the motivation by
TRP to commission this work.
“She’s brave, she’s not
afraid. She is ready for anything that comes her way. If one little girl in
Plymouth or anywhere else sees her and is inspired that would be great.
There
aren’t that many statues of women and those that are around are passive, demure
or looking beautiful. She looks like she’s engaging and acting in a rebellious
manner. I have two nieces, I think it’s very important that little girls and
little boys see women doing things – and you can’t miss Messenger.”
For this co-commission with
TRP, Visual Arts Plymouth are seeking proposals that engage either thematically
or specifically with Messengeras
a major piece of public art. We are very much hoping that the shortlisted
proposals will include dynamic and engaged explorations of what Messenger represents.
Some starting points could
be
· Public art’s impact on the
vista of the city
· Messenger as a symbol of
Frantic Assembly’s ethos and history
· The female body as a site of
debate
· Traditional representations
of women as statues
· Othello (the play the actor
depicted was rehearsing for)
We envisage this commission
taking shape through ongoing conversation with the commissioning partners and
welcome proposals that will thoughtfully carry this through to the presentation
of work at PAW 2020, including a strong visual presence over the 3 day
festival. PAW is looking for works which will help draw audiences to the
Weekender, through spectacle or intrigue and which will be widely enjoyed and
remembered, as well as being a site for thought and discussion. The work should
also consider ideas around community engagement and possible opportunities of
co-authorship.
Works in any form will be
considered, however there is a preference for temporary artworks which have a
presence in an outdoor public space.
Selected artists will work
closely with the Festival Coordinators alongside support from Visual Arts
Plymouth CIC and Plymouth City Council to develop their proposals, site &
public participation.
Experience of working in the
public realm is essential for this commission so please reference this in your
application and explain why you feel your work may be suitable.
It may be useful for artists
considering applying to read Plymouth’s Public Art Planand the Plymouth Principles.
Application Requirements
1. No more than 800 words,
explaining your interest in this opportunity, how you would approach the
commission
2. No more than 300 words,
explaining your experience of and/or interest in working with community groups
3. Identify between 1 and 3
potential sites or venues
4. A draft budget outline
5. Up to 5 jpeg (max 1MB each)
images of previous work and / or 5 URL links to websites showing specific sound
and video works
6. A link to a website, online
portfolio or documentation of a previous project
7. Artist CV/Bio or link to
online CV/Bio
8. Phone and email contact
details
Selection Process:
From this information, 3
artists will be shortlisted for the commission – at this stage artists may be
contacted with questions from the panel. The panel will include PAW
Coordinators and representatives of Visual Arts Plymouth CIC, PCC and Theatre
Royal Plymouth.
PAW endeavors to be an open
and accessible platform – artists with a disability, or who feel that they may
be at a disadvantage should contact plymouthartweekender@gmail.com to discuss this.
Important information:
· The fee listed for the
commission is the total available and artists should budget for this to cover
all production costs, expenses, VAT (if relevant) and artist fees
· Artists should have their
own public liability insurance in place, before activity commences
· Applications from
collectives or artists working in partnership are welcome
· The PAW coordinators will
work with the selected artists to find suitable venue(s) for their work at the
Weekender, Plymouth City Council will support this process
· In the past most PAW
commissions have made use of sites along Armada Way, this is not a requirement
however there are advantages to using Armada Way in terms of footfall and
support from Plymouth City Council
Important dates:
Deadline for
applications: 2nd
October 2019
Artists notified by
the: 30th October
2019
Please note that whilst we
will endeavor to notify all applicants of their success or otherwise, the PAW
team will be unable to offer individual feedback on applications.
Plymouth Art Weekender is
supported by Arts Council England, The Box, Nudge Community Builders CBS,
Theatre Royal Plymouth, Plymouth College of Art, Plymouth University, Plymouth
Marjon University, Take A Part, KARST, Plymouth Culture, Ocean Studios &
RIO, Plymouth Athenaeum, Plymouth School of Creative Arts, Duke of Cornwall
Hotel and Contemporary Art Membership Plymouth (CAMP) CIC.